Classes & Workshops

Beginning Belly Dance

A group of dancers enjoy beginning belly dance class. They are dressed in casual motion wear. They are standing with their hands at their heads. They are about to start the basic Egyptian step-touch step.

Learn the foundations and get started on your belly dance journey today! I stepped into my first class 34 years ago. I figured it would be pretty fun, but I had no idea how it would hook me and truly enrich my days, remaining accessible and invaluable through all the phases of my life. This dance has carried me through adventures and joys, through adversity and heartache, and it has kept me engaged and active. I can’t wait to get you started on your own unique belly dance journey!

In my classes, you’ll learn the basic movement vocabulary and begin working with sagat/zills/finger cymbals. I’ll also share cultural and historic knowledge and current trends to add depth and context to this living art form.

Classes are held Wednesdays from 6 to 7pm at Kinetic Dance Academy in Lacey, Washington. Purchase your class pass at KineticDa.com

Intermediate Raqs Sharqi

Lara bellydances with two of her students. They are wrapped in veils that will turn into a fan veil dance.

Deepen your dance practice. In this class, my aim is to prepare students for the stage. In this class, let me shift you from “belly dancer” to Egyptian Raqs Sharqi artist/connoiseur. This means we’ll study more advanced movement vocabularies in tandem with musicality in connection with context. We’ll study emotionality and stage craft. We’ll work on choreography. We’ll also study other folkloric dances of the Arabic world that have become part of the night club belly dancer’s set. This class culminates in a student performance for those who are interested (Permission to join this level is required.) 

How classes will run:

Warm Ups - We'll warm up with a follow-along, improvised dance to get our bodies going. Then we'll stretch. I'll likely throw in other folkloric MENAT (Middle East, North African, Turkish) dances during warm ups.

​What We'll Do - Push our dance skills further via drills, combinations and cultural/historical studies. We'll listen and dance to both classical and contemporary Arabic music. We'll cover both classical and contemporary movement styles. We’ll shift through master studies of various Egyptian/Arabic belly dance legends. We’ll shift through various props/specializations such as veil, sword, floorwork etc. We’ll shift through performance topics as well: stage psychology, personna, make-up, costuming and more! 

​Classes held at Kinetic Dance Academy Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8pm. Purchase your class pass at KineticDa.com.

Workshops Offered

Lara teaches Iraqi kawliya dance to intermediate students in Portland Oregon.
About 22 students pose for a photo at the end of a Saidi cane dance workshop. Lara poses front and center with a Saidi cane.
Workshop students posing for end-of-class photo. There are 7 students. Lara is front and center. Everyone is holding their fan veils out in a pose. Some fans are held to the left, some to the right, some overhead, and some low. The fans are colorful.

Workshop Topics: Egyptian Combos, Golden Era Combos, Fan Veil, Veil, Saidi, Shaabi, Mahraganat, Khaliji, Kawliya Fusion, Kawliya Hacha’a. Stage Presence, Poetics of Performance.

Highlights: 

  • Kawliya Fusion ~ Emerald Sanctuary Bellydance Retreat (2022) & Portland OR Workshop ~ host Heather Louise (2020)

  • Stage Presence ~ Olympia WA ~ Mas Uda Dance, Kashani (2018)

  • Fan Veil Choreography ~ Victoria BC ~ host Sacred Centre Dance, Nath Keo (2016)

  • Saidi ~ Olympia WA ~ Mas Uda Dance, Kashani (2014) 

  • Fan Veil Basics ~ Tacoma WA ~ Hasani Hafla, Hasani (2012) & Charleston NC ~ host Palmetto Oasis, Nadia Pomedt (2010)

  • Elegant Arms ~ Burien WA ~ Abyssinian Twins, Kellie Basin (2008)