Debke is a Levantine folk dance particularly popular among Lebanese, Jordanian, Palestinian, and Syrian communities. Debke combines circle dancing and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions.

Music: Es Samra

Choreography: Ramzi El-Edlibi, adapted by Vanessa of Cairo

Dancers: Erin, Helen, Louise, Meghan, Tanya, Tay, Theresa

Photo: Ramzi El-Edlibi

Music: Little Megance by Gaston Chaade, Set el Hosen by Brandan Osvaldo el Beryewe, Fireball by Matias Hazrum

Choreography: Emalee

Dancers: Little Megance: Emalee Morem. Set el Hosen: Sonja Corcoran, Mercy Chaves, Alisa Martodam, Jalilah (Jen Bastyr). Fireball: Emalee Morem, Alisa Martodam, Anjela (Angela Polk), Marielle (Mariel Blomstrand), Mercy Chaves

FFI: emaleebellydance.com/blue-lotus/

A Scandinavian-inspired folk dance.

Choreography: Joe Chvala

Dancers: Joe Chvala and Karla Grotting

Photo credit: Aleutian Calabay

Bullerengue [buh yeh REEHN geh] is a traditional Afro-Colombian music and dance form originating from the Caribbean coast of Colombia. It is deeply rooted in African rhythms and has been passed down through generations, preserving the cultural heritage and history of the Afro-Colombian communities. The beats are often created using traditional drums, such as the tambor alegre, tambor llamador, and tambora. The singing style in Bullerengue is typically call-and-response, with a lead singer (often female) and a chorus. The lyrics often reflect everyday life, social issues, and cultural stories.

Music: Bullerengue para un Angel by Orito Cantora and Josefa Matia by Efrain Mejia Donado

Currulao [kuh ruh LAH OH] is a traditional Afro-Colombian music and dance genre that originates from the Pacific coast of Colombia. Historically, Currulao has been a form of resistance against cultural oppression. It has allowed Afro-Colombian communities to assert their identity. Currulao is characterized by its complex polyrhythmic patterns created using a variety of percussion instruments such as:

• Marimba de Chonta: A wooden xylophone made from chonta palm wood, which produces a distinctive, resonant sound
• Bombos: Large bass drums that provide the foundational beats
• Cununos: Smaller drums that add rhythmic complexity
• Guas : A bamboo shaker filled with seeds or pebbles that adds a shimmering percussive layer

Music: Fiesta de Tambores by Andrés Cabas

Choreography for both: Lina Pinto

Dancers: Angely Bahamon, Darling Franco Kaeding, Diana Viteri, Dominica Mora Zengel, Giovanna Heller Lopez, Janna Gutierrez-Vega, Luis Castillo, Salome Gutierrez-Vega, Valeria Jerney, Vianka Avellaneda

FFI: colombialivemn.com

Erik Dali (Plum Branch) has a record-breaking popularity in Turkey, especially a hit in weddings, but a part of many celebrations. While the genre fits in the Ankara region, the original composer is from the city of Burdur. It is said that the composer fell off a plum tree and while recovering he wrote the lyrics including the plum tree.

Music: Erik Dali by Kadir Türen

Choreography: Nilay

Dancer: Nilay

Nilay (Knee-lie) was born and raised in Turkey, yet began Middle-Eastern and Oriental Dance studies in the US with many accredited teachers worldwide. She is in love with the passionate and versatile Turkish style. While she is based in California, she teaches, performs, and judges across the States and internationally holding multiple awards in various belly dancing categories which include but are not limited to being inducted to the Hall of Fame in Belly Dancer of the Universe, being Folklore Champion in Belly Dancer of the World, and titled Belly Dancer of the USA. She has taken parts in two dance theaters just this year and plans to continue her acting and dancing journey on the stage.

FFI: nilay.rocks

Music: Drama Queen by Sahar and No Tabla, No Fun by Emad Sayyad

Choreography: Sonja

Dancers: Sonja, Liz, Marielle, Sitri

Magnificat, known as the song of Mary, is inspired by the canticle sun in Christian church services. The canticle is taken from the Gospel where it is spoken by the Virgin Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth.

Music: Magnificat by Johann Sebastian Bach

Choreography: Ray Terrill

Costumes: Ray Terrill

Dancers: Megan Gibbins, Tessa Longshore, Lillian Kline, Paulette Mattson, Gillian Wheaton

Ray Terrill Dance Group has been performing in and around the Twin Cities since Ray relocated in 1994. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he extensive experience as performer, choreographer, teacher, presenter, and arts program administrator. He started his professional modern dance career as a member of Martha Graham-based Repertory Dancers Northwest in Seattle Washington until relocating to Portland Oregon to work with the Mary Wigman- has based modern dance company Oregon Dance Consort. In Portland, he eventually became co-artistic director of the company where he choreographed numerous original works, taught extensively and produced the contemporary dance season Pulse/Impulse for eight consecutive years. After relocating to the Twin Cities, Ray spent five seasons as a member of the Christopher Watson Dance Company while establishing the Ray Terrill Dance Group. Ray is also the sole producer of the annual Dances at the Lake Festival, a free, open to the public performance, presented at the Lake Harriet Rose Garden in Minneapolis.

FFI: rayterrilldancegroup.com

Music: Mokhtar al Said

Choreography: Vanessa of Cairo

Dancers: Erin, Helen, Louise, Meghan, Tanya, Tay, Theresa

Salla Yavrum has been popularized by one of Turkey's most well-known Romani singers, Kibariye. It is a typical representation of the Romani culture. The song is a wife complaining about her husband going around with other women while the kids are hungry at home, so she threatens to leave him to go to her mother's house in a comedic way. It is a Romani style in 9/8.

Music: Salla Yavrum by Kibariye

Choreography: Nilay

Dancer: Nilay

FFI: nilay.rocks

Cumbia [COOM bee ah] is one of the most iconic and popular music and dance genres in Colombia, known for its infectious rhythms and vibrant performances. Originating from the Caribbean coast of Colombia, cumbia has deep roots in the country's multicultural heritage, blending African, Indigenous, and Spanish influences.

Music: Yo me llamo Cumbia by Mario Gareña

Mapalé [mah pah LEH] is an Afro-Colombian dance and represents the fishermen after a long day of work. Its name comes from the Cathorops Mapale sea catfish when they are out of the water. The dance moves are compared with the agility and strength of those who are performing it, from the clothing to the precise moves of the hips and shoulders. The body movements during the dance are made swiftly to follow the beating of the drums and to represent the fish out of the water and the sea.

Music: Prende la vela by Lucho Bermúdez interpreted by Totó la Momposina

Choreography for both: Lina Pinto

Dancers: Angely Bahamon, Darling Franco Kaeding, Diana Viteri, Dominica Mora Zengel, Giovanna Heller Lopez, Janna Gutierrez-Vega, Luis Castillo, Salome Gutierrez-Vega, Valeria Jerney, Vianka Avellaneda

FFI: colombialivemn.com

This piece was created to showcase isolations within a balancing act. It was originally performed for a theater in the round at many regional Renaissance Festivals.

Music: Yo me llamo Cumbia by Mario Gareña

Music: Yearning by Raul Ferrando

Choreography: Erin

Dancers: Abigail, Aria, Danielle, Eri, Meghan

FFI: baratokbellydance.com

Kürdilihicazkar Longa is from Classical Turkish Music combining elements of the Hicaz and Kürdi maqams, creating a distinctive sound that is both melancholic and expressive. It was composed in 4/4 as a longa in the mid-1800s by renowned violinist and key figure in Ottoman classical music, Kemani Sebuh Efendi. The song has a generally fast tempo with transitions to even faster parts, yet containing a taksim section usually played by a clarinet. It was popularized in the Turkish cinema industry, but the piece quickly became popular due to its vibrant rhythm and engaging melody. It remains a staple in the repertoire of Turkish classical music ensembles and is often performed in concerts and festivals.

Music: Kürdilihicazkar Longa by Kemani Sebuh Efendi

Choreography: Nilay

Dancer: Nilay

FFI: nilay.rocks

A live bellydance drum solo showcases the dancer's musicality and skill through a rhythmic exchange with the drummer, creating an energetic performance.

Music: Maksoum Drum Solo 1 by Amir Naoum Chehade

Performers: Sonja (dancer), Anjela (drummer)

FFI: dancebysonja.com

FFI: anjeladancer.com

Life is what you make it. Always show up for yourself -- give yourself a chance. Forgive yourself, and move forward into the light, into the new life you create for yourself. 

This piece is dedicated to Catherine Ann Liska.

Improvisation projection: from the Elision Playhouse in November 2023.

Music: Daylight by David Kushner

Improvisation & movement vocabulary: Vanessa

Additional movement vocabulary: My dear friend and colleague Angela McCord McCarity

Dancer: Vanessa of Cairo

Lights & Sound: Laina Grendle

Videography & Editing: Ariel Linnerson

A shamadan is a large candelabrum balanced on top of a dancer's head, in a tradition unique to Egyptian dance. This dance prop is historically used in the Egyptian wedding procession, or zeffah.

Music: Courtesy of Reda Troupe

Choreography: Vanessa of Cairo

Dancers: Erin, Helen, Louise, Meghan, Tanya, Tay, Theresa