Yasmina! Single & Double Cane Workshop at Helena & Katayna's Studio: A treat for all.



By Norma Westover

Phoenix's famed Middle Eastern Dance performer and instructor, Helena Vlahos did it again for her students! Learning Middle Eastern dance with Helena is not unlike stalking the L.A. garment district with a seasoned fashion buyer: She knows the good stuff, and where to find it, at a very reasonable price. Helena, along with her beautiful and demure protege' and co-instructor, Katayna, teach from a studio at the Cannedy Center for Performing Arts on 7th Street in North Central Phoenix.

With some trepidation that turned out to be unfounded, I signed up for the October 26th Raqs-al-Assaya workshop sponsored by Helena and Katayna. Taught by well-known Mesa teacher, performer and local media star, Yasmina, the five-hour workshop offered students a chance to explore this special type of Middle Eastern Dance. Yasmina is well-respected in several specialty areas of Middle Eastern dance, and this workshop was to introduce Intermediate and Advanced students to the Raqs-al-Assaya of Southern Egypt, or Cane Dance. We were going to learn Women's Cane Dance, which originally grew out of the Men's Cane Dance. The Masculine version of Raqs-al-Assaya is a ceremonial display of an Egyptian martial art form that uses a staff, or staves. The reason I was a bit anxious is because, I am a Beginning, not an Intermediate or Advanced, student of the dance. I didn't know about the skill level till I showed up in my leotards and hip scarf that Sunday. If I had known, I'd probably have been too shy to give it a go. I like to think that I'm generally a good sport, so I decided to ad lib it, and just follow along as best I could.

The first pleasant realization was Yasmina's down-to-earth accessibility. While it's hard to emphasize enough just how well Yasmina conveys the spirit of the dance, she is, at the same time, like working with your sister or best girlfriend. I just felt comfortable right off the bat.


Helena, Katayna, and Yasmina had everything well-organized. There were canes for the five of us students to choose from ( borrow or purchase ), a spacious and well-equipped studio, and handouts detailing the history of Raqs-al-Assaya, as well as choreographies for the two routines we would learn. After arrival, Helena had us choose our canes; then we moved right along to several introductory video clips from Yasmina's enviable archives. This was a treat because we got to see authentic performers, with their own personal styles, in their dance costumes. I think it's safe to say everyone liked the elegant, shimmery Black Egyptian Assuit Balady dresses most of all. The third and final video clip featured a wonderful female Raqs-al-Assaya dancer who incorporates many of the bolder gestures traditionally utilized by men. The effect was delightful.

Next, we got into a circle for a nice warmup, then we began work on our first routine, a single cane choreography by Yasmina, set to "The Celestial Garden", by Ramal LaMarr, from "Pleasure Gardens of Dance". We began by learning proper preparation and handling of the canes, first learning a basic twirl, then a figure eight. Much to my enjoyment, the routine that followed was easy and lots of fun. I especially enjoyed the challenge of trying to balance the cane on my head while shimmying, doing rib circles, and travelling. In retrospect, I think fun is unavoidable with Raqs-al-Assaya; the mood is playful, light and coy, with flirty jabs, raps on the floor with the cane, mock "clashes" with your neighboring dancer, and abrupt changes. Throughout the instruction, I was very aware of Yasmina's concern that I was getting value for my investment and achieving some retention; her concern extended to each and every one of us, and was very much felt and appreciated. She is a natural teacher, putting everyone at ease as I mentioned above. Learning the single cane routine took us right through the morning. We finished up around noon, and Helena left to bring us a delicious and unexpected light lunch of fresh fruit and veggies, chips, salsa, tortilla wraps, and pastry. While we waited for Helena to return, Yasmina answered our questions and showed us some great cane moves for group dances.

After lunch, we were ready to approach the double cane routine. This was another original choreography by Yasmina, using "Balady Mood", from "A Dancer's Dream" by old student favorite Raja, as a musical base. Raqs-al-Assaya, Yasmina tells us, lends itself to a Balady rhythm, and can be successfully adapted to most any Balady music. As before, we worked on basics, this time handling two canes. Soon, Yasmina had us working through one combination after another; layering each onto the one before with every repetition, stopping to repeat, or further illustrate, when we got stuck.

Yes, **everybody's** canes went flying now! You soon learned to dodge flying objects and work around the clatter, and we all laughed when we'd unwittingly launch a particularly funny one. Two canes were definitely trickier than one, but no less fun. After getting a good feel for the two cane routine, we practiced the same choreography with one cane to give us a fell for adapting moves from double to single and back again. Then we finished up the afternoon by reviewing all three versions of the Raqs-al-Assaya that we had learned.


I left the studio that afternoon with a head full of new ideas and inspiration that will last a lifetime, and I'm very, very glad that I didn't find out about the skill level required, or else I would have cheated myself of a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable learning experience. Thanks to all for making it happen!