Yasmina of Cairo

Learning about choreo from a legend!
Good intro to making choreography
Love that we had the opportunity to be creative
Great discussion – pushed me out of my comfort zone in a good way.
Excellent teacher – really useful conten
Enjoyed this a lot.  Yasmina is keeping the Golden Era alive for us – a priviledge to learn from her.
Just love Yasmina – and the choreo was beautiful and fun.
Loved every step of it
Beautiful and elegant – loved it!

Sandra

Sandra is a fantastic teacher and I love her workshops.  Just what I needed.
A lovely session with some good hints and tips.
Lovely dance by a lovely elegant teacher
Such a nice way to start the day.
\Would repeat this class anytime – so uplifting
Excellent again – useful instruction and a wonderful way to start the day.
Lovely start to the day – good tips

Laurie

Good opportunity to train some FCB – should incorporate sagat.
I have tried before but Laurie broke everything down and learnt new things.
Brilliant – great inclusive vibe.
Thoroughly enjoyed the class.
Interesting to learn about this method and how the improv worked.  Very enjoyable.

Kay

Shimmy Camp:   Loved doing class outside.  Good fun and great exercise
Great – lovely being outside
Loved it!
Great start to the day.
Lots of fun
Fun and energetic
Great way to start the day
Excellent paced follow along with an eye to the words.  Always a highlight.

Other classes:
Really useful – helped a lot with confidence
Fab teacher – really built my confidence
Loved this workshop – great tips
Very useful and enjoyable – Kay brings out the best in people.
I was blown away with this class – so innovative – and attention to detail – loved it.

Kim Maria

Debke:  Perfectly pitched for a mixed group
Well paced, good fun, loved it
Very nice – good instructions
Great – would love to do more – with time for history and culture
Very energetic – would love to do more
Great breakdown – lovely choreography

Latin Fusion:   Kim is a great dancer – I found some hard to follow.
Great session , great energy, great fun
Lovely teacher, fab choreo
So much help with technique and l,oads of fun
Loved the vibe – my sort of music.
Fun class great choreo
Fun class – delightful dance.
Perfect class, well structured.  Gave options for different levels and injuries.  I hope to study with her again

 

Josephine Wise

Taksims:   Really enjoyed this class
Great class
Loved this
Perfection in one single class

Baladi to perform:  So much fun and great choreo
Good to learn a bit about the song and the mood.
Very good class – loved the music
A lovely Jo style choreo

Ingunn

Bollywood:    Loved it!   Great class – such fun.
Good fun class after frustrating journey.
Time was short but fun and engaging class
Wonderful – more please
Ingunn is so full of grace.
Yoga:   Really relaxing and great for someone who has never done yoga before
A great start to the day and week.
Lovely guided yoga
Great start to the day
Very relaxing – just what I needed.
Ingunn is a fantastic yoga teacher
Wings and veils:   Such a wonderful teacher
Lovely choreo.  Beautiful dance – so uplifting
Lovely floaty class
Really fun – brilliant choreo
Relaxed teaching style with excellent explanations
Lovely choreo, clear instructions

Gwen

Metaphors really helpful – so glad I went
Does what it says – good connection from exercises to dance moves.
Loved the anatomy nerd!!
Good techniques and nice class
Fabulous
Wonderful teacher with an amazing amount of knowledge.
Fun class with good instructions
Really enjoyable relaxed class.

Ishtar / Dorte Evelyn

African Vibe:  Fabulous, high energy and joyful
Loved the vibe
Great teacher – thoroughly enjoyed
Great choreo – very uplifting
Excellent – fun and well explained
Dance to perform:   Great choreo – encouraging teacher
Repetition and finalising choreo
Superb
Really enjoying this
Loved it.  Loved the choreo – good fun.

 

Alanya / Abbie Mason

Winged Veils:  Lovely adaptable, inclusive
Nice to discover new accessories
Excellent – love Abbies classes.
Lovely choreo – well explained.  Would have liked more recaps and repetition from the start
Right level of fun and accessability
Excellent teacher – good fun.

 

Project with Brenda of Cairo

Excellent – no words.  All the project was perfect – the highlight
Fascinating to hear some background to Brendas dance experience.  Fast paced but I loved it.
Challenging and fun
Brenda is fabulous – great breakdown of Cairo sets and magency.
Every class was such an essential experience – I learned so much
Brenda gives everyone feedback.
Loved this class.  Great workout and lots of fun.  A caring and helpful teacher.  My first class with Brenda and it was wonderful.

 

Abeers classes

What a superstar – I would love to do the baladi certificate next year
Great – so much wonderful information.  Great cultural knowledge
Hard work but worth it.
Broken down well – great ideas for whole body – top to toe.
Absolutely loved this.  Abeer is a really good teacher – and we got a handout
Abeer is so warm and giving.  Simple moves with fab technique.
Excellent as carried on technique for baladi
Just love Abeer and this makes me understand baladi.

Suzannes classes

Fun – nice music interesting moves
Great to try something different.  Fun teacher.
Really enjoyed – loved the music and moves.
Great fun.  Suzanne is amusing and a good teacher – a lot of hip, thigh and glute work
Would have liked longer class.
High energy and challenging – great pace – fantastic teacher.
Loved Suzannes precision – a well structured fun class

Raphaelles Classes

On Sagat:  My favourite part of camp.  We need more zills.
Really great method of teaching
Fab teacher – clear instructions
Always. Great – wouild love a sagat project with Raphaelle
Great method and energy
Love these classes – went to them all.
On Muwashahat:
Excellent explanation and beautiful choreo
Very knowledgeable teacher – Great music
Interesting introduction
So beautiful ….. and challenging.
A wonderful end to the final day of classes.  Challenging and beautiful.
Loved this – more, more, more
Really loved this – and a beautiful choreography.

 

Naamas classes

What a brilliant class – I love Naamas approach – beautiful moves – excellent teacher.
Excellent class – lots of new moves and tricks
Excellent instructions and teacher
A brilliant class – great mix of moves and BD.

 

Sue Bakers classes

Well demonstrated – enjoyed dancing outside.
Lots of fun – learned some new tricks.
First time – fun and delightful
Super fun class.  Great choice of song.  Easy routine but still interesting.  Good technique tips.

 

Thoughts on Summer School 2025

I absolutely loved the weekend and am looking forward to next year. One thing I’d like to share with you is how I noticed I felt after the event – with a lot of festivals, often when they are over, even if I’ve really enjoyed myself, I find that I feel quite down for a few days afterwards, like a really intense case of the Post-Show Blues. But after the two years doing SS, both times I’ve noticed that I return feeling buoyed and rejuvenated, even if my body is completely broken! I am not sure exactly what the difference is that creates this much more uplifting after-effect, perhaps the stunning setting and slightly more relaxed timetable, but I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate it! You and Jo have created a really lovely, supportive and magical community.

Diversity

Thank you for this year, I generally was really pleased about the diversity and new people. You’ve done a great job with the teaching staff too, and I think representation is really important, I noticed at least 3/4 if not more, Arabic speakers in Abeer’s classes and I think that’s fantastic.

Live music class with Yasmina

I really liked how during the live music class Yasmina had us in a circle we all got to dance while she took in turns to take people next to the band and have them follow. The energy in the room was amazing and very inclusive.

More on live music classes:

Fantastic – loved this so much
Can’t go wrong dancing with live music
Wonderful music – had a great time.
Very much enjoyed it – great band.
Love the opportunity to dance with live music.
Lovely relaxed class with live music

Live Tabla classes

Challenging.  Very good drummer and Kay made us feel good.
Good explanations and lovely to have the opportunity to put into practice
Enjoyed the format – it didn’t feel intimidating
Safe space and confidence builder
Great for overcoming fear.  Great community spirit
Great fun – lots of tips – learnt lots from watching other dancers too.
This was an amazing experience – I loved it….. but also terrifying.  Taught me a lot about my dance and myself.