About:
Did you know your hands hold magic? Powerful hands and arms capture an audience’s attention and tell them where to look. Fast arms add drama and emphasis. Slow arms add that gooey-ness people just can’t stop watching. You can see a dancer’s confidence in the way they own their moment, and you can see it drip from their fingertips. Well friends, let’s get you that drip.
Join Athena in a 90-minute class where we revel in the amazing things our hands and arms can do. We will work through some hand warm-up exercises, and a few combinations to different speeds of music to discover (together) the incredible things you can do. We’ll learn a few things, but this class is intended for you to learn ways to express yourself through arms and hands movement and to help you find your own magical style. The primary movement “dictionary” we will be using will come from belly dance, but there will be some ballet and Persian style dance influences fused in. The class will be held seated. To be best prepared, please be nearby a solid surface. You can bring a notepad and pen and recordings will be made available. Class notes will also be made available.
About the instructor:
Athena Howe (she/her) is a Columbus, Ohio-based dancer who has been performing professionally since 2008. She has performed at hundreds, if not thousands of events, both nationally and internationally. Now, she teaches, performs, and hosts events in her home city while staying dedicated to her personal practice and learning. She fell in love with the decadent costuming and the glamor of belly dance, but over the last decade has grown to love the music and the culture. She loves being able to take a break from the stress of everyday life and wiggle- alone or with her troupe mates The Hip Art Collective. She performs with several bands in the central Ohio area and loves the unexpected surprises that come with live music.
As a teacher, she loves teaching all levels of dance and adores being able to help create movements that both challenge you as a dancer and lets you leave with some new content to add up your dance. Her goal isn’t to make you another Athena, but to help you find your inner dancer. As a student, be ready to work hard, laugh at a goofy joke, and be reminded of how great you are. She’s intensely body-positive, age-positive, and works to build an inclusive class for any student who joins.
As a researcher, Athena is always deep into some nuance of belly dance and its history. Her research has been published in the book “The Gilded Serpent” and she is currently researching trap influences in mahagarant (pop music from Menath countries) with a focus on Egyptian music post-revolution. She also is advising on her research on LGBTQIA+ contributions to music, arts, and culture in the region, with a focus on Egypt. She is known for her ability to discuss complicated issues with a human focus.
As a student, Athena is dedicated to the work it takes to be a good visitor in this art form. She loves failure and being wrong. Her recent foray into playing middle eastern music is a testament to that since she is more wrong than right some days!
Described by some to be “bold like hot sauce” or “basically the gay female Elvis,” Athena is a grateful dancer who is dedicated to the work it takes to be a belly dancer.