This workshop will explore the cultural, historic, and political facets of the old-school genre of Greek music known as “Rebetika.” We will travel through the cafe Amanes and hashdens of the historic port towns in Pireas and Thessaloniki, where this music thrived amongst outlaws in the early 20th century, and learn how to dance for freedom, lust, pain, and the will to survive… all before the lights come on.
You will walk away having understood the context and history of a genre that so strongly influences modern-day Greek music, dance, and culture. Finally, you will learn a choreography to an original recording by the legendary singer and musician, Rosa Eskenazi.
All levels welcome.
About Sophianna
Sophianna is a Greek-American performer and instructor. She is internationally trained in Middle Eastern, North African, and Mediterranean styles with a specialty in social dances; namely Egyptian baladi and Greek tsifteteli.
Her love of dance comes primarily from her own Greek heritage. While Sophianna’s formal dance experience began in 2016 at the Nile dance studio, it had begun informally from a young age at cultural festivals, birthday parties, and celebrations held by local churches, family, and friends. What she brings to the studio is a rich understanding of Greek culture, as she spent her summers on the island of Tinos, where she was immersed in the language, music, food, and dance. Her earliest memories of family celebrations include her yiayia smashing plates and her father lifting her up to dance on the chairs and tables while everyone sang and clapped along. Opa!
Sophianna also serves as the Sahara Dance Youth Program Coordinator. With experience from working as a paraeducator at Montgomery County Public Schools, teaching kid’s classes at Dance Loft, and instructing after-school dance programs around the DMV; she brings over 7 years of experience in early childhood education and a passion for sharing cultural awareness. Through creative movement, music, and cultural dances, Sophianna creates a fun space for little ones to learn, grow, and develop confidence in the dance studio.
She has a special reverence for dance as it has helped heal her self-image, given her ways to express herself through art, and connected her with a like minded community of individuals who share the same love of music and dance. To her, the somatic and communal experience is just as important as any technique or choreography. That is why in every class, Sophianna makes it a priority to create a safe space for students to feel supported in experimenting with movement and exploring self-expression through authentic and improvisational movement.
Sophianna has studied locally, with instructors such as Mitra of Nile Dance, Faten of Al Masraweya, and many of Sahara Dance’s own instructors; as well as overseas with masters such as Samira Masreya, Esmerelda Colabone, Amir Thaleb, and more. She regularly performs at private and public shows around the DMV, and in festivals overseas.
