“She would be half a planet away, floating in a turquoise sea, dancing by moonlight to flamenco guitar.”
Janet Fitch
|| Details ||
What: A weekend workshop in Flamenco dancing taught by Shehzeen Cassum
When: 1030 AM – 12 PM
For: Ages 10+
Fee: Rs 1500
What to bring: Water, a flared skirt for women. It’s best to wear gym or workout clothes. 3/4 tights or tracks and fitted t-shirt or tank top or leotard work as well. You must be comfortable to move/stretch/do floor work in what you are wearing.
|| About the Workshop ||
This weekend workshop is designed to be an introduction to the Art of Flamenco. In these two days you will get an intensive crash course and insight into this Spanish dance form and learn what Flamenco is really all about, its history, it origins and most importantly, how it is danced. We will be looking globally at all aspects of Flamenco dance, from complex footwork, different rhythms used in Flamenco, combinations steps, turn patterns, palm percussion, upper body movements, posture, poise, arm exercises, wrist movevents, sharpness, attack, presence and projection.
Whatever your dance background this dance form will give you immense strength to apply to your own art and style. Every concept we look at will eventually be strung together into a small Choreography that you will master over the weekend, the style of Flamenco we will be focusing on is called “Tangos”. It is a cheerful happy 4 count rhythm and it’s movements are packed with style and attitude. The Tangos rhythm has a lively beat and very extremely interesting permutations and combinations within flamenco dance.
|| About the Teacher ||
Shehzeen Cassum is the founder and director of the only Flamenco Academy and professional Flamenco dance company in our country. She is the ambassador of Flamenco in India and also the first internationally trained professional Flamenco dancer to authentically bring this art form down from Spain to the Indian subcontinent and teach it. Her academy “SCFA” or the Shehzeen Cassum Flamenco Academy, has centers in both Mumbai and Delhi.
Besides her academy, where students can train and learn to dance Flamenco, Shehzeen also launched an initiative in 2011 called the Namaste Flamenco Initiative which aims to spread awareness on Flamenco through performance. Thus her professional dance company is called Namaste Flamenco and true to its spirit, it continues to spread the art of Flamenco in India. where spectators and Flamenco aficionados can appreciate Flamenco performances and experience live Spanish guitar (toque) singing (cante) and dance (baile) on a single platform, a combination which is rarely seen outside of Spain.
Shehzeen has lived and trained in the Spain over the last twelve years. Whether it is traditional or contemporary Flamenco dance, she has acquired all her training in the heart of Andalucia, Southern Spain under the guidance of several prominent maestros, legends and world renowned Flamenco artists. She is also the first Indian to participate in the biggest Flamenco festival in the world, called the Festival de Jerez, and has done so for the last 10 years, now leading her advanced students down the same path.
All this experience and training directly translates into the quality seen in her teaching methods and performances. Flamenco has only dominated the last twelve years of her life but Shehzeen’s rigorous training in classical ballet since early childhood has given her tremendous foundation for a over decade before she started flamenco. Deep classical training in both forms for the last 20 years poises her perfectly to lead the Flamenco India Movement, and sow the seeds of this Spanish danceform wherever she goes.
Whether it is global performance, tours, festivals or workshops Shehzeen has travelled, taught and performed in Mumbai, Chennai, Pondicherry, Auroville, Cochin, Delhi and Pune and internationally she has danced and trained in UK, Europe, Dubai and the United States of America. Now living in India her one and only goal is to spread the Art of Flamenco in her country, through teaching and performance, one city at a time!
