Indian Fusion Dance Retreat Ubud Dec 2019

Join the Indian Fusion Dance  for our 7th annual Indian Fusion Dance Retreat with renowned international performer and Beloved teacher, Colleena Shakti.

LASYA – a Sanskrit word meaning feminine gracefulness

ATTAR – a concentrated essence, usually in reference to perfume, derived from a labour intensive distillation process.

Just as in the distillation process of fine perfume oils, a dancer must find purification through concentrated efforts in the training process, distilling both her intentions and technique. The most delectable and subtle of scents are had through intricate and time-consuming processes. Come take some time for yourself to completely immerse in the rich world of dance that Colleena has created through bridging Indian dance and related arts philosophy, with contemporary techniques of Belly Dance and beyond!

In Indian performance art theory, the goal of all art is to produce a delectable atmosphere, an air or essence that can be savored by the audience known as Rasa. With the theory of Rasa being the starting point of all Indian art, it only seems fitting that the analogy of making attar (the most refined essential oil) be the parallel to the process of “making a dancer”.

In this retreat only, we offer dancers reflective time to ask themselves what kind of dancer they want to be, and help them begin the journey to reach their goals. The curriculum will focus on THE PROCESS. Not only how dances are made, but more importantly, how *the dancer* is made.

Indian Fusion Dance

The full package includes:

living the Bali life for a week!
25 hours ++ of yoga and professional dance training
6 nights accommodation in beautiful Soulshine eco resort in Ubud, Bali
3 delicious meals a day
unlimited water
unlimited wifi
tropical lounging Bali style by the pool between classes 🙂
Balinese dance class and performance
Performance event!

The Syllabus

Colleena’s own elegant version of Indian Fusion Belly Dance is unmistakeable, embellished with Indian aesthetics and delicate motifs from her years of dedicated research, study and practice while living in India.

Our days will include:

Yoga – a simple practice to centre the mind in readiness to dance

Strength and precision training to grow & refine your dance technique (through Pilates, classical Indian dance and martial arts exercises)

Belly Dance drills and stylistic phrases – strong movements & fluid transitions

Classical Indian Dance techniques – Opulent embellishments, mudras and motifs

Stylistic development – Choreographic concepts & deeper meanings of movements

A full fusion choreography and dance phrases in several traditional styles

Theory classes with focus on Rasa and Bhava: concepts from the definitive Vedic text on dance, the Natya Shastra

Culminating with a beautiful performance event on the 6th December!

7th annual Indian Fusion Dance Retreat with renowned international performer and Beloved teacher, Colleena Shakti

Colleena Shakti is a dancer of great subtlety and depth. She has dedicated her life to dance ever since moving to India in 2001 to undergo intensive training in Odissi Classical Indian dance, as well as to research and document Rajasthani folk dance, music and jewelry traditions. She has had the great fortune to study under some of India’s greatest masters for more than a decade, and continues to dig deeper in the philosophies and practices, which tie Indian dance to the path of Yoga.

Colleena is committed to honoring her dance lineages and preserving traditional and quickly disappearing art forms of India, yet still manages to balance her work with innovation and self-expression through her approach in Fusion projects. Many who seek her instruction find a gentle bridging of Eastern and Western thought in the structured dance training and reflective philosophical teachings.

She lives most of the year in Rajasthan, India where she has founded Shakti School of Dance in the historical Rang Nath temple complex in the holy town of Pushkar, while in summer months she tours, performing and teaching worldwide. Annually, she presents the Pushkar Temple Dance Festival, a classical music and dance festival in the temple, which houses her school.

Over the past decade in Rajasthan, she has been living closely with a tribe of Kalbelia ‘Gypsies’ and has witnessed many stages of evolution within their nomadic culture. It took years for her to observe the details and accents of their dance form, because it is constantly evolving. She travels India performing at village fairs, for royalty in Rajasthan’s great palaces and at prestigious arts festivals with her Rajasthani Musicians.

Drawing from her in-depth study of Indian artistic traditions, Vedic philosophies, classical Odissi and Kathak, Rajasthani folk and tribal dance forms, her strong background in belly dance and the rigor of her practice as a dedicated dancer, yogini, teacher and performer, Colleena offers students a rich and holistic workshop curriculum.

www.colleenashakti.com