"I am real as the cracks in the earth
that cleft and open and lead the way
to the fires of creation"

 

Contents

  Classes & Workshops

 Biography

 Contact Information

 Body Centered Psychotherapy For Women

  

Lorraine Lafata (La Reina)

Dear Sisters in Dance,

As of Summer 2006, we've had 20 woman participate in the Apprenticeship Program. I continue to be very excited about this idea. For a long time, I've wanted to create a truly flexible structure that works for all the women who can't necessarily commit to classes on a weekly basis, particularly students from other states and countries.

Over the last few years, I've been getting requests for highly specialized private lessons and intensives. Many of the students who've contacted me have identified a need for an intensive, yet individualized study of belly dance that integrates physical, technical, mental, emotional and spiritual learning techniques.

All these requests have started me thinking about creating some new ways of sharing/teaching the dance.  It's out of this ongoing dialogue with students, past and present that the apprenticeship program is born.  

I've structured the program so that you can choose a 10, 20 or 30 hour apprenticeship, each of which costs $550, $1000 and $1350, respectively. (Apprenticeship hours are to used, and paid for within a twelve month period. Payment plans are available.)  

Once you decide on the apprenticeship level that's right for you, you can design it to meet your specific needs and learning goals.  Offerings include: 1) Private and semi private lessons / intensives, ranging from 1 to 5 hours a day, 2) "Dance Strong At the Broken Places" weekly classes, 3) Day- long "Priestess in the Marketplace" workshops, which explore technical and performance skills  4) Phone Consultations and journal writing.

Here are some sample apprenticeship plans that people have created for themselves thus far:

10-Hour Apprenticeship - $550
8.5 Hours of Private Lessons@ $55 = $440

1 Daylong Workshop @ $70 = $70
1 Hour Phone Consultation @ $40 = $40

20-Hour Apprenticeship - $1,000
7 week class = $225
12 Hours Private Lessons @ $50 = $600
1 Daylong Workshop@ $75 = $75
2.5 Hours Phone Consultation @ $40 = $100

30-Hour Apprenticeship - $1,350
6 Day Intensive/5 hours a Day @ $45 = $1,350

These are just ideas, you can obviously structure your apprenticeship any way you want.

In addition to the individualized apprenticeship plans, there will be three or four apprenticeship gatherings/workshops a year; so that those pursuing this course of study can come together to share and support each other¹s work.   The themes we covered the first year were "Creating Meaningful Belly Dance Practice", "Belly Dance as Sacred and Ritual Art" and "Teacher Training from a Heart-Centered Place" and Belly Dance As Healing Dance.  The next gathering  will be "Ecstasy and Surrender - Dynamic Explorations of Belly Dance Technique". (These gatherings are non-mandatory, and each apprentice will get one free workshop a year, and remainder will cost $75 per workshop.)

If the apprenticeship  seems like something you're interested in, contact me at 781-306-1333.

In dance and sisterhood,
Lorraine
 
   

Upcoming Classes & Workshops

    Classes: Summer 2006
   

Belly Dance I - Beginners
 Brightstones Studio, Melrose, MA

Sundays, July 23 - August 20, 2:15 pm - 6:45 pm, Cost $90

Summer 5 week session.  An introduction to the technique and philosophy of belly dance.  Veils and zills will be explored.  Open to beginners or those wishing to review.

 

For information and registration, contact Lisa at (781) 662-5700 or brightstones@earthlink.net

 

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Belly Dance II - Advanced Beginners
 BrightStones Studio, Melrose, MA

Sundays, July 23 - August 20, 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm, Cost $90

Summer 5 week session.  For students comfortable with basic belly dance vocabulary. Emphasis on transition, layering and rhythms.

For information and registration, contact Lisa at (781) 662-5700 or brightstones@earthlink.net

 

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Dancing Strong At The Broken Places
 Brightstones Studio, Melrose, MA

Class resumes in the Fall.
An 8-week intensive workshop for the intermediate and advanced belly dancer.

Those of us who love the art and craft of belly dance, know well, the commitment it takes to become an accomplished dancer. We dedicate hours to practice and rehearsal.  We take class to learn technique and expand our dance vocabulary.  We study hard to tighten our sense of rhythm and timing.  Yet, no matter how hard we work, most of us at some point, encounter a plateau in our learning process with the dance.  We hit what seems to be a “stuck” place that just won’t yield to discipline or dedication or sweat.

Sometimes, this “stuckness” manifests as a block in a particular area, or segment of the dance.  A dancer has beautiful flow and undulation, but is unable to master the shimmy.  She may have power and purpose in her hips, but, be nervous and intimated when it comes to the subtlety and sensuality of the veil.  Other times, the challenge isn’t so much a “technical” problem of learning steps or vocabulary, but more a holding back, or an inability to fully occupy the space, she needs to fill up.  

As a teacher, I've watched many a dancer encounter these boundaries and barriers to enlivened and authentic dance.  As I sit witness to people’s struggles to break through their blockages, what seems clear to me, is that these areas of great “stuckness”, once transformed, offer extraordinary possibility and potential, and often, become the dancer’s strongest point of connection to her dance and her audience.

In this special eight week workshop, we will use performance and technical exercises, affirmation, visualization, group discussion and critique, as well, ongoing journal writing, to identify and break through our dance and performance blocks.  We will create secure, non- judgmental and honoring space that will allow for deep journeying and safe exploration.  Due to the intensive nature of the work, this workshop will be limited to six participants.

 For information and registration, contact Lorraine at (781) 306-1333 or lareinal@earthlink.net. 

 

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Belly Dance As Healing Dance
 Munroe Center for the Arts, Lexington, MA

Beginner Classes & Advanced Beginner Classes resume in the Fall.

Belly dance, in its oldest and purest form brings women together in shared community to exchange knowledge about birthing, self love, self-adornment and sisterhood. The dance’s deepest intention is to liberate the pelvis, free the belly and open the heart.

Lorraine’s classes and workshops use group discussion; visualization, affirmation and the movement vocabulary of belly dance to explore the archetypal yet, often unrecognized themes and issues in women’s lives.
 
Within a group setting, we create safe space that honors each woman’s individual experience and allows her to share her feelings, insights and laughter, while learning all the elements of this powerful dance.

In this class, we build on the vocabulary of sacred shapes, and explore the dance (its deeper meanings and its potential for physical, emotional and spiritual transformation).

To register, contact: The Munroe Center for the Arts, (781) 862-6040 or www.munroecenter.org

 

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Private Lessons
 BrightStones Studio, Melrose, MA

Available upon request.

For information and registration, contact Lorraine at (781) 306-1333 or lareinal@earthlink.net

 

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    Workshops: Summer 2006
   

Priestess in the Marketplace: The Eyes Have It
Brightstones Studio, Melrose, MA

Saturday, July 8, 10:30 am ­ 4:00 pm, Cost: $75 in advance / $85 at the door
The eyes are the windows of the soul.  During performance, we use eye contact in many and varied ways. With our gaze, we create relationship, establish authority, and intensify mood and meaning. We give nuance to the simplest of movements. We laugh, we play, and we flirt.  

In this workshop we will use powerful visualization and imaging techniques to bring conscious control to our use of eye contact and movement. Through these exercises, we will reconnect our visual sense to our kinesthetic body, learning to stay present in our power and intention while dancing.

To register, call: Lorraine, (781) 306-1333 or email lareinal@earthlink.net.

 

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    Lorraine Lafata (La Reina)
    Lorraine Lafata (La Reina) has been a popular performer in the Boston area for many years. She is well known for her ability to infuse her dance performance with love, joy, playfulness and a powerful honesty and sincerity.

Lorraine is an inspiring belly dance instructor, who began her career as a founding member of The Goddess Dancing. She is currently a collaborator in Sacred Source Belly Dance and creator of the Belly Dance As Healing Dance Series. She has published articles on the interconnectedness of belly dance and women's healing.  She is nationally known for her collaboration with Delilah of Seattle, as well as, for being one of instructors and organizers of the first North American Spiritual Belly Dance Conference.

Lorraine has been a practicing feminist psychotherapist for over twenty years. Her practice in Body Centered Psychotherapy for Women combines movement and body awareness with psychological and spiritual healing practices.

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    Contact Information
   

For questions, additional information and registration, please contact:
 Lorraine at (781) 306-1333 or Email Lorraine

 

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    Body Centered Psychotherapy For Women
   

Lorraine Lafata, LICSW, is an experienced feminist therapist and licensed social worker.  She specializes in working with women who are survivors of violence, sexual trauma, childbearing loss, body image issues and women who are undergoing relationship transition.

 

Her therapeutic approach utilizes the best of talking therapy with movement awareness, pyschosynthesis, EMDR, storytelling and visualization.  In addition to her years as a clinician, she draws on her experience as a founding member of The Goddess Dancing and Sacred Source Belly Dance.

 

For information, please contact:

Lorraine Lafata, LICSW at (781) 306-1333.  Sliding Scale Available.
   
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