Ooky Spooky 2026 feat SHARON KIHARA
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Save the date!! And please note that we’ve moved from our traditional 3rd weekend of Oct to the 1st weekend!!
We are so excited to announce none other than fusion legend SHARON KIHARA as our headliner for Ooky Spooky 2026!! We will also be featuring our own Midwest muse, Mae the Bellydancer in a fun workshop!
Workshop and showcase details are posted and registration is now open!
Join us for two days of workshops and a stellar Saturday evening showcase!
Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details!
Saturday Showcase details
(scroll down for workshops)
Doors open at 7:30pm, show at 8pm
Tickets: $20
Interested in performing? Please send an email to [email protected] with your contact info and a video link representing your style of dance. 4 minute time limit. All dancers must be registered for at least one workshop.
LOCATION
All workshops and showcase are held at:
Dormouse Theater
1030 Portage Street
Kalamazoo, Michigan
(Workshop attendees should park in rear and use steps to Door #2.)
********************************
WORKSHOP PRICING
- Full Weekend Package $185 (early bird only, ends Jul 15th)
À la Carte Pricing:
Mae the Belly Dancer Saturday 9am
$45 early bird/$55 after
Sharon Kihara Drum Solo Saturday
$90 early bird/$100 after
Sharon Kihara Return to Center Sunday
$45 early bird/$55 after
Sharon Kihara Dance Your Darkness Sun
$45 early bird/$55 after
To register, please send payment via PayPal to [email protected]. Be sure to list your choices in the notes, as well as attendee names if you are ordering for multiple students. All workshops are non-refundablle.
*************************************
SATURDAY
***********
9am-11am
COMPELLING PERFORMANCES w/ MAE THE BELLYDANCER
I often describe stage presence as the ability to sell the character you are portraying to your audience, and your audience believing you. A compelling performer convinces their audience to suspend disbelief. In this workshop, we'll go over methods to separate your day to day self, from the ethereal character you portray on stage through bellydance. This character doesn't have to be beautiful. They could be ugly, shy or horrible. They could be sexy, confident or intimidating. The key compelling performances is allowing your character to be vulnerable. And it's through that vulnerability, that you persuade your audience to enter the story you built just for them.
11:15am-4:30pm
DRUM SOLO with SHARON KIHARA: Staging Percussive Movement for Dynamic Groups!
This class works with taking choreography to the stage! The first half of class will be dedicated to learning a
drum solo choreography, working with the dynamics of various Arab rhythms, illustrative movements, and the techniques necessary to create clean, crisp textures and shapes. The second half will be dedicated to staging the choreography for group performance, considering the bird's eye view, formation changes, and the emotional impact of group movement to the eye of the audience. This class is appropriate for intermediate level and up.
11:15am-1:15pm Sharon Drum Solo Pt 1
1:15pm-2:15pm Lunch Break
2:30-4:30pm Sharon Drum Solo Pt 2
SUNDAY
*********
9am-11am
SHARON KIHARA - Return to the Center: Let’s Just Dance, OK?!
Let’s get sweaty and WERK. I’m gonna kick your ass old school. Core is key; we will warm up and get down to it! Full body
conditioning, drills, technique and combinations to get you out of your head and into your body! All are welcome, bring water and a little snack for after!
11:15-1:15pm
SHARON KIHARA - Ankoku Butoh no Kokomo: Dance Your Darkness
Art in the service of Revolution? Now is the time. Dance has the power to change an audience’s heart and mind without a single word. How do we make an impactful, emotional impact with our performances? By becoming responsible for our own emotions, our trauma and our pain, of course! Throught the lens of the Japanese performance art style of Ankoku Butoh, you’ll learn the history of this dance lineage, and begin the process of accessing and understanding both collective/sweeping feeling and personal/familial feeling in the body. This class is for anyone, dancer or non-dancer, who is interested in gesture and physical communication and requires no special training or ability, just a desire toexamine the nature of living in a body, and using that body to communicate to others.
We are so excited to announce none other than fusion legend SHARON KIHARA as our headliner for Ooky Spooky 2026!! We will also be featuring our own Midwest muse, Mae the Bellydancer in a fun workshop!
Workshop and showcase details are posted and registration is now open!
Join us for two days of workshops and a stellar Saturday evening showcase!
Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details!
Saturday Showcase details
(scroll down for workshops)
Doors open at 7:30pm, show at 8pm
Tickets: $20
Interested in performing? Please send an email to [email protected] with your contact info and a video link representing your style of dance. 4 minute time limit. All dancers must be registered for at least one workshop.
LOCATION
All workshops and showcase are held at:
Dormouse Theater
1030 Portage Street
Kalamazoo, Michigan
(Workshop attendees should park in rear and use steps to Door #2.)
********************************
WORKSHOP PRICING
- Full Weekend Package $185 (early bird only, ends Jul 15th)
À la Carte Pricing:
Mae the Belly Dancer Saturday 9am
$45 early bird/$55 after
Sharon Kihara Drum Solo Saturday
$90 early bird/$100 after
Sharon Kihara Return to Center Sunday
$45 early bird/$55 after
Sharon Kihara Dance Your Darkness Sun
$45 early bird/$55 after
To register, please send payment via PayPal to [email protected]. Be sure to list your choices in the notes, as well as attendee names if you are ordering for multiple students. All workshops are non-refundablle.
*************************************
SATURDAY
***********
9am-11am
COMPELLING PERFORMANCES w/ MAE THE BELLYDANCER
I often describe stage presence as the ability to sell the character you are portraying to your audience, and your audience believing you. A compelling performer convinces their audience to suspend disbelief. In this workshop, we'll go over methods to separate your day to day self, from the ethereal character you portray on stage through bellydance. This character doesn't have to be beautiful. They could be ugly, shy or horrible. They could be sexy, confident or intimidating. The key compelling performances is allowing your character to be vulnerable. And it's through that vulnerability, that you persuade your audience to enter the story you built just for them.
11:15am-4:30pm
DRUM SOLO with SHARON KIHARA: Staging Percussive Movement for Dynamic Groups!
This class works with taking choreography to the stage! The first half of class will be dedicated to learning a
drum solo choreography, working with the dynamics of various Arab rhythms, illustrative movements, and the techniques necessary to create clean, crisp textures and shapes. The second half will be dedicated to staging the choreography for group performance, considering the bird's eye view, formation changes, and the emotional impact of group movement to the eye of the audience. This class is appropriate for intermediate level and up.
11:15am-1:15pm Sharon Drum Solo Pt 1
1:15pm-2:15pm Lunch Break
2:30-4:30pm Sharon Drum Solo Pt 2
SUNDAY
*********
9am-11am
SHARON KIHARA - Return to the Center: Let’s Just Dance, OK?!
Let’s get sweaty and WERK. I’m gonna kick your ass old school. Core is key; we will warm up and get down to it! Full body
conditioning, drills, technique and combinations to get you out of your head and into your body! All are welcome, bring water and a little snack for after!
11:15-1:15pm
SHARON KIHARA - Ankoku Butoh no Kokomo: Dance Your Darkness
Art in the service of Revolution? Now is the time. Dance has the power to change an audience’s heart and mind without a single word. How do we make an impactful, emotional impact with our performances? By becoming responsible for our own emotions, our trauma and our pain, of course! Throught the lens of the Japanese performance art style of Ankoku Butoh, you’ll learn the history of this dance lineage, and begin the process of accessing and understanding both collective/sweeping feeling and personal/familial feeling in the body. This class is for anyone, dancer or non-dancer, who is interested in gesture and physical communication and requires no special training or ability, just a desire toexamine the nature of living in a body, and using that body to communicate to others.
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Where is it happening?
1030 Portage Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherBoheme Belly Dance
