Free Event to Highlight Hejira and Barefoot Belly Dancers

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Come and enjoy world music with a touch of Soul Rock and learn some Belly dance moves at Winterland Winery Friday, April 14 from 5 to 7pm. Sit back and enjoy or join in. There is no cover charge for this event. Winterland Winery is located 5 miles south of Dushore, Sullivan County, on Route 220.

Don Baragiano (above, left) composes and  performs a multi-cultural blend of enticing, upbeat World Music. Global jazz w/ethnic threads. When Don Baragiano performs his very unique brand of music, he can be accompanied by a drummer, belly dancers and sometimes a vocalist. 

With his band, Hejira, he has performed at many world music and international culture festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest, as well as in New York City, Sedona, Phoenix, Colorado City, Cincinnati, Bloomington, and more.

For three years, Don lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia immersed in their culture where he was an audio engineer with the ministry of finance. When Don returned to the States, he joined the New Europa Troubadours and toured with them for 5 years. In 2001 he moved to Seattle and formed Hejira. He’s recently moved to the Ithaca, NY area.

Zarya aka Karen Black (above, right) is an author, artist and Martial Arts Master who first came across belly dancing at a street fair. The dancers invited Karen to join her and Karen was hooked!

First studying under Tesa at a dance studio in Tunkhannock Karen then discovered Tribal Fusion and began dancing and performing with the dance troupe Izdahaar under the direction of Haifa also from Tunkhannock.

Since the dissolution of the dance troupe Karen has continued to dance with another member of the troupe for fun at senior centers, festivals, fund raisers and recently has opened her martial arts studio once a month to Barefoot Belly Dancers so women can come together and celebrate with dance no matter their body type, no matter their age free of charge.

Barefoot Belly Dance was the brain child of Randele Albers (above, right) another dance member of Izdahaar. This dance troupe meets using group improvisation and is open and free to anyone who wants to dance. Group improvisation is one of the features that make this tribal fushion dance style so unique – the dance itself becomes a way to communicate between the dancers as they dance with each other. The moves in Tribal Style belly dance are barefoot, grounded and earthy portraying the strength and beauty of the dancers.

Belly dance is a celebration of the strength and beauty of women; a dance of the women for the women.

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