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Music, Dance and Culture
Study Tour to Marrakesh Folklore Festival with Helene Eriksen

JULY 15-25, 2010

Come with us on the trip of a life time to the vibrantly historic city of Marrakesh for the acclaimed Festival of Popular Arts.

Your guide is Helene Eriksen, dance ethnologist and dancer with over 30 years of experience in the field.

She has collaborated with our hostess Gita Sellmann, dance scholar and president of Academia Arabesca on organising tours to Marrakesh since the early 1990's. Together they form an exceptional team that will make your stay in Marrakesh especially deep and connected to the local communties and traditions.

Our hostess Gita Sellman dancing in the Academia Arabesca

Gita has lovingly restored an old Riad that used to be the palace of the vice Sultan of Marrakesh. This is the home to Academia Arabesca, an institute devoted to the cultural traditions of Morocco. This lush historic palace will be our home for 10 days and will provide a lovely oasis to retreat to after our exciting excursions to the festival; the souk for amazing shopping; the World Heritage Site Djema Fna with it's food stalls, Gnawa musicians, snake charmers and witch doctors; and sumptious dinners often with live music and dance.

We will visit the cities sights and tastes: Jardin Marjorelles, Badi Palace, Bahia Palace, Bert Flint Museum, Saadi Tombs, Djema Fna square, the Souk, the Koutoubia Mosque, Ben Youssef Madrassa (Quran School) and a local (not touristy) hamam (Turkish bath). Every day will be a new culinary adventure as we visit restaurants from simple home -style fare to suptious palaces with delectable goodies...Moroccan cooking is really one of the world's great cusines! Ride in a horse carriage throught the evening starlit streets. Visit a berber mountain village for some fresh air, waterfalls, visit to a Berber familly and an outdoor meal. Learn the basics of Moroccan urban social dance and rhythm with Helene and locals.

And of course the HIGHLIGHT: visit the amazing Festival of Popular Arts with traditional dancers and musicians (this isn't staged choreographed stuff...but the REAL THING) from across Morocco. This year's artists include:

Traditional Folk groups: Abidat R'ma, Ahidous Ain Orma, Ahouachs Imintanout, Ait Hdidou, Ouarzazate et Tissint, Aissawa, Dekka, Gnaoua, Guedra, Hassada, Houara, Menghouchi, Rokba, Taskiouine, Tazouite, Tkitikat et Ghiata..

Music groups: Tahour, Hadj Abdelmoughit, Ghninou, Tagada, et cheb Amine, and young stars of the new pop generation such as Mwansa, Tiraline, Mayara Band, Chouf T Chouf, Gnaoua Stone, Zazz Band et Style Souss.

This is a wonderful video of the 2008 Festival

REGISTER NOW!

DATES: JULY 15 - 25, 2010
COST: TBA
INCLUDED: Airport transfers, accomodations with breakfast and refreshments all day, one main meal per day, all activities mentioned above.
NOT INCLUDED: airfare, airport taxes, travel insurance, visas (20$ for US citizens, available at the airport, free for EC citizens), extra activities, private music lessons, extra meals, tips for musicians at your discretion.
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 15 participants
REGISTRATION: 500 Euros is due upon registration. The full sum is due by June 1st. In the US you can send me a personal check in dollars. In the rest of the world you can make a bank transfer to my German account. PayPal is also possible. If you pay in dollars we will calculate the exchange rate at the time of the trip...so be prepared to adjust for any fluctuation in the exchange rate. I will send payment information with the registration forms as an email attachment at your request.