WAMEDA Annual Members’ Showcase

Coming June 3, 2012

This event is NOT TO BE MISSED! Our Annual Members’ Showcase is the chance for WAMEDA members of all skill levels to show off their dancing.

For details on this event, to pre-register & to buy tickets, please go to the Menu bar at the top of this page & click on “WAMEDA Events.”

WAMEDA Board Meetings

Board Meetings are open to members only. All members are welcome to attend. Please make WAMEDA events a priority when planning your calendar!

Upcoming meetings:

• Sunday, June 10 – Members’ meeting
• Sunday, July 8
• Sunday, August 12
• Sunday, September 2
• No October meeting due to Hafla
• Sunday, November 4
• December: Elections

Message from the President of WAMEDA

Dear WAMEDA Members,
The New Year has begun and in many ways it is a new beginning for WAMEDA.

I have ambitious goals for our organization. This year, I want us to put WAMEDA on the lips of every Middle Eastern Dancer and Belly Dancer in the Washington, D.C. Area and beyond. I want us to focus on new dancers to the art and be a resource of training and information to the next generation of dancers that are passionate about belly dance. For continuing members, I desire for us continue to grow in new ways in our dance art. For example; if you’ve never danced with tambourines or baskets, come to the workshops, learn something new and take your dance to the next level.

Increasing membership is the top priority for our organization and for the board. We have already started by creating a Facebook presence, and I invite you to join. I have also had the wonderful opportunity to visit a dance studio in my area where I told the students (ages 25 and over) about our organization and invited them to become members.

Our organization has existed for over 30 years. From the east coast to the west coast, WAMEDA continues to be respected and admired in the dance community.

Together, let’s take our organization to the next level!
Doris Elias
President, WAMEDA

The State of the WAMEDA Library

Dear WAMEDA Members,

Spring, a time of rebirth and renewal. For WAMEDA, this season starts with the RE-PURCHASE of our library. A welcomed and happy return! This would not have been possible except for all the members and non-members who donated funds to help us in this endeavor. THANK YOU!

The purchase of the library was the easy part! Now that we have the library, we need a functional Library Committee. Currently, we have two individuals who have volunteered to work on the library; the reality is that we need a team of four to six people dedicated to finding a permanent location for the library that is not residential. We need people who will be responsible for cataloguing, mailing and keeping track of materials sent to members and making sure they are returned. Until we have a functional committee that has resolved those issues, we cannot loan out materials. In the library’s current state, it would be impossible to keep track of loans until a system is in place. The Board has satisfied the desire of its members in re-purchasing the library; it is my hope now that members will join the committee to make it functional.

– Doris Elias, President of WAMEDA
 
For more information about the WAMEDA Library & to donate to the WAMEDA Library Fund, please go to the Menu at the top of the page and click on “WAMEDA Library.”
 

Join WAMEDA

Take this opportunity to join WAMEDA now!

Your annual WAMEDA membership entitles you to:

• Our newsletter, covering dance news, reviews, articles and other important info
• WAMEDA meetings with instructional programs and chances to socialize
• Discount to the Annual Winter Workshop featuring local instructors
• Discount to the Annual Members’ Showcase
• Discount to the Annual Hafla Weekend Celebration featuring world-renowned artists and WAMEDA members

You can also opt to GET LISTED as a TEACHER or to list your DANCE TROUPE in the annual printed WAMEDA Membership Directory and in the WAMEDA website’s “Teachers & Troupes” directory.

Please go to the Menu at the top of the page and click on “Join WAMEDA.”
We look forward to welcoming you at our next meeting!

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Contact Us

WAMEDA would like to hear from you! Contact us at info@wameda.org.

We are looking for input from our members. Tell us how we can make WAMEDA a better place for you: What can we do better? What are we doing well? What would you like to see more of?

We welcome volunteers who would like to assist with WAMEDA. Please go to the Menu at the top of this page and click on “WAMEDA Want Ads” to see where our need is greatest. There are plenty of opportunities for you to employ your talents!

Thanks for making WAMEDA a premier dance organization!

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Donate to WAMEDA

WAMEDA, Inc. is a strictly not-for-profit organization. As such, we welcome your contributions to help us further our goal of preserving and promoting Middle Eastern dance, music and culture. Membership in WAMEDA is open to all persons who share these interests. Join us in promoting and preserving the appreciation and study of Middle Eastern Dance.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to WAMEDA, Inc., we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your generosity!

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Board of Directors 2012

Chair: Jerry Thompson
Vice Chair: Verna Thompson (Cha L’Mar)

President: Doris H. Elias (Ayaan Serene)
Vice-President: Verna Thompson (Cha L’Mar)
Secretary: Revella Russell (Razzi)
Treasurer: Jerry Thompson

Newsletter: Betty Pendergast (BatheSheba)
Library Committee: Cherie Mitchell (Chantel) and Joyce Jackson (Jamiel Bient)
Membership Committee: Verna Thompson (Cha L’Mar)
Programs: Anna Vermillion (Cyra Khurren)
Publicity: Doris H. Elias (Ayaan Serene)
Hafla: Verna Thompson (Cha L’Mar) & Anna Vermillion (Cyra Khurren)
Webpage: Susannah Challis (Shagoura)

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House and courtyard in Tzfat		House in Jaffa

Two Middle Eastern homes built of local stone. Notice the railings (left) and shutters (right), painted blue in the traditional manner, in order to ward off the evil eye.

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