Harlem Hafla – BELLYDANCE WITH SOUL! Celebrates Dancers of Color 7pm Sat 6/28 at Robert F. Smith Center for the Performing Arts at Riverbank State Park

Returning to New York for its 8th appearance, Harlem Hafla—BELLYDANCE WITH A SOUL! A Festival Celebrating Dancers of Color, will kick off the summer season with exhilarating daytime bellydance workshops and an evening stage performance featuring an accomplished lineup of performers.

Teacher/performer/troupe director, Brandy Asmara will host Harlem Hafla. This year’s headliner is Master Performer and Instructor, Rachid Alexander, an internationally acclaimed male bellydancer who blends traditional Middle Eastern dance with his own unique flair, expanding the boundaries of the art form, which has given him an enthusiastic global following.

Bellydance is a beautiful art form deeply rooted in Middle Eastern culture, making it a powerfully unifying force across highly diverse communities. Since the dance is ancient, its movements were developed over millennia to celebrate and strengthen the body and people often find they relate to the movements at a visceral level. Yet although the dance was developed amongst Black and Brown peoples, dancers of Color today often find themselves marginalized. Harlem Hafla seeks to remedy this by celebrating and honoring many exquisite dancers of Color.

Harlem Hafla is a Harlem-based annual event that brings bellydance education and entertainment to the community. Harlem is where Brandy is from and where the event takes place. “Hafla” is an Arabic word that means “gathering” or “party,” typically where there is music and dance. During the daytime, classes will be given by an expert in the field. This year the dynamic male bellydancer Rachid Alexander was chosen, because male experts of Color are not typically given opportunities to teach and perform in America.