I wouldn’t say that. I WOULD say that it’s not for Beginners. But in this dance form where self-classification reigns supreme, I’m not sure what all that means anyway.

I would also say that it is NOT for someone who has never performed before. This is meant to build on your experience, not just BE it. Think of it as grad school. You must have your undergraduate degree first.

To continue the higher education analogy, please remember that successful performance improvisation is – in many ways - a different skill set from successful execution of a learned – or even a self-created – choreography. So, chances are that some of what makes someone label themselves as Advanced might not fully “transfer".

Those are the components of your Project Band package!  It used to be just Private Lessons, Drills classes, and an occasional performahearsal.  It's grown quite a bit over the years!

"I really want to do this, but I don’t live anywhere near you!!"  I hear this all of the time.

You can do it.

Yes, of course, some of the pieces cannot be the same. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t use this as it is intended to be used – as a tool to advance your dance!

ALOT of changes have been made in this area since the pandemic.  Remote participation in Project Band is actually more practical than ever - with its own package category!  We also have a "virtual only" quarterly performahearsal for purely remote participants.

If you are thinking of traveling to the next GoLive!, remote participation in Project Band is a great way to keep the live music experience active in your mind and body as you prepare for the next year!

And even if GoLive! isn't on your radar, any remote participant of Project Band will tell you that they have had many "aha" moments that have helped them in every area of their dance.

To be reasonable. That’s all.

I realize that this is a significant allocation of resources for people. But it is spread out over a year because the intent is for you to WORK on this throughout the year. If you wait until 1 month before the End of the Year Showcase and try to fit everything in, you will get nowhere near the benefit that you could have gotten!

A lot of the work to be done here is in assimilation and organization of things that you know AS they multiply and expand over the year. You can’t compress that and be successful.

Of course, if you break a bone and must recover for 6 weeks or if you must leave town for some emergency, I’ll work with you.

Depends. On a million things!

You’ll see what I mean. If you are brand new, then chances are that you will get to pick a piece of music early in the process.

Please realize that one of the benefits of Project Band is a better understanding and connection with the music of the Arab world. Oftentimes our inexperience with it causes us to say that “we don’t like that song.” I certainly did that before I had a chance to work with live music.

Trust me. I’ll make sure you don’t hate the music that you have to take onto a stage, and you be willing to expand your preferences.

Deal? Deal.

As a weaning tool, yes.

But if you are on stage with a musician who is pouring his soul into a taksim, I don’t believe that you can express that to me by twirling your batons in a soulful manner.
I want to see YOU. Everyone wants to see YOU - and how the solid mass of flesh that is YOU chooses to express that soulful sound.

So, if you are a baton-aholic, I might let you use your batons for your first live performance; maybe 1 baton for the second live performance, maybe just use 1 baton as an entrance for 30 seconds on the third one, etc.

You know what I mean! 😊

You can get CDs and DVDs replicated at a place called “Dub King” here in San Antonio. When you walk in, there is a sign that says “Good. Cheap. Fast” Pick 2.

For Project Band music, the sign would say “Virtuoso. Niche. Live.” Pick 2 if you don’t want to spend $10,000 or more." But I continue to pick all 3.

And then we use live music for rehearsal throughout the year.  Have you ever hired a band?  An Arab band?  An orchestra from another city?  :-)

I charge $90/hour for private lessons and $12.50/hr for group classes.

Do the math. This isn’t expensive for what you get unless you don’t plan to use what you get.

If you don’t complete 80% of what you signed up to do, then you run the risk of forfeiting your end-of-year performance at GoLive.  But why would you do that?  Take your money and hire a band.  You can dance the whole show!

Here’s the truth: You WILL benefit from the time spent in drills classes, Project Band exercises, and private lessons. Period.

I put alot of thought into what we do and WHY we do it; and, when training for improvisation, there is very little that can be done that delivers NO value in the long run.  Get out of your box.  :-)

You’ll be thinking about it. I’ll know you are thinking about it. I’ll be thinking about you and what can make your performance better, etc.

Welcome to live music!!! I have no idea how much time you will get! Here’s what I DO know:

If you are brand new, I don’t want you out there for 15 minutes and I will tell that to the band – although they pretty much know this now.

If you listen to and connect with those musicians, things can go on longer.

If the AUDIENCE gets into your music or your dancing or both, or even just gets into the way the musicians are playing, things can go on longer.

But this is part of the fun.  Over time, you will grow to embrace the uncertainty of it all and actually find it inspiring and rewarding!

A "performahearsal" is an event that feels like a performance but it's really a rehearsal.

It's difficult for most dancers to frame anything to live music - especially if it's in public - as practice of any kind.  Chances to dance to live music are usually so rare.  They don't want to sacrifice the "good time" or miss a chance to show their best moves (regardless of musical relevance) to execute a deliberate exercise that would expand their movement vocabulary.

But this in Project Band!

Participation at the LOWEST level offers 16 opportunities to dance to live music in the year; at the HIGHEST level - 64 opportunities.  

You can afford to take some chances by performing AND rehearsing at the same time for a while.  It delivers HUGE rewards!!

Very few people quit Project Band.  They have usually checked out the program from a distance and thought about this for a while. They realize that getting through a year of life without a few hiccups is unlikely - but they commit to the program anyway.

If you truly feel like you have to quit due to life circumstances – but you really don’t want to – please talk to me. So very often – where there’s a will, there’s a way!!  

Honestly, I believe this is why more than 50% of Project Band participants pay for the entire year up front.  Life is going to throw you some curve balls over the course of a year.  But if you commit to stay the course, we will find a way to navigate around them.

If that is absolutely impossible, don't worry.   You can simply stop your monthly payments or we can discuss a partial refund of your full year payment if that is how you registered.

The simple answer to this is because live music is more expensive than mp3s.

Exquisite live music even more so.

We hone our listening skills and "hook our wagons" of movement up to the best musicians in the business and THEY help us grow.  Not any musician can do that.

And we work with the musicians ALOT.  Plus the group classes.  Plus the one-on-ones.  

Honestly, the participants in Project Band ACTUALLY pay about 50% of the true value of the experience.

No.

Project Band has a designated registration period and when it is closed, it's closed. 

Every Project Band term is set up for the school year and all participants participate throughout and for the entire year.  

Things will interrupt your schedule, life will happen, etc.  Having an entire year to work on your dance through the prism of performance improvisation to live music will ensure you get real benefit from the program.

This is how I express my form of insanity.

We are all a little crazy. 😊

If space allows, lower level package participants are given a chance to upgrade six months into the school year (usually around April).

Project Band

• 12 month program
• Produced by Karen Barbee and Karavan Studio
• 15-60 performance opportunities to live music depending on participation level
• in-person or virtual Classes and Workshops with Karen and occasional guest instructors
• established in 2013
• culminates in final showcase at GoLive (not required)

GoLive!

• 3 day event
• produced by Karen Barbee and Michael Ibrahim
• one performance to live music, if accepted
• in-person Classes and Workshops with multiple instructors
• established in 2022
• exists outside of Project Band

Project Banders can tell you that we have some of our most illuminative moments about listening when we can draw comparisons between music with which we are extremely familiar and music with which we are not so familiar. We do it in class all the time.

A few years ago, we realized It was time to take that concept to the stage – where studio understanding gets put to the test.

Additionally, when training yourself to listen to music at various levels of details, you need NOT AVERAGE MUSICIANS WHO CAN PLAY ARABIC MUSIC but excellent, confident musicians who can improvise! 

And one more thing!  Many dancers get wrapped up in their heads over "proper dance moves" for this dance and they create a performance space in their minds that is stifling.  These experiences with western musicians help to break through those boundaries of thought. 

This might not be for everyone. But it will be for most, for sure!  And definitely for the deep divers.  AND it needs to be done before being judged.  :-)

Personally, I can’t get enough of this piece and I have seen tangible results that suggest that this is one of the most powerful pieces of the program.

Email me at [email protected] I'll add it to the list!

No. You can’t pause payments.

However, you CAN accumulate hours of classes and private lessons (within a reasonable number) and use them later when your life returns to normal. We can always devise a plan to ensure that you use your accumulated hours as best you can given our respective schedules.

Project Band performance opportunities are planned and budgeted based on attendees and participation levels. It absolutely will not work for participants to pay sporadically.

a. Falling behind in payments by more than 1 month will result in the suspension of participation in any live music events.

b. Participation in the components of your package at a level of at least 80% is necessary to LOCK IN your end of year performance - should there not be space for everyone.

c. Performahearsals

     i. Performahearsals will be scheduled quarterly (Jan, Apr, July) during the first two weeks (on the weekend) of each month.
That’s about all of the planning that can be done with musicians for a year; but I will always try for more.
 

     ii. Unexcused No Shows or Cancellations within 24 hours of a Performahearsal for which you were scheduled to perform will result in a forfeit of that opportunity and will not be reset for a later time.

d. Additional one-on-ones or Drills classes may be purchased at the standard rates; performahearsal opportunities, however, are set by package.

e. Similar to c.i. above – the make-up of musicians for the End-of-Year  Showcase will not be determined until we get closer to the event; however, you can assume that the Ghafour Brothers Band will be a part of the mix PLUS members of the National Arab Orchestra.

f. Project Band is always evolving – even within a school year. Flexibility and open-mindedness are key for all participants.