Reserve your spot before doors close on 27th midnight PST.
countdown
00 Years 00 Months 00 Weeks 00 Days 00 Hours 00 Minutes 00 Seconds
For Belly Dancers & Raqs Sharqi Artists Who Are Ready To Become Unforgettable
Maqam for Dancers Intensive
With The World Leading Maqam & Taqsim Mentor, Maya Youssef
In just two months, learn real, authentic musicality from the inside out. Understand the flow of taqsim and connect deeply to the emotion of the music, so you can transform your dance into powerful art that your audience feel in their heart—until you’re no longer just moving to the music, you become the music.
No theory. Made just for dancers.
As seen in
Maya's Classes Are Treasures
Maya Youssef’s classes are treasures! I highly recommend them to all dancers.

Whether you are brand new to Raqs Sharqi and find Arabic music intimidating, or you are an experienced dancer who have been dancing for decades, Maya has valuable knowledge to share.

Her clear and comprehensive method makes maqam feel accessible and you don’t need any prior music theory to benefit.

Maqamat were still something mysterious to me until Maya. Her workshops clarified a lot!

Maya’s teaching style resonated deeply with me because it was very practical and understandable. Maya also has a sparkling, charming personality and her classes are a lot of fun!

❤️🙏🏼💕 Shukran, Maya!

 Jalilah

 Producer of the "Jalilah's Raqs Sharqi" album series
Canada
You’re Not Lacking Musicality! You Were Never Taught to Listen.
You’ve drilled the technique.
Polished the choreography.
Refined your stage presence…

But when the melody shifts…
When the emotion changes…
When the taqsim flows…

You feel it.

Something deeper is happening beneath the surface—
And you know you’re missing it.

Outside, you’re smiling.
Inside, you’re guessing.
Hoping to catch up with the music.
The Way Musicality is Taught To Dancers is Deeply Broken.

And it has nothing to do with you.

So you take workshop after workshop, searching for answers.
And what do you get?
👉 “Just listen more.” (As if guessing ever led to clarity.)
👉 “Taqsim is just improvisation.” (It’s not—it’s a clear emotional map.)
👉 “This maqam is happy, that one is sad.” (As if the soul of Arabic music fits into two words.)
👉 “Follow the rhythm.” (Except taqsim often has none.)
👉 “Just translate the lyrics.” (Except the emotion isn’t in the lyrics.)
👉 “Study Western music theory.”
(Nonsense—you’re not dancing to Bach, are you?!)
You’ve simply never been taught the hidden language of the melody—
Or the living, emotional flow of taqsim: Maqam 
Maqam is the source of everything.
The melody.
The tarab.
The taqsim.
The emotion itself.
All come from maqam
And yet, most dancers have been dancing blind! 
Told to focus only on rhythm… or lyrics…
To “just feel it.”
To translate words instead of listening to the melody.
But no amount of technique, costumes, or makeup will ever compensate for a lack of connection to the music. 

Real musicality is what your audience feels in their heart and soul — that’s what makes a dancer unforgettable and thats exactly what this program is all about. 
For the first time ever in the history of the dance community, I’m sharing tools that have never been taught before.

Tools to awaken your ear
So you can finally hear, feel, and embody the music
In a way that transforms your dance from the inside out.
No One Breaks Down Maqam and Taqsim Like Maya
Maya is an engaging instructor and artist with a lot to offer.

I’ve been studying Arabic music and working with musicians for many years, and I’ve never come across someone who explained Maqamat and Taqsim in such an understandable and approachable way — especially for non-musicians.

Learning with her deeply enriched my own knowledge and I look forward to studying with Maya again in the future!

Shahrazad

Dancer
Egypt/ USA

Schedule & How Maqam for Dancers Works

Starting October 27th, 2025, we’ll journey together for 1.5 months inside a focused, interactive learning experience that runs until December 11th, 2025.

Then, you’ll have a one-month integration break over the festive season — time to revisit the recordings, practice, and absorb everything you’ve learned at your own pace.

In January 2026, we’ll reconvene to complete the program together, bringing fresh perspective, deeper embodiment, and a renewed connection to the music.

You’ll find all the exact call dates and times listed here.

During the program, you’ll get everything you need to finally hear, feel, and embody Arabic music — without years of dry theory or trial and error.

Here’s what that looks like:
✅ Weekly Zoom Group Sessions —dancer-friendly breakdowns of iconic dance songs & Taqsim, recorded and searchable so you can return anytime. You will receive lifetime access to everything. 

✅ Dedicated Q&A Calls A safe friendly space to ask, explore, receive personalised feedback and clear what’s been confusing you. Get ready to collapse decades of confusion into intuitive instant clarity in a way made just for dancers. 

✅ Private Student Community Access Maya directly and a circle of dancers from all over the world on the same path, here to support and celebrate your growth.
Meet Your Mentor: Maya Youssef
I’m the world’s leading Maqam & Taqsim mentor, an internationally celebrated and multi-award winning musician and composer — known by the BBC as the “Queen of the Qanun.”

I grew up in Damascus, Syria, immersed in the rich tradition of Arabic music, and trained at one of the Arab world’s most prestigious conservatories. Later, I earned my Master’s in Ethnomusicology from SOAS University of London, where I also taught Maqam.

Along the way, I’ve been recognised as an Exceptional Talent by Arts Council England, performed on stages like the Royal Albert Hall and WOMAD Festival, and shared my music across the globe.

But what matters most is this: I’ve helped hundreds of dancers and music lovers from all over the world finally connect to the heart and soul of Arabic music — and embody it with clarity, joy, and depth.

My method cuts through stiff theory and overwhelming jargon, translating this music into dancer-friendly guidance that feels natural, intuitive, and alive.

Whether you dance for joy or for the stage, if you’re ready to stop guessing and embody true, authentic musicality — the kind that makes your dance unforgettable — I’d love to walk this journey with you.

‘A master of her instrument’

Songlines Magazine

'Exquisite'

The Guardian

'Queen of The Qanun'

BBC Radio 3
Maya Finally Demystified Maqam and Taqsim
I was told not to bother with Maqam or Taqsim — that maybe, after decades of 'listening and feeling it', I’d eventually ‘get it.’ Not with Maya. 

Her method makes even the most complex Maqamat clear without being simplistic. She’s given me the tools, understanding, and support to master Maqam and Taqsim from the very beginning without theory. It’s a true game changer, and I’m forever grateful.

Lene Dalen

Dancer & Qanun Player
Norway

Here is What’s Included Inside Maqam for Dancers

This isn’t a course to tick off. It’s a fully guided, transformational journey that rewires how you hear, feel, and dance to Arabic music. 

What you’ll receive has never been available to dancers before. You won’t find this method, these tools, or this level of insight and clarity anywhere else. 

It’s being taught for the very first time, exclusively inside Maqam for Dancers.
  • ​​​​9 Maqam & Dance Tune Sessions Take nine deep dives into the very soul of the main maqamat used in Arabicmusic today. This isn’t dry theory — it’s a clear, accessible, and fun exploration of each maqam . You’ll recognize the , connecting to the real emotion of the music beyond “happy” and “sad.” Get to know each maqam’s unique quirks and character, and feel its structure, behavior, and emotional flavor — so you can finally bringing emotional precision and depth to every movement you make.
  • ​​​6 Live Group Q&A Sessions
    Join intimate, interactive sessions where you can bring your questions and musicality practice to Clear confusion, refine your understanding, and grow in so you can embody everything you’re learning with confidence, clarity, and flow.
  • 2 Awaken Your Inner Ear Sessions Unlock my 11 intuitive tools to recognize maqam by ear, so you can instantly hear and translate its emotion in real time. No overload — just clear, practical methods that build unshakable confidence in your musical connection. Whether you dance to live or recorded music, these sessions give you the clarity and connection to feel the melody and express it authentically. 
  • ​2 Taqsim Breakdown Sessions 
    Discover the seven hidden stages every musician follows when creating a taqsim — stages dancers have never been taught to recognize. You’ll learn to sense exactly where you are in real time, reflect the internal rhythm of the music, and catch those powerful moments of tarab as they unfold. You’ll recognize the subtle cues musicians send — including when the taqsim is about to end — so instead of guessing or freezing, you finish with relaxed confidence, precise timing, and powerful stage presence, even when performing to live music.
  • ​Private Community
    Join a like-minded nourishing community of dancers from all over the world walking the same path. Share breakthroughs, swap insights, and grow together inside a supportive, heart-centered space.
  • ​ Lifetime Access to All Recordings — Revisit every session, Q&A, and training anytime as you continue to grow in your dance journey. All recordings are fully searchable, so you can find exactly what you need within seconds — everything at your fingertips.
Bonuses:

🎁 Instant Access to My Revolutionary Maqam Home Study Courses: Dive in right away with my most popular Maqam Masterclass and ear-training tutorials. You’ll start building your pattern recognition skills, confidence, and emotional connection to the music from day one — so when the intensive begins, you’re already hearing, feeling, and moving with greater clarity.

🎁 Bonus Masterclass: The Art of Editing Arabic Music
Learn how to cut long tracks down to 4 minutes for competitions or festivals without losing the emotional arc. You’ll know exactly what to keep, what to trim, and how to preserve the flow so your dance always shines.

NEW Dance Tutorial Bonuses:

🎁Dancing the Emotion of “Enta Omri” with Julia Farid In this exclusive workshop, Julia Farid guides you through a shortened version of her Enta Omri choreography — blending technique, musical interpretation, and the heartfelt emotion that makes this song timeless. You’ll not only dance the notes but feel the story behind every phrase.

🎁“Becoming the Dance Partner in Taqasim” with Ranya Renee When dancing to taqasim, your role is to become the musician’s true partner — relaxed, receptive, and attuned, yet grounded in your own structure. In this compact tutorial, master instructor Ranya Renee guides you to refine your listening skills, posture, mental state, breathing, and personal energy, so you can translate the melodic improvisation of taqasim with grace, focus, and confidence.

🎁"Positively Powerful Emotion & Expression” with Sahira Once you’ve unlocked the emotion behind the music inside Maqam for Dancers, you’ll want to express it fully on stage.That’s why dance instructor Sahira has created this exclusive mini-course, guiding you to bring your new emotional depth to life through authentic expression and stage presence. 

🎁"Embodying Tarab" with Roxxanne In this special tutorial, dancer and instructor Roxxanne Shelaby shows how the magic of tarab lives in the in-between — the subtle transitions that weave isolations into seamless, emotive flow. You’ll learn how to make your movement ooey-gooey, fluid, and deeply connected to the music, especially during taqsim.

🎁“Shimmy Technique for Taqsim” with Oriana of Fanoos Magazine. In this exclusive mini-class, Oriana from Fanoos Magazine shares refined shimmy techniques that add texture, variety, and emotional nuance to your dance. You’ll learn how to layer your shimmies with greater awareness and precision — enhancing both improvisation and choreography as you express the depth of taqsim.

Investment
Pay in Full:
£997
3 Monthly Payments of:
£397
For the price of just two fancy dance costumes, you’ll learn real, authentic musicality — a skill that will transform your dance for a lifetime. 

This program is only a fraction of what you’d pay to study one-on-one with me but the transformation you’ll receive will stay with you forever.

✨ Want deeper mentorship? ✨

Upgrade to Maqam VIP (Limited to 5 dancers)

Includes everything in the intensive, plus

🎶 Direct audio and text access to Maya throughout the program 
🎶 Up to three personalised check-ins per week (voice or text or video) 
🎶 Private 30 minute Maqam & Taqsim Zoom session with Maya
For dancers who want intimate mentorship, nuance, and real-time feedback.
Investment
One-time investment:
£3,000
3 Monthly Payments of:
£1,100

Doors Extended to October 27th Midnight PST 

countdown
00 Years 00 Months 00 Weeks 00 Days 00 Hours 00 Minutes 00 Seconds
Learning With Maya is Transformational
CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
Maya truly has a rare gift — not only in her extraordinary musical talents, but in her remarkable ability to bring that knowledge to others in a way that’s not just accessible, but inspiring.

As a non-musician, I found her teaching profoundly impactful. She bridges the gap between music and the world of dance. With clarity and generosity, she unlocks a deep level of understanding for artists of all levels.

Learning from Maya isn’t just educational — it’s transformational.

Jilina Carlano

Executive Producer of Belly Dance Evolution
USA
After 20 Years, Maqam Finally Clicked
In almost 20 years on this dance journey, I’ve listened to many musicians talk about maqam, but no one like Maya. This was my 3rd class with her, and I absolutely loved it.

 The way she shares information, it finally clicks. So much makes sense now, and some of it is very different from what I was taught before... It’s a humbling, never-ending path of learning and growing as an artist. ❤️

Silvia Brazzoli 

Dancer 
Italy

Are you ready to... 

  • Feel confident navigating taqasim and hearing when it's about to end. You meet the music instead of chasing it.
  • ​Connect with the real emotion of the melody beyond rhythm or lyrics, so your dance mirrors the music’s inner story.
  • Recognise the powerful moments of tarab in real time so that you mirror them powerfully in your dance.  
  • Edit performance music with confidence —When you need to cut a 12-minute piece into 4 minutes for a festival or competition, you’ll know exactly how to choose the sections that amplify the emotional peaks — creating a performance your audience will never forget.
  • ​Become unforgettable on stage, connect to the music so deeply that you transform your dance and your audience feel it in their bones. 
Learning with Maya will transform your connection to Arabic music.
Having studied Arabic music for a long time myself, I can say with confidence that Maya brings a fresh spirit to the teaching of maqam. Her visual metaphors, generosity with the details, and upbeat, playful encouraging realness will help you wrap your head around Arabic music.

If you have the chance, work with her. You'll be able to listen to Arabic music with greater awareness, so that you can detect the shifts in feeling between maqamat, and to better predict when the shifts will happen.

This is the emotional content of Arabic music. If you are on the fence, consider that it would take you many years to amass the knowledge that you can get from her in a short time. If you are serious about understanding in a deeper way the emotion of the songs you dance to, from the perspective of maqam, take as much as you can from the experience of working with Maya. It will pay off in your dance.

Ranya Rene

Dancers' Performance & Confidence Coach
USA

Ready to learn real, authentic musicality for life? 

In just two months, you’ll gain clarity that lasts a lifetime — and you’ll never waste time on another vague musicality workshop again.

Is Maqam for Dancers For You?
This is for you if:
  • You’re a passionate Raqs Sharqi or belly dancer hobbyist, performer, or teacher — who wants to connect deeply to Arabic music.
    • You’ve tried to learn Maqam before but felt overwhelmed, left out or confused.
    • You want to stop second-guessing your musicality and start dancing with a deep connection to the music. 
    • You’re ready to finally understand, feel and embody Arabic music without theory or taking years. 
    • You want to feel emotionally free, confident, and deeply connected when dancing to taqasim. 
        This is NOT for you if: 
        • You’re looking for a choreography class — this is about music and listening, not steps.
          • You want a shortcut without doing the work. 
            • You believe "just feeling it" is enough — and aren’t ready to discover the deeper language behind the music.
            • You want one-size-fits-all answers — but Arabic music is alive, quirky, and every Maqam has its own unique story.
            • You want to take the course to reteach the materials to your students — This is for your personal transformation. 
            "Maya is one of a Kind! A true virtuoso musician"

            Salim Sarwe

             Umm Kulthum’s Wanted Qanun Player
            Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
            CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
            From Intimidated by Maqam to Recognizing It by Ear in Seconds

            "I always loved Arabic music but always found Maqam confusing and intimidating. 

            I didn’t think I would ever ‘get it’ — until I found Maya. Her method made everything click. 

            Within seconds I could recognize Maqam by ear… and — for the first time — really understand the flow of Taqsim. I could recognize exactly where I was inside the journey, instead of feeling lost.. 

            Something I never thought possible"


            Roxy Stimpson

            Miss Belly Dancer USA

            Imagine What’s Possible in Just Two Months

            You step on stage. The melody shifts — and you feel it before it happens.

            The taqsim begins, and instead of tensing up, you smile. You know exactly where you are in the music’s journey and where it’s leading next.You sense when a taqsim is about to end and meet the music with precision and powerful presence.

            You intuitively recognize the maqam by ear like recognising the voice of a friend. You connect to the emotion of each melody and reflect it powerfully in your dance. 

            You’re no longer guessing. You’re listening — deeply. You feel the real emotion of the melody, beyond rhythm or lyrics. You anticipate the flow, move with it, and create the kind of performance your audience feels in their heart and soul. 

            When you edit your music, you do it with clarity and confidence — trimming a long piece into a short, emotionally charged story that keeps the full arc of tarab alive.

            You move with confidence. With knowing. With soul.

            You no longer follow the music — you become it and thats when you become unforgettable. 

            This isn’t another music theory course.
             It’s not a dance class.
             It’s not a playlist of songs you’re supposed to “just feel.”

            It is the only path created for dancers to awaken their inner ear, connect to the soul of Arabic music and follow the living flow of Taqsim. 

            This is your moment to stop second-guessing and to 
             become the music.

            countdown
            00 Years 00 Months 00 Weeks 00 Days 00 Hours 00 Minutes 00 Seconds

            Reserve your spot before doors close on 27th midnight PST.

            @Copyright 2025, All rights reserved. @Maya Youssef