Bellydance for Girls & Teens

BellyUp's teen population has grown in the last year which really excites me and we're getting ready to launch our first ever Girls Bellydance program in January for ages 8-13. It often surprises girls and moms alike that in the Middle East there are no bellydance studios. In fact, young girls aren't even formally taught to bellydance. They learn through osmosis from their moms, grandmas, sisters, cousins etc. Just like how all of us learned to dance. Usually by hanging out with our family at festive occasions where there was dancing. We'd simply watch and copy the moves. In the countries where bellydance came from, bellydance is seen as a dance of joy and celebration .. a wholesome social dance. True Egyptian style bellydance is never associated with vulgarity and is based on femininity, grace and charm. Bellydance for many years seems to have been reserved for women but it is truly a fantastic activity for girls and teens for so many reasons. First of all it's fun! Learning to flutter your belly, perform hip shimmies and drops, to fancy footwork and playing the finger cymbals...there's so much variety for girls and it's a great workout too. Bellydance requires strong abs and legs, upper body gets a good challenge, you need stamina and lots of flexibility. Girls love to use the veil and the costuming is so much fun ... even if it's just wearing a coin hip scarf tied around your hips. Bellydance gives a girl a feeling of self-confidence and teaches her how to appreciate and respect her body whatever shape or size it is. I've often found that shy girls find a real home within their bellydance community because it is such an accepting and comfortable place to be and make new friends. Girls get a chance to make a whole set of different friends outside of their school day or other hobbies. And they get to learn a dance form that is pretty unique and special in the Western world. Learning to bellydance also means learning a dance from a foreign country which broadens her awareness of other cultures. There's so much negative news today regarding the Middle East, it's nice that the girls learn to associate this part of the world with the wonderful music these regions have given the world and the joyful, spirited dance that it is. In today's society, girls are bombarded with images of how the media believes they should look ... so much unnecessary pressure and unachieveable images to be a size 2. Girls are starving themselves into a state of malnourishment. Through bellydance, girls and teens are taught to respect, embrace and honour their body and all that makes them unique. Pretty powerful benefits these days! Bellydance can provide a safe haven for young girls that will teach our young women of tomorrow to love her special qualities and the beauty that lies within. And most of all, smile, laugh and dance!

January 9th Open House

Celebrate the New Year with BellyUp on Saturday, January 9, from 11am. to 5pm. with a full day of FREE classes. It's a great way to sample all our fantastic classes and meet our talented instructors. From Egyptian Bellydance with Joharah to American Tribal Style with mighty Valizan, to Eyptian Folklore with Sahar, BellyFit with Kristina, Zumba with Lisa, Marcella & Marina, Ballroom & Latin with Nikki Bergen, Funky Pop Dance Workout with Sahar, and introducing Girls Bellydance for ages 8-13. We've got a hot winter lineup for this long, cold winter ahead so don't sit at home, get up and get on over to BellyUp. Visit our web site for the schedule of classes at the Open House or come and stay with us for the full day and experience everything. Wear something comfortable, bring some water, and a towel...you're bound to break a sweat! And enjoy the beautiful ambiance we've created for dancers and fitness enthusiasts! Tell your friends, bring your mother, daughter, sister, girlfriend and co-workers and get signed up for Winter. We'll have some great deal for new students to BellyUp and incentives for groups of two or more who sign up together. Visit www.bellyup.ca Email info@bellyup.ca or call 905 465 3100. Hope to see you there!

2010 at BellyUp

Another year has blown by and I can hardly believe we're going into our 4th year of business. And they said we were a fad! With so many people who have come through our doors, the many students who are still with us from year one, and the many new women and men who continue to discover our BellyUp goodness, I think it's safe to say we've passed the fad test and God willing, we're here to stay. Just when I thought 2009 was a breakthrough year in terms of all that BellyUp accomplished, the calendar is already full with more firsts to take place in 2010. With a number of international dance artists booked to visit us and share their love of belly dance with our dance community, exciting new class offerings and a fun January 9th open house to kick off the new year, we appreciate you spreading the word and encouraging your friends, co-workers and family members to come join us for a FREE trial class as it's the best way to see what we're all about. Please remember that our classes are ongoing, no registration is required for any particular class time and students can start dancing with us anytime! So here's what's in store for you starting January 2010. January 9th - Open House for Winter Registrations - bring your friends who might be interested in joining BellyUp and let them enjoy free classes with us all day. January 11th - Our Winter Session starts. What's New for Winter? In addition to our regular Level 1 - 4 Bellydance classes, our popular Bellydance Bootcamp, Arabic Drumming with Kevork, American Tribal Style bellydance with Valizan (beginner, intermediate and advanced), Spicey Dance Workout with Sahar, Zumba (Lisa, Marina & Marcella), Saturday Yoga with Liz, Ballroom & Latin (introducing the Tango this winter) with Nikki Bergen, we've added the following: New Classes/Longer Classes - As you know I'm always trying to keep things interesting and exciting for our students and looking for new themes and classes to offer to broaden your bellydance experience. This Winter I look forward to offering longer class times - I've added some 75 & 90 minute intensive classes wherever possible. Drum Solo/Arabic Rhythms Class - We all love to bellydance to drum music, so I've developed a class that will focus entirely on the bellydancer's drum solo, learning about Arabic rhythms, and how to dance with soul and precision to the percussive side of bellydance. Egyptian Folklore - Folklore is the root of all bellydance and we are fortunate to have on our team "Sahar" lead dancer in Troupe Tarab. Sahar has studied Egyptian Folklore for many years and performed with the popular Rhythm of the Nile Folklore troupe in Toronto for 3 years. Sahar will teach our Egyptian Folklore choreography class where students will learn folkloric technique along with a progressive choreography throughout the program. I believe every bellydancer should understand the roots and culture of our dance and folklore is an essential and wonderfully rich piece of the culture that ever bellydancer should experience. Girl's Bellydance (Ages 8-13) - Zaynah from Tarab will be teaching our first Girl's bellydance class and we're very excited about teaching young girls how to dance with elegance and femininity while learning to respect their bodies. Mom's can take the Drum solo class in the adjoining studio with me if they like. Belly Dance Choreography - This Winter each level will be learning a full choreography. Students can use the individual combinations or the entire choreography however they choose. Students at each level will learn technique during the first half of the session and then we will begin to put all the technique together into one amazing choreography. There will be a designated choreography for each level - so no matter which Level you attend and when, you'll be able to keep up with the choreography being taught. BellyUp Hosts Mira Betz - Weekend Intensive BellyUp is thrilled to host the gorgeous, multi-talented, captivating Mira Betz the weekend of March 13/14th at the studio for a weekend intensive. You can check her out on http://www.miramania.com/ and look for her videos on You Tube. Spring Session Starts - March 22nd Summer 2010 BellyUp hosts Mohammed el Hosseny of Egypt - Weekend Intensive Mohammed is in the prime of his dance career and BellyUp is going to enjoy every minute of hosting this extraordinary dance artist, choreographer, teacher/trainer in conjunction with Nourhan Sharif. Visit his site at http://www.elhossenydance.com/ Little Egypt & BellyUp host Madame Fifi Abdo This is the weekend I'll be in heaven, walking on cloud nine with my Egyptian dance idol "Fifi Abdo" in town. Dates and venue still to be announced but this will be a once in a lifetime weekend a bellydancer should not miss! Fifi Abdo is known as one of Egypt's national treasures and I am honoured to be part of organizing her very first trip to Canada. Stay tuned for details. October 2010 - Fat Chance Belly Dance Weekend Intensive American Tribal Style bellydance enthusiasts will have the opportunity to study with Fat Chance Belly Dance director and creator of ATS, Carolena Nerriccio along with Megha Gavin for an entire weekend at BellyUp. They'll be at BellyUp for a weekend intensive, October 23 & 24th, 2010. Registration details to follow. Visit www.fcbd.com

Fifi Abdo - Coming to Toronto!

BellyUp & Little Egypt Present Fifi Abdo Summer 2010 First time ever to Toronto, Canada

Yes belly dancers and Fifi Abdo fans, you heard it here first. Today, Little Egypt & BellyUp BellyDance announced that we'll be presenting the legendary Fifi Abdo in Toronto, next Summer 2010. I'm so excited I can barely type! Plans are currently underway to give the one and only Fifi Abdo the warmest Canadian welcome she could ever imagine! This is Madame Abdo's first time to Canada...and hopefully not her last!

Little Egypt and BellyUp are planning a weekend belly dance intensive starring Fifi Abdo along with other master instructors from Egypt and around the world. There will be a wonderful variety of workshops to attend and of course the opportunity to study with the "Queen of Cairo" herself is enough to make every die-hard Fifi fan shimmy with delight.

I had the opportunity to meet and study with Madame Abdo in Dallas last year and she was every bit the Fifi Abdo that I had hoped she would be. Fifi on DVD is amazing. But Fifi in person is unequivocally larger than life. She's long been my inspiration and my most favourite Raqs Sharqi idol as I know she has been for so many, many dancers. I found Fifi a wonderfully generous teacher. She is funny and witty and loves to laugh. You quickly see how her charm and presence made her one of Egypt's national treasures. Not to mention her mezmerizing technique. In each workshop you could see how much she enjoyed the fact that so many North Americans women ... and men ... love Raqs Sharqi ... and love her! And she just kept on giving all that she could as she taught us her signature moves. Asking us "More?" and of course we all said "More Fifi, more! ". To which she laughed and happily gave us what we wanted. No wonder she is so adored! I just couldn't take my eyes off her. And those heavenly, heavenly delicious shimmies! Basically time stood still as I watched her dance (and believe me I made sure I was so close to the stage during the workshops I could practically light her cigarette). Her show on the Saturday night was nothing short of viva la Fifi! Amazing! She performed almost non-stop though there were at least 3 or 4 very fast costume changes that one barely noticed. You were just getting over the powerful effects of one performance when she'd enter again ready to blow our minds for yet another. One thing's for sure about Fifi Abdo, the woman knows how to work a room! And that she did. My ears rang with the loud cheers of people on their feet screaming "Fifi Fifi Fifi...." which only got louder once she took center stage. She stood their looking radiant in her cabaret costume, hands on hips and asked the crowd "Do you love me?". And the crowd went insane! I'll never forget that moment. She had us on our feet many times and I was sad the show came to an end. At the end of the workshop weekend Dee Dee held an auction for a life sized Fifi Poster which of course I had to bid on. Well I won the poster and Fifi gave me the biggest hug and autographed it for me in Arabic. I couldn't wait to get back to BellyUp to frame it and hang it in our new location. Fifi now sits in BellyUp's main entrance where I greet her every single day. It is my great honour and priviledge to be part of hosting Fifi's very first time in Canada. To bring Fifi Abdo to my hometown to share the incredible experience I had with her last year with so many other belly dancers in my community is a dream come true and then some.

We'll be announcing more details in the weeks and months to come about the Summer 2010 Fifi Abdo weekend! So please watch this space and our web site for more updates as we have them available. Feel free to email me with any questions at info@bellyup.ca and you can visit both BellyUp and Little Egypt web sites for updates & information regarding weekend details and registration in the coming months ahead. So while Summer 2009 may be quickly coming to and end, you now have big plans to look forward to Summer 2010. And for many of us, it can't get here fast enough!

Art of the Drum Solo with Joe Srouji & BellyUp

Last night was a complete blast. I've been working with Joe Srouji from Layali El Sharq band for some time now and he's not only a talented and gifted drummer, he's also a whole lot of fun to hang out with. Not in the least daunted by 15 sweaty belly dancers, Joe played the Dumbek non-stop as the girls danced away... hardly able to keep their feet moving because they were so in awe of Joe's fingers at work on the Dumbek ... like nothing they'd seen before. Not only that, he gave the girls some great insights into what to look for in terms of rhythmic changes in the music and more. I'm looking forward to working more with Joe and from the many happy emails I received this morning regarding last night's Bootcamp and Choreography classes with myself and Joe...everyone is looking forward to seeing more of Joe Srouji! Thanks Joe from all of us at BellyUp who had such a great time with you yesterday. P.S. You have to look hard for Joe in the pic above. He's in the middle surrounded by belly dancers! Did I mention he said that was the hardest part of his job? lol.

Summer Time and the Dancin' is Fun!

Yay...it's summer time which also means vacation time for many. I've always enjoyed getting some time away from the studio to take part in a belly dance retreat...for me that's vacation bliss! Some place I can take off my teacher hat and immerse myself as a student along with other dancers looking for some dancer nourishment and revitalization. In addition to having my work days filled with teaching lots of classes at BellyUp, much of every day is spent researching, practicing and developing my class plans and curriculums, choreographies and teaching concepts for the studio and workshops. So the opportunity to get away and take a variety of Master classes with some of my favourite Egyptian dancers and teachers is heaven to me. Next week I'll be off to Dallas for Little Egypt's version of Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival and I'll be in classes Thursday through Sunday with Aida Nour, Asmahan, Lubna Eman all from Egypt and Zahra Zuhair from the U.S. I can hardly wait! And can hardly wait to get back and share all the cool things I'm sure I'll have learned.

Since many of you might be deciding where to go on summer vacation, it's also a good time to think about where you want to go with your belly dancing. And you have many options. Do you want to join a dance troupe? Perform at a student hafla or next year's student recital. Make your very first costume. Take some private lessons and work on your first solo dance. Work on some areas you want to improve on. Whatever option you choose, it'll require setting some goals and with September around the corner, it's a great time to map out your plan and get ready to dig into achieving your dream. And if you need help in mapping out your direction, you can always speak with me as to the best route to go. We'll take some time to sit down together and discuss where it is you want to go. An assessment of your dance and where it's at is a valuable tool in helping you to make progress. We're our hardest critics so the chance to sit down with your teacher one-on-one and find out what you're doing well and areas you'll want to focus on can really give you the big picture and a workable action plan to help you move forward. Know that whatever you choose to do, you'll do it well, with passion, dignity and pride in your dance and you'll look back this time next summer and reflect on how far you've come in such a short time.

Let Yourself Go!

For beginner bellydancers and often more experienced bellydancers, letting go in your dance is tough to do. We deal with all sorts of inhibitions, self-image issues and fear of failure. Make the choice to give your mind and body permission to let go, even be someone else if it helps you shake off the inner voices that are preventing you from experiencing the joy of learning and the rewards associated with bellydance. Appreciating your curves, accepting your body and the way it moves, feeling how your body enjoys the movements and how much looser it feels to perform a figure 8 than it did 10 weeks ago. Take the leap of faith and know that as you continue your studies in bellydance you will continue to grow in knowledge ... with every step you take ... you're going in the right direction. Let go of your fears and dance with joy and a smile!

Summer Festivals with BellyUp

Summertime at BellyUp always starts out with a busy performance schedule and this summer is busier than ever! Our festival schedule kicked off last week with the Asian Heritage Festival at Bronte's Police Headquarters. BellyUp's Tarab ensemble performed and engaged the crowd with plenty of bellydancing and fun.

Town of Milton Festival

Today Tarab and Maya Fire head to the Town of Milton's street festival to perform at 4pm. The day is looking lovely and not overly breezy for Tarab's chiffon skirts and veils. Always a challenge when performing outdoors. lol.

City of Brantford

Tomorrow we board the BellyUp Hummer aka Zsa Zsa and head to Karima Helou's bellydance showcase for the City of Brantford. She was gracious to invite Tarab and Maya Fire to perform along with a number of other local area dance troupes. And BellyUp's ATS instructor, Valizan will also be performing. How fun to be part of our extended community's bellydance scene. We really love these opportunities to dance and hang out with so many talented artists.

Charity of Hope Event, Oakville Conference Center

Next week Tarab and I head to the Oakville Conference Center along with Middle Eastern band Layali El Sharq to perform several shows at the annual "Charity of Hope" fundraiser for kids. The theme is "Arabian Nights" and with the Layali El Sharq band accompanying us, the night is sure to be a big success. Tarab will engage the guests with their dazzle and one of our students Hayley will do mini-Henna tattoos for the ladies. I have a few sets to dance on stage with the band and we have a few surprises in store for the audience.

Halton Multicultural Day Picnic

Next Friday, we've been invited back to perform for the Halton Multicultural Day Annual picnic. This is a lovely outdoor setting in Bronte's park off Burloak. We're always received so warmly and I know this year the folks will love the show - again a few fun things up our sleeves for the audience to engage them and bring them into the world of bellydance.

Tarboosh Tent Saturday Night Shows

Saturday nights, we continue to perform at Tarboosh Tent at Upper Middle & 8th Line in Oakville and we draw a fun crowd eager to take in a live bellydance show while relaxing and noshing on Nagua's fabulous Middle Eastern fare. I often think about Nagua's Baklava while I'm performing. Makes me undulate and shimmy stronger so I can afford a few calories at the end of the night! lol.

BellyUp & Canada Day (Bronte, Burlington & Milton Shows) And before we know it Canada Day will be here and we'll be into July. This Canada Day, Tarab and Maya Fire are excited to spend the entire day entertaining in three shows in three different locations. We're calling it the BellyUp Road Show. We start the day performing at Bronte Harbor's Canada Day festival at 12:30pm. Then we head to the City of Burlington for a 30 minute show at 3pm. Then head home for a bit of a rest and a costume change, and head out to Town of Milton for a 7pm. show. It'll be an exciting and fun day ... and the bbq and pool will be waiting for all the dancers back at my place so they can rest up and have a place to rejuvenate.

And inbetween all these shows, BellyUp's dancers are kept busy being hired to entertain at private garden parties, family celebrations and company events. Never a dull moment and we enjoy every second of it!

Be sure to check out our web site for event updates. http://www.bellyup.ca/

Student Troupe Auditions

Last Wednesday night, a group of enthusiastic BellyUp students participated in our first audition to create a brand new student performance troupe. We started with a one hour choreography class to "Move Your Belly" which the girls loved. They worked so hard, asked good questions and were absolutely focused. After the first hour, we took a break and then got back to work to finish the choreography. I chose this song as it's got a great rhythm...not too fast....not real slow but has a wonderful groove that I thought the girls would enjoy. Plus it's a piece I use in class frequently so I knew they'd be familiar with it. Most of the technique was from the Level 2 vocabulary and I threw in a few new steps that they had to quickly master. OK so there was a bit of fear in the room when I brought those moves out! lol. But they soon nailed the steps, determined to learn. I saw plenty of grace, rockin' undulations, poise, some good stage projection (but I nagged them I wanted still more!). Overall, I was really excited to see some strong potential in this group...ok I'll admit, I was visualizing them in fabulous Sahar Okasha costumes from Egypt. But those of us performers know, it takes alot more than a gorgeous costume to make a good dancer. I really wanted all the girls to have a chance to put their best foot forward (figuratively and literally) so I decided to give them an extra week to practice the choreography and we'll do the videotaping next week. Lou Lou was leaving on vacation so she decided to do her audition right after rehearsal. Now she's on vacation biting her finger nails. lol. We also got a chance to sit and discuss what they could expect from the audition and what life would be like as a troupe member. I emphasized that I consider troupe members to be BellyUp Ambassadors. Our student performers inspire many women to try bellydance and it's important that we're aware of how important our role is in presenting bellydance as an art form and also as a dance form that is accessible to all women of any age, shape and size. That has always been a very important message for me to communicate. Also our student performers must have a passion for this dance form and a hunger to learn all they can about it, its culture, history, the famous dancers and musicians, and importantly the music - because as dancers the two are intertwined completely. Being a troupe dancer, is more than showing up every week for rehearsal and a lot more than just having an opportunity to wear a beautiful costume. We are each responsible for working hard at our craft and improving our technique so that we give this dance form and those who created it the respect it deserves. And as Jim Boz put it, Western dancers must look at this dance through Eastern eyes. Life as a troupe member is busy and there are quite honestly sacrifices that often have to be made. There's at least one long rehearsal each week and more if we're preparing for a show. On top of that, students have to keep up with their own class time which is mandatory as well as at-home practice to rehearse choreography. Each member is responsible for being fully prepared for weekly rehearsals otherwise teammates are let down. And multiple absenteeism is grounds for dismissal. At the end of the day, a troupe is a team. Some people and some dancers work better as soloists. Some people work better as a team. And as part of a team, you need to leave your ego at the door because there's no room for an "all about me" attitude. So troupe life definitely requires commitment and a particular mind set and openess to feedback in order to get better. Those who can make the commitment, will enjoy a sisterhood that's hard to match and a wonderful life experience. Your dance learning curve is quickly accelerated by the additional class time, rehearsals and coaching. You benefit from an enormous amount of dance instruction above and beyond your class time which is at no charge. I've always been willing to invest a great deal of time and passion in developing dancers and helping those who really want to perform and excel at it, do so. In turn I ask for their dedication and commitment to work hard and do their best! Like anything, motivation comes from within, all I can do is help provide the tools and foundation to help you do it well! Some women see bellydancing as a hobby and come and go from the dance. But many and more and more often, women realize that bellydancing is something they cannot do without in their lives...because it's in their blood. As for the audition next week, I'm looking for each girl to simply SELL ME!! To show me what they've got through their enthusiasm, emotion, and attitude in their performance. And you don't have to be a professional to show that you love what you do. Raks Sharqi is a form of entertainment and as dancers that perform, we owe it to our audience to give them more than what they expected to see. Audiences want to be transported to another time, another era, and be entertained if only for a few minutes. BellyUp's mantra has always been dance from the heart and that's what I look for in our troupe members....the ability to smile and have fun and share that with those we're fortunate enough to perform for. So please wish our BellyUp girls the very best of luck next week as they perform their routine for the final audition. I'm so excited to see them dance and shine and look forward to presenting you with what I believe will be a knock-out student troupe in the very near future. A very special thanks to all the girls who participated last week. And I can't wait to see you next Wednesday!

BellyUp in Belly Dance Magazine's June Issue

We're excited to announce that BellyUp and our dance troupes will be featured in the June issue of Belly Dance Magazine. BDM's publisher contacted us regarding the proposed feature and we couldn't have been more thrilled. What an honour to be featured in this prestigious and gorgeous magazine devoted entirely to all things Raks Sharqi. Tarab, Ma'ya Fire and Zanubiyah will be covered in the feature with editorial and photos of our hard working and dedicated troupe members. Belly Dance Magazine is published out of California but covers Middle Eastern Dance and Music, events, news and performers internationally. You can visit their web site at http://www.bellydancemag.com/ to get more information on how to subscribe.

Jim Boz is Boss!

When I first saw Jim Boz perform I was a simply a gah gah over him. I had never seen Raks Sharki performed so gracefully and soulfully by a man. I'd seen men perform Orientale before, but Jim just had that extra something that I couldn't take my eyes off of. As a bellydancer I see alot of performers and it generally only takes a few seconds to make an impression on me. When Jim takes center stage...you know it...and he leaves you wanting more. You can't wait to see what will happen next. His playful side with the audience is totally endearing and fun to watch how he melts the audience with his charm and sense of humour. He's confident but not cocky and full of himself. He's flirtatious but doesn't push the limits too much. He's a little bit of this, a little bit of that and it's his own personal style and recipe that has spelled success for this gifted performer. Jim likes to tell the story of how he got into bellydancing. Basically his friends dared him to go to a bellydance class. He took the dare, attended a class or two, are loved it. And so began his journey and over 15 years later Jim is now a worldwide performer, entertainer and teacher travelling the globe sharing his love and his perspectives on Orientale Dance. He's also a musician which is why he has this amazing ear and appreciation for Middle Eastern music. Part of his workshop at BellyUp focused helping students develop an ear for this very particular and different music that most North Americans are completely unfamiliar with. He taught us how to listen to the various layers of the music and how to dissect the music and dance to different aspects of it, then put it all back together again and dance it completely from the heart. I eat this stuff up because to me bellydancing is all out dancing from the soul...more so than right foot here, left foot there kind of stuff. At the end of the day, no choreography is going to make you feel the soul of Arabic music unless you really love it. And for some it's an acquired taste and you have to spend time learning to love it. I feel lucky, that for me, it was as though I'd heard this music, danced this music, maybe even played it all in another life. When I relocated BellyUp to our new location, I wanted a spectacular grand opening. Afterall this was my dream studio and I wanted a dream night that everyone could share in. I called Jim and asked him if he'd be available that weekend for my opening...he said he would be honored to be part of it. I was so flattered! Then I wanted a live band....and Layali Al Sharq was booked to be part of the night too. During the grand opening weekend, Jim and I started to talk about bringing him here to teach a weekend workshop. He fell in love with BellyUp and the people here, and we booked a date and planned the content for the weekend. The months rolled by fast, and voila he was here again in six months. Now I'm working with Jim to plan his next weekend and talking about what creative format we can offer next. He's a gifted, generous, warm and inspiring teacher. I hope that next time more of our students will take part. We had so many fantastic dancers and teachers attend. I thank them all for taking time out of their busy schedules to spend this weekend at BellyUp with Jim Boz.

Dancing with a Superstar!

When I found out Bozenka was coming to Toronto for 3 days to teach I couldn't pick up the phone fast enough to register myself a spot in her 3-day intensive. I had taken her workshops at last year's IBCC and loved her dance and teaching style. Bozenka has toured with Bellydance Superstars and is an international performer and teacher with a bellydance studio in Miami Beach. She was trained by Tamlyn Dallal of Miami. She is as beautiful in person as she is on stage. Not to mention she's as sweet as can be. Her inner beauty radiates. She's one of the most soulful and graceful bellydancers I've ever seen. I always learn so much at intensives like this and love soaking up all the great insights. I couldn't get enough of her unbelieveable arm and hand work, seamless transitions, intricate hip work and musicality. She told us she used to be a musician - ah ha...that's the reason for her ability to identify nuances of the music that are so subtle one could easily miss them. Now I'm chomping at the bit to get back to the studio to practice what I learned and share it with all my wonderful students. You always know it's been a valuable intensive when you're sorry to see it end and sorry to say goodbye to the instructor who's given you so much. Thank you Bozenka!! Joharah That's Sahar and I. We were joking with Bozenka that we were going to make her into a BellyUp sandwich with Bozenka filling. She's a doll.

Bellydance Puts The Spice In Your Life ... by Joharah

For thousands of years, the art form of belly dancing has been based on emotional expression. Through this dance you can express everything you feel. From happiness, love, fear, and anger to passion, sadness, desire, and power. As belly dancers, we represent what we feel and experience in our daily life through our dance. And for students of BellyUp this is a great opportunity to unwind and often work through a lot of the personal issues we face as everyday women not to mention get the workout we need to stay in great shape. Today, we can’t seem to escape the effects of job loss, recession, and the prospect of more doom and gloom. So what better way to step out of the grey box than to step into the captivating, joyful environment that is BellyUpBellyDance ? At BellyUp you can’t help but feel the joy of dance the moment you step through the door. Students will often hear me say “now dance with your face” where I encourage women to show emotion through facial expression. Allowing the music to wash over you and move you is completely essential to relating to the culture of belly dance. For many of us we do not understand the Arabic lyrics of the magnificent Egyptian love songs we dance to. But there is no denying the allure of these passionate and powerful Egyptian melodies. It's been said that our lives are full of contrasts. We work as professionals and Moms. We juggle business plans and budgets along with soccer and ballet schedules. We maintain the house, then try and maintain ourselves. Similarly, belly dance is also based on contrasts. In fact the belly dancer moves like a Chameleon and can change her mood, gestures and expressions on a dime. One moment she’s soft, quiet and relaxed. The next moment she’s full of passion and vigor and moves with fiery hip shimmies, rolling of her shoulders and tossing of her hair to the point of exhaustion. One moment she’s beautiful, strong and as alluring as a tigress, the next moment coquettish, flirtatious and downright mischievous. This is the appeal of belly dance. The emotional range and fantastic grace of movement is what makes a woman feel beautiful. And one thing’s for sure…it certainly adds a much needed sense of spice to our lives. Some women have told me that learning to belly dance makes them feel as though they’re the life of the party … even when they’re dancing in their kitchen by themselves. The magic of belly dance certainly lies in how beautiful it makes us feel to move in this way. It is a completely unique expression of the joy of being alive and for those of us going through challenging times, feeling the joy of life again can often give us the strength we need to pursue and feel positive again. So next time you’re faced with one of life’s curve balls that seem to be coming our way a lot lately, take stock of your life and make time for yourself, just to dance. Because in a world as volatile and uncertain as ours, we can’t afford NOT to dance! http://www.bellyup.ca/

BellyUp students weigh in! Read why they dance.

The inspiration just keeps pouring in from BellyUp students of various ages and experience and I really hope you can take a few minutes to read the wonderful insights our students are sharing about their bellydance experience at BellyUp. The benefits of bellydance are so far reaching and it only takes reading a few of these great stories to see how much we grow as individuals from this powerful dance form. Thank you again to everyone who has shared so far and please feel free to send me your story or add your comments to the blog. Veronica’s Story When I tentatively signed up for level 1 belly dance at Belly Up Studio last Fall, little did I know that my quest for a little bit of fun exercise would lead me to a wonderful studio filled with warm and supportive people and a new found passion for an art form that until I came to Belly Up, I knew very little about. Joharah and the rest of the instructors at Belly Up are not only talented dancers, but they also make everyone feel welcome and I like that there is an emphasis on learning about the culture and music behind belly dance instead of just learning the moves. With movie nights and plenty of opportunities to learn through workshops and classes, I think I’ve found a great place to spend hours working on shimmies and hip drops! I never get tired of walking into Belly Up and seeing the purple walls, colourful cushions and peacock feathers. I love it!! Veronica Stoneman. Krista’s Story For the last 10 years I have had chronic Rheumatoid Arthritis which has greatly defined my physical capabilities and activities. I started taking bellydance classes because I love dance and thought it would be a great form of “fun” exercise. The fun factor has been huge, but to my surprise the classes are also incredibly therapeutic. It's been 2 years now and the impact to my life and well being in general has been dramatic. Not only have I never been so ‘sparkly’ in my life, the low impact movements are great on my joints! I am much stronger, more flexible and my posture has also greatly improved. The studio itself has become much more than just a place to dance. It's an incredibly vibrant and supportive environment that fosters a sense of community by embracing all women. I'm often asked what my secret has been to keeping fit and mobile. I simply tell them - "go to Belly Up!" Thanks Joharah! Sincerely, Krista Rowan aka Aliyah. Marlee’s Story I am delighted to say that dancing as a "senior" student at BellyUp has rekindled the passion I felt when I was a "bellydancer" in my mid- twenties....over thirty years ago! With Joharah's superb teaching skills, encouragement, and high expectations, I am gradually regaining the confidence, flexibility and joy of my youth. Marlee Lamothe. Lucy’s Story When I started classes at Belly Up I had the grace of a penguin. Now after 8 months, I’ve learned a lot of moves and have started to perfect some of the more graceful aspects of the art. One new member even said to me recently “how long have you been doing this because you’re very good”. From penguin to poised in less than a year! It’s a great feeling! In fact I even signed up my two daughters! Here’s what they have to say… Lucy’s daughters: I just love it!! Nicole (age 7)I love it too!! You get to learn lots of neat dance moves from other countries. I like the friendliness from all the teachers and I feel like I'm always welcome. Faith (age 8) Lucy, Nicole & Faith Gruber Aleta on ATS BellyUp has given me a chance to work with Valizan, and my dancing has hugely improved. Even taking a first-level class has given me lots of challenges and I look forward to the class every week. In fact, this is the first class in my entire life that I've forgotten to watch the clock! Thanks so much to BellyUp for providing such a fabulous teacher! Aleta Barbara’s Story Belly dancing has become one of the great joys in my life. Teaching me to accept myself the way I am realizing that I don't have to be a size 3-6 or in my 20's to be feminine,graceful and elegant has been life altering. We as mothers,daughters,wives never seem to take enough time for ourselves and Bellyup brings out the best in all of us . Joharah has a way of teaching that brings out that special women in all of us. Bellyup has become a extended family for me..and there are few other places I would rather be. Barbara Stewart Sarah’s Story I came to BellyUp as an experienced dancer though totally new to bellydance. I was looking for a new challenge and what I found was a vibrant community of dancers who love to live, laugh and dance! No matter your dance experience BellyUp allows you to learn and progress at your own pace and to do so in a beautiful setting with supportive teachers and classmates. Sarah Horne Chiara’s Story My experience at BellyUp has been very enlightening & freeing as a woman. I have experienced the beautiful art of dance with wonderful rhythms that flow through your veins and actually pump new life into them. Joharah has been an inspiration as her heart is committed to the dance & the people, her energy is a ball of white light. To all who would like to connect with their inner Goddess, BellyUp is the place to do it! Chiara LaRizza Dalia P’s Story I have been thoroughly enjoying learning to belly dance @ Belly Up since September 2008. Belly dance has stimulated all of my senses because of this elegant and expressive Arabic form of movement and communication...not to mention a really awesome abdominal and butt workout! In the classes I have the opportunity to feel feminine, expressive in new ways, enjoy the rhythms, music and lush environment, and often have a good laugh because there is room for humour and it's just so much fun! Dalia Petrulis Susan’s Story Without sounding cliché, joining BellyUp has been one of the most liberating experiences of my life. As a newbie to Halton without a lot of social connections, I realized I needed to do something to meet people. Driving by the beautiful Lakeshore Rd. studio on my way to work every day peaked my curiosity enough to make me pick up the phone, gather up a few gal pals from the office and try out belly dancing. It started off with jogging pants, loose t-shirts and glute squeezes and somewhere along my 10 week journey, became fitted yoga pants, tank tops and a mean shimmy! Not overly shy but at times reserved and self-conscious, I never thought that after almost 2 years, I would be part of a belly dance Troupe sharing this art form with the masses…and I haven’t looked back since! Being surrounded by such overwhelmingly supportive women from all walks of life has been truly inspiring. No matter your age, shape or ability, everyone in the studio can feel like a dancer. This is the one place where women are celebrated for being women – real women. I have met the most remarkable friends at BellyUp who continue to make me feel like part of the family and I am so thankful that I took a step out of my comfort zone and tried something remarkably new. Thank you Joharah for gently persuading me to join the Troupe and continually challenging me to release my inner dancer! Susan C. Glenda’s Story I have been Bellydancing since 2005, and started performing within a year of my first lesson. After two years of learning from the same teacher, I realized that there may be more to learn about the beautiful art, and started trying different studios around the GTA. When I first stepped into the Bellyup studio, I knew I had found my home in dance. The environment is right out of Arabian nights. The people that surround you, from the staff to the students, are welcoming and supportive, and understanding that women of all shapes and sizes are beautiful. Most of all the studio owner, Joharah, is focused on detail and unity in performance, and continues to assist me everytime I step into the studio in fine tuning the art of the dance. If you are looking for a place to not only learn the basics of the art, but to also up your peformance, Joharah and Bellyup is definitely the place for you. Glenda H.

Tarab at Work!

BellyUp's Troupe Tarab shown here is practicing hard getting a new choreography down pat for tomorrow's 3pm. show at the Burlington Women's Show/Tansley Woods Community Centre. Come on out and join us. We'll be there from 1:30-5:30pm. with an on-stage show and lesson with Tribe Maya Fire from 3-3:30pm. Hope to see ya there.

BellyUp Students have a say!

I thought I'd share some of the heartwarming stories that have been sent to me today. I'm looking for more stories that we can share with newcomers to BellyUp so please either email me at info@bellyup.ca or leave your comments on the blog. The one common thread among all these interesting stories is the comraderie that bellydance provides. All the women write about the warm, supportive community of women they have met through their classes at BellyUp. To hear this is very rewarding to me because that's exactly what I try to teach you every week in class. Teaching movements of bellydance is one thing, but the way in which bellydance brings all of us together is quite another. I certainly cannot take full credit for what BellyUp has become because our success as a studio is down to the great energy and spirit you all bring. My vision continues be about providing a place that welcomes women of all ages, sizes and walks of life and when I read your words it's clear we've achieved this. There are so many women in this world who cannot dance or are not allowed the opportunity to dance. So next time you're in class enjoying the moves you're learning, take a moment to dance for all those women that only wish they could be in class right alongside you, laughing and smiling and sharing this gift we're so lucky to have. Jessica’s Story As a woman in her mid thirties who’s never had a dance lesson in her life I can tell you that my primary reason for joining BellyUp two years ago was more about supplementing a predictable, boring fitness regime than it was about learning the fine art of belly dance as a dance form. Well it only took me one class to throw that thought out the window! I was entranced by the décor of the studio the moment I walked in, I was hypnotized by the beautiful music I was hearing, I wanted to learn how to move my body to it as sensuously as it made me feel and, holy cow, I NEEDED TO GET MYSELF A FABULOUS COSTUME JUST LIKE YOURS (I may have one now but I still NEED more)! I’m happy to be a part of a family of belly dance “sisters” that I barely know and see only once a week but whose company I have more fun in than I do with many people I’ve known much longer. I appreciate your teaching and encouragement as I try to develop my own unique style, and your patience as I learn at a different pace than others. You’ve never made me feel like I needed to conform, or that I should be farther along in my abilities by now. Most of all I love the spiritual journey that each belly dance experience takes me on. For me personally belly dancing has become about so much more than the physical reason it was for signing up in the first place. I can’t thank you enough for introducing me to my inner goddess! Prem’s Story At 65, I am reclaiming my life as a dancer while integrating wonderful memories from my past with my present needs to exercise. I’m experiencing my sensuality, grace and artistry in an exotic environment of the beautiful BellyUpBellyDance Studio. As I dance with other women of all ages our collective energy and consciousness brings healing and joy to our everyday lives. Dalia’s Story I was raised with a love for dance. I started taking ballet at the age of 6 in New York City. I was also exposed to ethnic dance, jazz and tango. I then auditioned at a prestigious performing arts, all girls, boarding school at the age of 13 years old. I was offered a full scholarship to attended Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts. Many things happened in my life including joining the Army that kept me away from my true passion which is dance. After many life experiences and personal challenges I made a New Year’s resolution to do something for myself that would bring me joy. Of course that for me is dance. A friend at work saw an ad in the paper for Belly Up, and gave it to me. I enrolled in classes and I immediately felt whole again. I cannot put into words the connection my life and my soul has to dance and music but it is quite a spiritual connection. I feel balanced again. I feel inspired again. I feel happier and fulfilled again. And I have BellyUp to thank for reuniting me with dance. Kaitlin’s Story I started Belly Dancing with my sister a year ago. We have been involved in various forms of dancing most of our lives and we were looking for something new to try. At first we didn't know what to expect but what we found was a strong, empowering yet graceful form of dance that brought us together with women from all walks of life. Belly Up has a wonderful welcoming environment and an incredible community of amazing women that I’m happy to say have become friends as well as fellow dancers. BellyUp’s Troupe Tarab performed at my wedding last year…and now I’m an apprenticing dancer for their dance troupe. Who would of thought that a girl who’s taken Scottish dancing her entire life would now own a beautiful bellydance costume and be learning to perform on stage alongside some very beautiful dancers. Thank you BellyUp! Liz's Story Little did I know when I made my first step out of my box into the studio that it will be a life changing experience to me. I feel like I have fallen in love...with passion for the music... the dance...the costumes..the wonderful friends I meet at the studio. I wake up with it, fall asleep with it and then...I dream about it. I'm learning so much more than shimmies and steps, more than combinations and choreographies. I feel alive and happy and love the way I feel about myself as the magic touches my body, my heart and my soul. Thank you Johara for creating such a safe environment for all of us, where we can stretch and grow into all we can be on so many different levels. You are a true blessing and inspiration in my life. I dance and shimmie through life in a whole different way and love every bit of it.Thank you Johara for making all this happen.Great big hugLiz.

This Week at BellyUp

After a fantastic Valentine's Day party with our guest performers and live band Layali El Sharq (boy did we have fun!) BellyUp is back on top this week with a 30 minute performance at Sunday's Burlington Women's Show. Joharah along with Troupe Tarab and Tribe Maya Fire will be on stage and 3pm. performing and giving a fun lesson to the women in the audience. Plus Kevork of Hands of Rhythm will be with us to drum along with our lesson. Even a drumming circle with the Dumbeks. BellyUp has a booth, so please drop by and visit us and support your fellow dancers. We'd love to see you at the show! There are flyers available at the studio with all the show details.

Tarab and Tribe Maya Fire are in rehearsal mode this week to get ready for the show. Always fun to prepare to perform. We have a few new choreographies we've learned so we're all UNVEILING something new. And when you've been nibbling away the winter months as I have, getting into a bellydance costume is always fun! giggle. Actually once you're on stage dancing to the music and feeding off the audience's energy, you forget what you're even wearing. Besides...real women eat chocolate and last time I measured, apparently we eat a lot of it! lol.

Happy Family Day

Happy Family Day students! Remember tonight we're having an open, multi-level class and you're invited to bring in your mom, sister, daughter to take a free class with you. Class will be taught by Shelina and she'll be giving you a taste of her Funky Tribal class that she hosts every Thursday night at BellyUp. Class starts at 6:30pm. to 7:30pm. Valizan will be there for ATS as regularly scheduled. I'm off for the night relaxing from a very busy weekend of performing. Gotta rest these hips! See you this week. Joharah

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Peacock!

As many of you know, peacock feathers have become the emblem of BellyUpBellyDance Studio. I've always loved peacock feathers. They're incredibly beautiful, intricate and fascinating. So beautiful in fact, I drive an H3 Hummer entirely plastered with them. And if that's not enough, the studio has vases upon vases of hundreds of peacock feathers, our troupe's costume accessories are adorned with them, even my professional photos feature them. God help me if I ever go off them. I thought it would be interesting to share with you some interesting facts I found about the Peacock or Peafowl. Did you know that ....

The peacock is the male variety of the pheasant species. The female is a peahen but both are known as peafowl. They are native to India and Sri Lanka.

Each male peacock keeps a harem of 5 hens which it wins in fierce courtship competition.

The Phoenicians are believed to the be the first to have imported Peafowl to Egypt over 3,000 years ago.

The peacock is mentioned throughout Greek mythology.

In Biblical times, the peacock was transported all over the Middle East as a treasure. In fact King Solomon brought peacocks to Israel.

The early European church looked at the peacock as a religious symbol.

Peacocks are considered sacred in India. Many believe peacock feathers to bring good luck and good fortune.

In some cultures the peacock feather was viewed as evil...the tail seen as the evil eye.

The male peacock's feathers are renewed each year. He proudly display is feathers in the Spring time along with a loud awakening call which is said to sound like a diesel truck's air horn.

The peacock has 200 feathers.

Peacocks are very intelligent and can be trained to come when called.

The peacock flies beautifully and requires a 5 meter runway in order to achieve lift off.

Bellydancers of Cairo Premiere

Tonight a big group of us BellyUp gals got together at the studio to watch the wonderfully enlightening "Bellydancers of Cairo" documentary. As many of you know the only way to quiet down a group of bellydancers is to throw on a DVD of other bellydancers and this one certainly did the trick. It's a fascinating look inside the lives of many of our favourite bellydancers such as Dina, Lucy, Nagua Fouad, the Swedish born Samasen, the Russian ballerina turned bellydancer Katia and many more. What I enjoyed even more was the post-viewing discussion we engaged in. Everyone got to talk about their impressions of the movie and what they took away from viewing it. I think everyone certainly took away a feeling of how lucky we are as women to celebrate this dance form in the open society in which we live. I've always felt a strong responsibility to represent the art form of Orientale Dance with a high degree if integrity and respect. And everytime I watch this documentary I feel even more proud to be part of the society of women that truly cherish this dance. To be able to dance every day, wear beautiful costumes, perform for audiences that really appreciate what we do and how we do it, is a an honour. Thanks to everyone that came tonight for the movie. I've watched it now about 20 times and each time I walk away with something new. Please feel free to add your comments here and let us know what you thought of the film.

Elizabeth's Dance

Elizabeth joined BellyUp about a year ago. I remember the day she contacted me. She told me she'd been bellydancing to the same Neena & Veena DVD (aka the bellydancing twins) for some time and wanted to learn more about bellydancing. DVDs are great but they never can replace what you can learn in a class and I was happy to hear that Liz wanted to broaden her horizons. As good as a DVD might be, it can't correct things that you may be doing wrong. Anyway, Liz signed on and she's been a devoted regular ever since. I don't know if I've ever known a student to practice as much as Liz does. She recently told me that apart from her classes, she practices about 20 hours a week at home. And it's not as though Liz has a whole lot of idle time. She's a busy woman with her own successful business. Bellydancing has become her release and her passion just like it has for so many students at BellyUp. She's so engrossed in class, I almost can feel her level of focus and concentration. One thing is for sure...Liz has a gritty determination that dancer's need if they're going to excel. Sure some days I know she's gone home feeling discouraged that she didn't get something I was teaching, but she never ever lets that get in her way of returning to class to relearn that move and get it down. And while some moves may be harder for her to learn, there are plenty of others she's mastered and feels very proud of. Liz may still have a very long way to go, but she certainly is enjoying her journey of learning. In fact, she's brazen enough to want to perform and through BellyUp there are always opportunities for students to perform. Last year I invited Liz to perform a routine with three other BellyUp students at the Oakville Wholistic Fair. They did a simple, yet moving routine that was soft, slow and very sensuous. Liz also enrolled in the challenging Fall Term Class and learned a classic bellydance routine from Nagua Fouad's CD "The Princess of Cairo". Plus I added on a short drum routine as well to complete the performance. Liz has worked for months on getting these routines down and the other day she contacted me to ask if I'd watch her perform the full routine and give her some pointers which I was more than happy to do. I was excited to see Liz dance because I know how much learning this choreography has meant to her. At BellyUp we learn alot of choreography and combinations from class, but often we don't really take them beyond the class to truly perfect the movements, the arms, the hands, the gestures and the stage projection. And here's Liz still working on something she learned many months ago, still as eager and determined to get it right because to her conquering this choreography means achieving a goal. As I watched Liz perform for me, I choked back tears as I saw her inner beauty transcend the veil that floated behind her as she danced across the studio floor. Her dancer soul emerged and she softly disappeared into the music, swaying with figure eights, hitting all the accents with hip drops and shimmies. She moved well through the routine, posed at the finale and then went on to show off her isolations and shimmies through the drum routine. I couldn't help but give her a huge hug after she finished. I am so proud of Liz. Proud that she found her passion and proud that she stuck with it. In my eyes, Elizabeth has grown as a woman in this last year by leaps and bounds. The lady I saw with quite a few inhibitions is beginning to shed them in a very big way. She lets herself go much more than the lady who attended her first class over a year ago. To me Liz is pure inspiration and I'm inspired as a teacher by her dedication, her discipline and her self-determination. She realizes that learning to bellydance isn't a 10 week crash course. It's a voyage of personal discovery. May our feet never touch the bottom of all there is to learn about the dance, and about ourselves, through the dance. Keep dancing Liz ... like nobody's watching.

This Week at BellyUp

Wednesday Night

The Bellydancers of Cairo Come watch the insightful documentary "Bellydancers of Cairo" from 7-8pm. in the Pink studio. A fantastic documentary with interviews with many of today's biggest performers in Cairo plus many fascinating interviews with famous Egyptian bellydancers such as Dina, Lucy, Samasen , and the legendary Nagua Fouad. This documentary discusses the double standard that exists in Egypt towards bellydance and the sacrifices these incredibly strong and talented women have made in order to dance the dance they love so much. Please be at the studio a few minutes prior to be seated. We'll start promptly at 7pm. No charge! Valentine's Cabaret with Live Arabic Band

At BellyUp with Performances by Valizan, Joharah, Khizmet and Jennifer Dance the night away with our live Arabic band "Layali Al Sharq". Party starts at 8pm. Bellydance Show featuring Valizan, Jennifer, Khizmet of Cambridge and Joharah starts at 9pm. Food by Tarboosh Tent, deserts, and more food. Door prizes...even an Ipod Shuffle as our grand prize! Table seating....a few tickets are left so get yours today! A great night out for friends, your partner or girl's night! Advance tickets only. $65 per ticket, includes live band, show and buffet and all the dancing your hips can handle! Family Day Class The studio will run only one class on Family day from 6:30-7:30pm. This is a multi-level class. Shelina will be teaching this class and as many of you know, she gives a fantastic class full of fun, creative moves and funky music. And if you haven't taken a class with Shelina as of yet...you're in for a real treat. There will be no morning class on Family Day. Only one evening class. American Tribal Class will take place as regularly scheduled.

Valentine's Day at BellyUp with our Live Arabic Band "Layali Al Sharq"

I'm getting so excited about Valentine's Day. I'll take an opportunity to dance with a fantastic live band over red roses any day. We'll have a mix of students and new friends coming to BellyUp to attend our party next week. There are still some tickets left so please contact us asap if you want to grab them. We'll have a lovely evening with some delicious Middle Eastern food from Tarboosh Tent plus lots more to eat. I've invited the beautiful Jennifer Drummond, the one and only Valizan, along with Khizmet from Cambridge ... it's her first time to BellyUp and I'm delighted to have her join us. She's a lovely dancer and has a studio in Cambridge. Khizmet and Rhaeanna gave Tarab, Zanubiyah and myself such a warm welcome at their past recitals, I really wanted to extend the invitation to them to perform with us on V-day. UnfortunatelyRhaeanna already had a date lined up with her hubby for the night. And fortunately Khizmet and her hubby were eager to make the trip to Oakville for the evening. So next week will be a busy one getting ready for the big night. Again contact us asap if you want to grab any of the remaining tickets that we have left.

We're gettin' there!

All the recital teams worked real hard today. Each week I can see so much improvement as the goal of performing gets closer and closer. It's great to see the choreographies come to life with all the dancers. Veronica and Pearl are both working on their first solo's that will be performed during one of the group routines. I can tell they will both do beautifully as will all the girls. I'm having such a great time seeing everyone develop ...even though I have to play the drill sardge which at times means being cracking the proverbial whip to get the girls to repeat and repeat and repeat until I can tell they're ready to drop. Good thing I get them all in the mornings when they're full of energy and caffeine. They're a great group and I hope they are enjoying their experience as much as I am. It will be a very exciting day on April 5th when we get our first show on the road. Especially for their families to see how much they've progressed. I think they'll be quite impressed. Way to go girls...you are almost there!! Keep up the great work as I know you will.

Tamr Henna Workshop - You girls rock!

Last night I held a choreography workshop at BellyUp. Over ten students attended to learn a choreography that was created by the famous Aida Nour to a traditional Egyptian song "Tamr Henna". Tamr Henna is the movie title and theme song to the 1957 classic Egyptian movie starring legendary Orientale Dancer and movie star "Naima Akef". Tamr Henna means henna flower and the vocals in the song were sung by Fayez Ahmed who is singing about the vanishing of her sister as she wonders what has become of her. It's a beautiful song and a challenging one for any dancer to master. Our hardworking students, as always, came ready to work hard for 2 1/2 hours and that they did. The windows were steamed by the time we were done so we knew we worked hard. I broke the song down by muscial phrases or paragraphs and presented each line of the choreography. Then we'd practice from the top, again and again until each phrase of choreography began to settle into muscle memory. A few spots were difficult as the beat is less distinctive and doing your counting became essential in order to get "spot on" with all the accents. But we focused and we got it! One thing is for sure, BellyUp students have developed a strong sense of musicality which certainly helps with a more complex musical arrangement like Tamr Henna . Also Aida Nour's technique is very clean and precise which is why it looks so simplistic, but isn't always that easy. The routine uses the Hagallah, lots of sit kicks, big hip accents, sassy pivots with shoulder shimmies, very slow pelvic circles and figure 8's, Arabesques, hip drops, travelling undulations, plus lots and lots of soft, slow shimmies combined with layered stomach undulations and sharp hip accents. Plus plenty of directional changes to up the challenge level too. Boy were we busy! But by 9:30pm. we were ready to show off our new routine. Fortunately BellyUp's Tribe Maya Fire rehearses on Thursdays so we invited the girls in from the next room to watch. They came equipped with their zils and added the perfect instrumental touch which was alot of fun. Our Tribal sisters were impressed as much with our progress as we were with their zil playing. Great night girls...and as always it's an honour and a privledge to teach and dance with you. Let's get together again and practice the routine some more. Thank you!

Soft, Slow & Oh So Sensuous

This week, our popular Soft, Slow & Sensuous class met with the challenges of the veil. As some of you veil pros know, moving the veil at the best of times has its moments... getting caught in the hair, tossing over the head that just gets stuck on our head, stepping on it, caught in the hip scarf or just plain losing our grip and dropping it. Those are the moments when you just have to laugh at how funny it can be trying to manage the 2 1/2 yards of chiffon that looks so darn easy but isn't always as it appears. And which is why we're thankful for the time we have in class to perfect the art of veil before we take it out on stage. But by the end of class we'd put together a routine where each student contributed their favourite bellydance movement or travelling step and we paired it with a corresponding veil frame and transition. Before you knew it, voila...we were dancing a full routine. Then we put it into formation and practiced it again. The girls danced beautifully and the veil behaved just as it should. Well done girls...next week finger cymbals??? lol.

Some bellydance moves...love'em or hate'em?

We had such a fun class tonight. During the class students started talking about some moves they don't like because they don't fully understand how to perform them. These are moves the love on other people, but they just don't feel as though they are able to do them correctly. I told the class about one of the moves I disliked as a beginner but now love. The Camel backwalk! I felt like an elephant when I did it...clearly I wasn't doing it the way the Egyptian dancers intended! But once I worked on my pelvic undulation, and the weight shift for toe to heel as you walk backward, the move came more naturally. Everyone ended up offering up a move they were having trouble with and voila...we had a productive class helping everyone learn to love the moves they may have disliked. Now with a better understanding of them ... they look good and feel good. We worked on Liz's Arabesque, on Glenda's down step with shimmy, Trish's cross and touch back walk with snake arms and Pearl's soft, slow shimmmy. I came home sore from all the drillin' and hit the Advil! My abs got a good workout too...must have been all the undulations ... or could it have been the belly laughs?

Family Day at BellyUp

BellyUp will be open this Family Day (Monday February 16th) with a holiday schedule. We will hold one Multi-Level class from 6:30-7:30pm. and anyone who would like to bring their daughter, sister or mother to class please feel free to ...their class is on us! The Monday morning class will be cancelled on Feb.16th and again there will only be one class held on Family Day from 6:30-7:30pm. open to all levels. Valizan will be teaching ATS that evening as well. Please confirm with him directly if you are not planning to be at class that day.

Crazy Busy Weekend!

A bit late in blogging but better late than never. On Friday Troupe Zanubiyah finished off their latest choreography and it's going to look spectacular. Can't wait to get the routine polished and it's always most fun when we see the routine done in costume for the first time. Two months until our first BellyUp Student Recital so everyone is hard at work learning new choreographies. Barb has been fantastic helping to coordinate many of the recital plans and she's always there Saturday mornings to get the coffee on and assist with the choreographies so she may help out as rehearsal coach. Troupe Lotus - a group of students who have volunteered to perform in the recital are learning a fun Cane routine. Cane is new to all of them and they're really getting the hang of it well. Aliyah volunteered to teach a beginner level routine to a Shakira song. We've got five girls enlisted to learn this routine which will be very funky and contemporary. Aliyah is doing a great job already in getting the girls up and running with the first part of the routine. It's great to see the studio so buzzing with activity on Saturdays and I'm so impressed with the number of students that have stepped up with interest and commitment to be part of our first recital. Kudos to all of you!! Not only is it a big commitment of time, but for most people it's a step outside the comfort zone. I guarantee you'll enjoy the experience of performing and you'll most definitely impress your family and friends who hopefully will be attending. After rehearsal it was off to gear up for an evening gig ... an Egyptian Wedding I was hired to do and I invited Samra from Troupe Tarab to join me for the experience. Samra had never performed at a wedding before let alone a real Egyptian one. I met Sammy and his lovely wife Maria (Mom and Dad of the Bride) at Tarboosh a few weeks ago. They came to see our show and meet me in person to discuss the details of their daughter's wedding. They asked if I would lead the Zeffah procession and I offered to do that with the help of my handy dandy Shamadan which would literally brighten the occasion. They were also very particular about costume colours so I assured them that Samra and I would compliment the bride's colour scheme. They were more than delighted to see us appear, me in my new Egyptian dress in royal blue, turquoise and gold adorned with lavish bead work and Samra looking totally radiant in Tarab's gold animal print costume and, her headpiece with peacock feathers (of course) Annette had made these costumes for Troupe Tarab. Samra walked in first before me, I followed with the lovely bride and groom right behind me. The crowd went wild. Cheering for the new couple and probably waiting to see if my Shamadan with 8 burning candles would fall off my head. Fortunately it's so tight it feels as though it's bolted on. We did several laps around the dance floor together and all 200+ guests were on their feet, smiling, clapping, and snapping pics. Walking slowing and balancing the Shamadan trying not to spill wax on my costume or my back....naturally I'm still pulling wax out of my hair today. lol The night was a clear success. We had everyone dancing from the moment we entered the reception to the time we left. What a warm, wonderful appreciative audience that participated in all 30 minutes of the show. As we were leaving, we had lots of requests for BellyUp information and many compliments on how much fun we made the first part of their big night. I'm sure that bash went until the wee hours. And finally, today I entertained a group of 13 lovely bellydancers at the studio. Some students of BellyUp and others were dancers and students from Mississauga and Toronto who were visiting us for the very first time. All came to attend my Star Power Workshop and all were eager relatively new performers looking to learn all they could about developing their stage presence and their performance goals. I'm looking forward to seeing them all dance some time in the near future. After 4 hours in the workshop, my day was far from over. Troupe Tarab along with our two new troupe members were arriving at 4pm. and I was really excited about that. Zaynah also was due to arrive with our newest 7.5 pound addition "Ezra" her new, beautiful baby boy! It was so nice to have Zaynah back with us and to grow our troupe with two exceptional additions, Pearl and Veronica. It felt as though they'd been with us for much longer. The fit is definitely good and we're all chomping at the bit to get out there and perform together. The music was cranked and Ezra slept soundly pretty much throughout the rehearsal while Mommy wanted to get up and join the chorus line. Sarah was our DJ which is such a huge help to me during rehearsal. The girls worked hard for the next 2.5 hours as we revised a previous routine and taught it to the newer girls. And now the new routine looks WOW particularly with the size of of the group. And with Zaynah and Sarah hopefully rejoining us real soon we'll be a troupe of 10. Our weekly rehearsals are one of my most rewarding times each week. To see the girls get into the choreography, work so hard and enjoy themselves is what it's all about. All for now. I'll try to update more regularly so as to avoid the massive blog entry. Either that or I'll have to stop having so many fun things happen at Bellyup! NOT.