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.
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.
