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