New Bellydance Session 

New session starts tonight at Mahasti – The Bellydance Emporium. We’ll be working on Sahar Samara’s absolutely fab entrance number with some combos thrown in from her amazing summer workshops with Ya Amar (check out their upcoming line-up of instructors – pure fire!).  7:10PM Part 1. 8:15PM Part 2.  I recommend an absolute minimum of 6 months bellydance experience before hopping into choreography class (even more helpful if that experience is with Mahasti). I make these recommendations because I really want everyone to have the best possible time.  There is little to no breakdown in a choreo class.  It’s expected that you can travel with shimmies, spin & isolate among other snazzy steps ❤ Students who attend all 4-5 weeks of choreo class are given an invitation (never a summons ^_^ ) to perform at Harem – Bellydance Show in Hamilton.  If that doesn’t sound like you (or you’d rather not do choreo) we have lots of drop in, basic & drilling classes to keep you busy or get you there! hamiltonbellydance.com

What’s Your Self-Care Plan for 2018?

selfcare

We would love to be a part of your self-care plan for 2018! Self-care is not (just) about indulgence, it’s about creating a life with healthy habits & people in it. Check out some of the benefits of dance on both our mental & physical well-being:

“Through regular aerobic training that incorporates some type of dance at least once a week anyone can maximize his or her brain function.”

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201310/why-is-dancing-so-good-your-brain

“regular dancing is great for losing weight, maintaining strong bones, improving posture and muscle strength, increasing balance and co-ordination and beating stress” (NHS).

“When dancing an ample flow of mood-improving chemicals is released helping to elevate our mental state; even one lively dance session has been proven to reduced depression in comparison to vigorous exercise or listening to music according to research conducted by The Arts in Psychotherapy.”

“Additionally, whilst the physical movement of dance helps reduce stress, anxiety and depression, dancing with others also helps us feel more connected and social. Dance classes can encourage social bonds and friendships which are key factors in improving our mood and mental health.”

https://www.ids.co.uk/blog/the-benefits-dancing-has-on-mental-health/

“studies show that dance helps reduce stress, increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, and helps develop new neural connections, especially in regions involved in executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition.”

http://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain-series/dancing-and-brain

Specialty Bellydance Classes Coming to Mahasti in Hamilton

We are so excited to offer these specialty classes – good with your regular class card.  Or $16 + tax drop in fee.  Class cards can be purchased in sets as small as 4 for $60 + tax.

Wed 7:10PM (4 weeks) from 1/17 with Angela Josephine

DRILLS FOR THRILLS (AND SKILLS)
Join Angela in a four week session filled with drills designed to develop and improve your bellydance technique. This class is multilevel and suitable for dancers with some experience in bellydance. Drills will be modified to challenge all levels.
Come have fun and work towards a technical repertoire that’s sharp as a tack!

ANGELA JOSEPHINE
Angela Josephine is a Modern Fusion Bellydancer studying at The Dark Side Studio in Toronto, Ontario under the tutelage of Audra Simmons and Heather Labonté. She is a member of Lavish Dance Company and The Dark Side Studio Student Troupe. She was most recently part of the full length show Fragment Repair- A New Show by Lavish.

Angela began studying bellydance in 2012 at Serpentine Studios in Halifax, NS taking traditional and tribal fusion bellydance with teachers Laura Selenzi and Monique Ryan. She was a member of Mahari Tribal and the Serpentine Student Troupe. She also studied Bharatanatyam with Suneetra Karam-Singh.

Angela enjoys enriching her dance education by travelling to take workshops with other dancers and getting nerdy talking about all things dance.

ANGELA JOSEPHINE
Angela Josephine is a Modern Fusion Bellydancer studying at The Dark Side Studio in Toronto, Ontario under the tutelage of Audra Simmons and Heather Labonté. She is a member of Lavish Dance Company and The Dark Side Studio Student Troupe. She was most recently part of the full length show Fragment Repair- A New Show by Lavish.

Angela began studying bellydance in 2012 at Serpentine Studios in Halifax, NS taking traditional and tribal fusion bellydance with teachers Laura Selenzi and Monique Ryan. She was a member of Mahari Tribal and the Serpentine Student Troupe. She also studied Bharatanatyam with Suneetra Karam-Singh.

Angela enjoys enriching her dance education by travelling to take workshops with other dancers and getting nerdy talking about all things dance.

FRESH FUSION CLASS with Faith (4 week session in Jan, Feb, & March) from 1/18 Thursdays at 7PM.
Instructor Faith loves bellydance, but her ultimate bias is K-Pop… and she invites you explore the fusion of these two distinct worlds into one energetic, whimsical, and accessible dance form! From undulations to aegyo, you’ll learn choreography that draws heavily on bellydance technique to blend seamlessly with a wide range of K-Pop stylings and expression. All levels welcome, but some bellydance experience is advantageous. Come prepared to do your best and have fun! Hwaiting!

FAITH
Faith began teaching and performing bellydance and Bollywood style dance in 2009 & 2010 respectively, and also enjoyed many years as a member of various Ontario-based bellydance troupes (Karma, Bella Luna, the Bellydonnas). Her teaching experience also spans areas such as fitness and chair dance. From 2011-2014, she founded and directed the Bollywood dance troupe NACHEGI.

Faith has had the privilege of studying with many instructors in both Bollywood style dance and bellydance, as well as attending workshops with renowned dancers and choreographers such as Divya Kumar, Jaya Vaswani, Raqia Hassan and Sadie Marquadt. She continues to study both dance forms through weekly classes and regular workshops, and is dedicated to presenting a culturally authentic dance experience in each class she teaches—while also making sure there are plenty of smiles and laughs along the way. In early 2017, she began fusing her deep love of K-Pop music with bellydance, and seeks to present style this to her fusion students with her signature whimsical flavor.

DRILLS & COMBINATIONS with JACKIE PULLAR Thurs 1/18 & 1/25 8:05PM
Jackie is the owner, principal instructor and Creative Director at Wild Orchid Belly Dance Studio in Hamilton, Ontario. She began her studies in Egyptian-style belly dance in 2001 with Patricia Savage of Awalim Studio, Hamilton. While at Awalim, she was introduced to Toronto-based belly dancer, Audra Simmons of The Dark Side Studio, who at the time was experimenting with a modern fusion style of belly dance called Tribal Fusion. Tribal Fusion fuses American Tribal Style belly dance with elements of other dance styles including Egyptian, hip hop, modern, Flamenco and Indian classical dances, among others. She was immediately captured by the movements, music and costuming of this style and made it her goal to learn as much as she could about it.

Her particular brand of Tribal Fusion blends Egyptian-style belly dance (classical and modern) with elements of jazz, hip hop, American Tribal Style (ATS) belly dance and Indian, among others.

She studied extensively with renowned fusion artists Audra Simmons, Rachel Brice, Mira Betz, Ariellah, Kami Liddle, Samantha Emmanuel and Heather Stants.

STRAIGHT UP EGYPTIAN WITH LEANNA 2/15 8:05PM

As a bellydancer, Leanna has had many memorable experiences. In 2015 she danced alongside Cirque du Soleil in the PanAm Opening Ceremony. This event was seen by a sold out crowd of 45,000 and had over 400 million TV viewers. Leanna was also selected to be on the CW Network Series ‘Reign’ which aired in 2017. She took part in her first full-scale production ‘Sawah’ at the Fleck Dance Theatre in Toronto. The show had many standing ovations and a huge ensemble cast of over 40 dance and musical artists from Toronto and Montreal. Other performance highlights include; the International Stage at the CNE (2016, 2017) and Dance Ontario Dance Weekend (2014-2018). Leanna also performs regularly as an ensemble and soloist with Arabesque Entertainment Agency and as part of the Yasmina Ramzy Dance Co.
Leanna‘s dedication and passion has made her a popular teacher in her hometown of Hamilton. She started BellaDance as a testament of the art forms power of revitalization and empowerment. Also giving credit to the dance having saved her as a self-conscious teenager, Leanna hopes to spread its healing qualities to her students. Watch out for local performances at The Casbah and summer Art Crawls alongside The Bellas, her dance troupe.

Thursday Feb 15 at 8:05-9:05PM
STRAIGHT UP EGYPTIAN
Soheir hips, Taheya circles, and Samia figure eights. Learn Egyptian combos from the famous stars of the Golden Era of Bellydance.
$16 (+ tax) drop in or use your class card.v