Toronto Skyline

Hosted by Yasmina Ramzy of Arabesque Academy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this International Bellydance Conference of Canada, the first ever on the Canadian dance scene, proved to be one of the top dance experiences in this reviewer’s 30-year career.  It featured top international artists such as Randa Kamel, Amir Thaleb, Sahra Saeeda, Bellyqueen, Martine Werotte, Sashar Zarif, Tamalyn Dallal, Rahma Haddad and also included Yasmina Ramzy, her dance company and Arabesque Musicians. This conference was a veritable feast of talent, instruction and ideas for those who have studied belly dance for years and are looking for something truly different or just inspiration.

Conferences and panel discussions on everything from Turkish Rom dance to "Teaching Oriental Dance at the College Level" and "Analysis of Active Muscle Patterns and Body Motion in Bellydance Movements" were presented by pros such as Ferda Bayazit from Turkey, dancers/academicians, Angelika Nemeth and Barbara Sellers-Young.  The plethora of topics presented by pros in their fields are too numerous to mention here.  Three films were also previewed including one from Hong Kong, one from Tunisia, and Tamalyn Dallal’s new “40 Days and 1001 Nights” filmed on location during a recent 40-day tour of the Middle East.

Two shows featuring a splendid array of pros were held on successive nights, each drawing 500 in attendance, and a final show with all the workshop instructors and other belly dance greats was held on a third night at the Ryerson Theatre and drew 1200 attendees.  Open stage performances were held in the afternoon on two separate days, giving lesser experienced, student dancers a chance to be seen.

For a first attempt at organizing a conference of this scope, Yasmina Ramzy and her capable staff did a thorough job.  Although more direction could have been given on how to get around in Toronto (the workshop center had to be accessed by train and tram), everything went smoothly, and in typical Canadian fashion, started exactly on time.  A nice touch of providing snack packs for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch was welcome due to the almost overlapping seminar, workshop and show schedules. (The seminars and workshops were from 9 am to 6 pm and the shows began at 7:30.)  All seminars, workshops and two of the shows were held at the spacious Hungarian Cultural Center.  While the sound system used for workshops could have been better (there was a lot of echo in the room), the hardwood floors and humongous, ornate chandelier added to the beauty and comfort of the room.  Vendors offered an array of goods on one level, and seminars and student shows were held on yet another level adding to the convenience of gravitating between workshops and seminars.

Each instructor offered top of the line material that was challenging and satisfying.  To highlight just a few:

Featured, top Egyptian artist, Randa Kamel taught 3 days, 2 hrs. each day.  One could readily see the Raqia Hassan training she received, and combined with her inimitable style, signature arabesque turns, and dynamic accents, she outdid herself in provoking new movement and styling for the participants. 

Amir Thaleb, of Argentina, was a powerhouse, full of energy and years of dance experience, who also taught 3 days.  Rahma Haddad, a second-generation Lebanese Canadian turned out an excellent workshop on dancing to chiftetelli rhythm. Martine Werotte, originally from Europe and now based in Quebec, gave a technically challenging class that featured her training in ballet, modern and jazz dance, combined with Reda signature directional changes. 

Sashar Zarif, based in Toronto, and one of his dancers, discussed the ethnography of Azerbajani dance and led participants through an exercise in meditation, chanting, and an Azerbajani dance combo.  [more from Ellen Weissbuch --Sashar Zarif is a Canadian citizen from Azerbajan and is an internationally known teacher and artist who is based in Toronto. In addition to dancing and teaching dance, Sashar is an extraordinary singer and percussionist, who sometimes sings, dances and drums with incredible force.}

Bellyqueen gave a comprehensive workshop on working with props—everything from cane to sword to candle, demonstrated by Kaeshi and her very capable fellow dancers.