Click on the T.O.Tix button to buy tickets
to the Remix 2007, Main Stage and Gala performances
at The Bellydance Conference Of Canada.

Gala Performances
Ryerson Theatre
Saturday April 26th, 2008

Admission price included in Conference Package.

Featured Artists

Tito • Aida Nour • Bozenka & Bozenka's Tarab Ensemble
Amy Sigil & UNMATA • Aisha Ali • Mayyadah & Amir and Ensemble El Saherat • Lopa Sarkar • Yasmina Ramzy
Arabesque Dance Company & Orchestra • Ferda Bayazit • Nath Keo & Sacred Centre Dance Company

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Aida Nour started her dance career as a young dancer in the Alexandria Troupe.

She performed Egyptian folklore and danced solo for many years before moving to Cairo. It was there she became a member of the famous Reda Troupe for many years.

Eventually she began to perform successfully as a soloist. She danced at many of Cairo's most famous five-star hotels and nightclubs, and became a very popular and loved artist with lots of regular guests that all adored her beautiful dance.

Sadly enough, she has stopped performing in Egypt, but fans can still see her dance when she travels to give workshops all over the world.

Aida is now creating costumes for dancers and other artists with her own elegant and exclusive designs, and teaching oriental dance everywhere in the world.

She has her own studio in Cairo, and welcomes guests for a private sessions in Oriental dance.

Aida Nour is one of the three organisers (along with Freis Sayed and Mohamed Abou Shebika) of the Nile Group Festival that started in June 2005.

Florida

California

California

Aisha Ali is an internationally recognized authority on the dances of Egypt and North Africa. In 1971, Aisha traveled to the Middle East to observe firsthand many traditional styles of dance not seen in the United States.

She made subsequent visits to Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia from 1973 to 1997 to document folkloric materials that were fast disappearing. As a result, she has released numerous audio and video recordings.

In 1973, while a soloist in Sfax, Tunisia, the Maison de la Culture asked Aisha to form a dance company. For over twenty years she directed her folkloric ensemble, The Aisha Ali Dance Company. Later that year she stayed among the Ouled Nail in Algeria, a tribe famous for its dancing women. Over the years she has frequently danced at celebrations in Upper Egypt with the Banat Maazin, a Nawar gypsy family of Ghawazee.

In 1994, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the American Academy of Middle Eastern Dance in New York, and in 2000, she was an honored speaker and soloist at the International Conference of Middle Eastern Dance.

For many years, Aisha contributed articles to Arabesque magazine, and continues to write articles for Habibi. She has contributed articles to numerous publications, including an article on the Ouled Nail published by the International Institute for the Study of Islam, the section on Egypt for the JVC/Smithsonian "Anthology of World Music and Dance," and articles on Algeria and the Ouled Nail in the International Encyclopedia Of Dance published by Oxford University Press.

In addition to teaching classes at her Los Angeles studio, Aisha gives lectures/demonstrations at universities such as UCLA and Cornell, and conducts workshops and master classes in North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. She is presently editing her latest Egyptian footage.

Ontario/London, UK

'I have been dancing for 25 years and it is the one aspect of my life where I feel completely free to express myself artistically, spiritually, mentally, and physically.

It allows me to challenge myself everyday and provides a form of communication that can be understood universally. No matter which country I am in, everyone speaks the language of music, movement, and passion.'

Lopa Sarkar trained in Toronto for 20 years in the classical Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam. After completing her MBA at the Schulich School of Business, she moved to London (UK) where she spent two years choreographing, performing and teaching Bollywood dance. 

While in the UK she worked with Bollywood choreographer Pappu-Malu (of Devdas) and performed on stage with Malika Aurora.

She also performed at WOMAD, helped develop a new pilot for MTV Europe, and was seen on BBC, Zee TV, and Sony Television.

Lopa has lived in the Bahamas working as a Choreographer for Club Med, been invited through the Club Med Artist Program to be a guest in Punta Cana, choreographed for film in New York City, performed in London, taught in Wales and now runs her own dance company in Toronto, the Canadian branch of Bollywood Grooves.

Ontario

"Will go down in history as having redeemed Bellydancing" — The Globe and Mail

"Artistry & Passion " — Dance International

"Intelligent and Inventive choreography"
— The Globe and Mail

"Yasmina creates dramatic impact"
— Toronto Star

"Has taken Bellydance to another level"
—Bravo TV

Yasmina Ramzy is the founder and Artistic Director of Arabesque Dance Company & Orchestra, Arabesque Academy and The International Bellydance Conference of Canada.

Her key training came from leading masters in the Middle East including Aida Nour and Mohammed Khalil of The National Folklore Troupe of Egypt. She has toured throughout the Middle East and worldwide performing, teaching and choreographing Middle Eastern Dance since 1981.

Yasmina's artistic vision has been awarded by Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council and The Laidlaw Foundation. Her creative and unique choreography has received rave reviews in national and international mainstream media.

She is well known around the globe for elevating the status of Middle Eastern dance. Her workshops promote the power of the female spirit and rich Arabic culture. She has produced eight instructional DVDs, six performance DVDs and five music CDs.

Yasmina Ramzy is a member of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists, serves on the Board of Directors for Dance Ontario, is a jury member for the Dora Awards and recently Bravo TV produced a documentary dedicated to her eclectic life and politically charged artistic vision.

Turkey/British Columbia

Ferda's dance career began at age 4.

Excelling in dance, she completed the Royal Academy of Dance ballet program with honours.

She had her first bellydance lesson at 13 while visiting her Turkish father in the Bay Area of California.

Since that first lesson, she has studied with renowned instructors such as Raqia Hassan, Yousry Sharif, Suhaila Salimpour, Hadia and Jillina.

She has performed as a soloist in Canada, the US and Turkey, and as part of the popular troupe Earthfire in Canada and the US.

She has taught ongoing classes and has given workshops in Canada and the US.

Currently, she is living and dancing in Istanbul, Turkey where she has been studying Turkish dance forms with various celebrated Turkish dancers.

However, her favourite, and speciality, is the powerful Turkish Rom style of dance, for which she is now highly sought after for workshops when visiting Canada.

Cambodia/British Columbia

Nath Keo was born in Kav Lan Refugee Camp on the border of Thailand and Cambodia and immigrated to Canada at the age of nine.

In the years since immigrating to Canada, he has been celebrated internationally as a writer, dancer, singer/songwriter, and model.

This multi-faceted artist has since released two music CDs, a book, and two dance instructional DVDs.

In the past eight years, Nath has performed seven tours in 51 cities, and over 1000 performances.

Back in February 2006, Nath was ordained as a Bikkhu Theravada Buddhist Monk at Wat Tuol Taong, Cambodia.

His influences both in entertainment and spirituality have kept him a unique and inspiring artist.

Nath Keo continues to offer workshops and performances, as well as dance classes locally in Victoria BC, Canada.