International Bellydance
Conference Of Canada
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We hope you had a great time at the Second International Bellydance Conference Of Canada. It was a great opportunity to network with fellow dancers, take some challenging workshops, shop and make some new friends. It was our pleasure to put this event on for you.

What did you like? What didn't you like? Special moments you'd like to share?
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International Bellydance Conference Of Canada will be even better.

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Well you’ve done it again! Thank you so much for putting on this fabulous event! I was thrilled to be a part of it. 

In all honesty, I had my doubts that the 2008 Conference would have the same magical and positive atmosphere as the first conference did. 

I was wrong! Upon arriving at the Cultural Centre, I could feel that buzz in the air once again. It was almost as though I never left. How inspiring it is to connect with so many people who love and cherish this art form.

I spent most of my time taking the workshops, which is something I did not have the opportunity to do as much the year before. 

Each instructor had something valuable to offer.

Aida Nour’s choreographies were a pleasure to learn, particularly during her last workshop when I felt that every dancer in that room was connecting to the choreography on such a deep level.  

Ferda Bayazit’s workshop on Turkish Gypsy dance was so much fun, and I loved how she allowed us to improvise and explore our own individual style in the movements towards the end of the class…it was almost trance-like. 

Bozenka’s tips on technique gave new perspective on basic movements, which I think is so important, and helped to shed some light on a few “mystery moves” I have been working on with my training. 

Nath Keo was a perfect candidate to kick off the dance workshops with a bang with his inventive combos and his fun-loving personality.  

Yasmina’s Oum Kalthoum workshop with The Arabesque Orchestra was amazing, seeing as I rarely get to dance to live music back home. It was a very emotional and meaningful experience, and it was nice to take a break from learning choreographies and just focus on improvisation.  

And what can I say about Tito that hasn’t already been said? Half the time I was so mesmerized by his powerful presence, incredible technique and unique style, that I almost wanted to stop trying to dance like him and just watch in awe. 

The Main Stage performances were most inspiring. In my mind, it was great to see some of the performers “thinking outside the box” and coming up with new and creative ideas to present Bellydance to the audience. I also enjoyed seeing some of the more traditional pieces as well. All in all, it was an incredible mix of talent!

The Gala Stage Performance will be something I will never forget. Who knew that a theatre could rock out so much as it did when Aida and Tito came out on stage together and then into the audience. My hands were sore and red from clapping for so long. Perhaps it will be one of those events that will happen only once in a lifetime?

When asked which conference was better, this year or last year, I say…why compare? They were both good for different reasons. IBCC 2007 was new and exciting, and something that had never been attempted before in Canada. It had such an overwhelmingly warm and loving environment, and created a “family-like” atmosphere amongst the conference attendants. Then 2008’s was like a family reunion…I was thrilled to see so many familiar faces, and to meet some new one’s as well. It reestablished that beautiful environment from the year before. I hope this will continue to be the standard in conferences to follow.

It’s easy to get depressed when returning home from such a happy event, and I must say I have suffered a little during the first few days I’ve been back. But the feeling always passes and then I become inspired and motivated to continue immersing myself in this art form, taking what I have learned from the other wonderful dancers at the Conference.

Thank you for all efforts and hard work to make 2008 Conference a success!

Love, Serena Kerbes
Red Deer, Alberta

This is such a worthwhile conference on so many levels. 

Workshop teachers... excellent! 

Most of us would not have the opportunity to travel to the various countries of these wonderful teachers. Having several of them come to us? Wow! What more could we hope for? 

I hope it makes the ME teachers happy to witness the popularity of the dance here in Canada and abroad. Not just the teachers, but so many of the speakers and participants too. I LOVE the lectures and panel discussions, especially the differences of opinions. Sometimes in our own small communities, there are differences of opinions and it is nice to see that on a grand scale, it is the same everywhere. 

I really liked that one costume vendor that was there last year and noticeably absent this year. The films were terrific. I know scheduling must be challenging, but it would be nice to co-ordinate/sync the times so you can easily and politely move between workshops, and lectures/panel discussions without creating a distraction, and missing out on part of the presentation. 

The wraps (lunch) can get a little soggy and they use quite a lot of cilantro. Maybe vary it up a little? Gave me an excuse to run across the street for one of those decadent choc/almond croissants!

I also enjoyed the fact that the backdrop was less vibrant/distracting this year.

A big fat vote from me to keep it going! Please, Please, Please...

Thank you so much,

Najla Bell (Kathy Bellamy)
Windsor

The words that keep coming to me about the IBCC are "life-affirming". Since bellydance and its related music seem to be my life on many levels, I can only express my deepest gratitude for the opportunity to experience and contribute to such a blessed event ... truly. Thank you to all of you: Yasmina, Mel, Jennifer, Valizan, Dino, all the volunteers and all the artists and the unknown helpers.

Tito is a fountain of pure joy and abundant celebration.  Never for a moment did the fluid strength of his technique ever falter in the service of this fountain, nor did it ever try to exceed it through gratuitous showmanship - no matter how far he went!  What a gift it is to experience such artistry ... not to mention humble sweetness ... and severe cuteness.

I could eat a plate of Aida Nour's Baladi energy everyday.  

Amy Sigil was the surprise delight for me. She was so free, and fierce, and inspiring.

Bozenka was lovely as ever on stage, and was such a charming, sweet and witty woman behind the scenes. I love her. Watching her dance spontaneously with Amir from Germany in the foyer at the very end of the conference was so fun.

Ranya Renee was brilliant and theatrical as ever. I loved her Breathwork For Performance workshop. I think many of us could learn a lot more from her!  

Ferda Bayazit covers me with goosebumps every second she is on stage. She invokes some serious ancestral spirits. I am overcome by emotion just writing about her.

Nath Keo truly is poetry in motion... and is so clear to study with — I want way more of him in my dance life.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the stages: Rahma Haddad, Nouvel Exposé, Asha (with wine glass!), Cabaret Serpentine, Jim Boz,  Maqamiqaze, and Mariyah stand out in my memory as I glance back. 

On the more critical side — better snacks, not sugary corporate junk, would be delightful... and a few more large T-shirts for those of us with tiny breasts would be much appreciated.

A big, fat zaghruta to the IBCC from me! Having said that — I feel very strongly that you should wait two years before the next one.

Roula Said,
Toronto

Thank YOU for this amazing week!

I am still thinking about it.

Lots a great workshops, wonderful performances, inspiring panels, instructional conference... I was overwhelmed.

Thank you also for the honour of being on a discussion panel, it was soo insightful, I loved it! You guys rock! Such a big project and everything was soo smooth, I am impressed.

Marthyna
St. Basile-Le-Grand, QC

It is with great pleasure that I finally sit down and pen a few things about the recent International Bellydance Conference of Canada that went down in Toronto April 23-27, 2008.

Overall, it was a truly amazing experience, with a bevy of diverse offerings both in the workshops and the performances. Internationally-renowned artists from around the world descended on the Hungarian Canadian Cultural Centre to fill their eyes, ears, bodies (and closets:) with the beauty that is bellydance.

I received something from all of the events that I partook of. Standouts among the workshop presenters for me were:

Ferda Bayazit ~ She brought such genuine, grounded movement in her Turkish Roma style that you couldn't help but want to get down with her. The joy that resides in this form of Middle Eastern dance is self-evident, and Ferda expertly channelled its earthy goodness with good to realness expertise. http://www.ferda.ca/

Nath Keo ~ You need only know one thing about Nath (pronounced Nat) Keo... this man can move. His technical supremacy is nothing short of awe-inspiring (anyone who saw him on the Gala stage can vouch for this) and he has a sweet, humble yet strong stage presence and personality to match. I liked his teaching style as well, which was warm, communicative and clear. http://www.nathkeo.com/

Aida Nour ~ I loved the supreme grace that this woman and her choreographies embodied. Her workshops were fun, stimulating and I really enjoyed the choreographies she taught. They all had a lot of movement to them and were chock full of character. And Aida Nour, well... she was Aida Nour. And you know she rocked it. http://www.welcome.to/aidanour

Amy Sigil ~ My favourite workshop presenter. Her style of dance was totally fun, challenging, unique, funky and a really good workout. I loved her foundational borrowings from hip hop and the attitude she brought out in the instruction of the movement was superb. The method her and her partner Kari used for demonstration was excellent, and even though I found it all really challenging, was able to follow along because of their delivery. I felt completely inspired and activated by the content of her material and I think anyone would agree that she represented "Tribal" (or the closest thing present to it) with force and integrity at an Egyptian-dominated bellydance conference. http://www.unmata.com/

As you can imagine, Roula Said's specialty class on the Om Laila System And Vocalization was amazing and resonated deeply with other heavy dancers like Rahma Haddad, and bellydance initiates alike. I escaped the dense Tito choreography halfway through to check out Roula's class, and was happy to come back into the centre of my being by vocalizing bayati and rast through the chakras and putting them into some fundamental movements through the body. Gloriously nurturing indeed.

As for the many, many performances on the Remix, Main, Open and Gala stages, all of them brought it... A lot of technique, grace, style and soul was present on the whole, and while it was a lot of bellydance (I certainly felt saturated at it's conclusion), it was a fabulous experience and I feel like I learned a lot from it.

Some highlights include:

Roula Said, opening up the entire conference with a cleverly charming rendition of Tahtil Shibbak, in which she sang, played qanun and danced... simultaneously. Then she played some killer zylls, just to top it off. A modern-day Almeh in practice. http://www.omlaila.com

Ranya Renee, brought an enlightened style, truly connected to the music with exquisite veil work. http://www.ranya.net/

Mayada's earthy Saiidi number was a true pleasure, to which her beautiful baby belly was a perfect compliment. http://www.mayada.ca/

Rahma Haddad, another interpretation of Tahtil Shibbak with lots of joy and exuberance. http://www.rahmahaddad.com/

Cabaret Serpentine brought an interesting and dynamic alternative to shamadan without pretension or gimmick. Everyone knows that fire is wicked cool. http://www.cabaretserpentine.com/

Adishakti... what can I say, I just love this woman. I had never seen her perform live before, just online (as the YouTube fiend that I am) and I was nothing short of tickled pink at her genuine sweetness, her great stage presence and her technical moves. Make no mistake, this woman can move! http://www.adishaktiraks.com/

Oriental Azul from Mexico were a true spectacle to behold. I think they had like five costume changes during their eight-minute piece. Good solid technique served as the foundation of their fanciful show, and I found it to be very entertaining.

Asha's whirling-dirvish-meets-priestess-of-the-wine-goblet piece was FANTASTIC. Nothing short of a show stopper. http://www.ashadance.com/

Ishra Blanco's freedom to leap across the stage made me profoundly happy. I like leaping.

Nouvel ExposÈ totally rocked the house, presenting a fast-paced, sampling of Afro-eastern moves. http://www.nouvelexpose.com/

Dominique Senecal represented tribal in a big way with precision, grace, fluidity and humility. http://www.lestribelles.com/

Jim Boz is the man. Period. http://www.jimboz.com/

GALA STAGE FAVES:

Nath Keo. If I can ever learn to move with even a tenth of the precision and charisma that Nath does, I will die a happy dancer.

Amy Sigil & Kari Vanderzwaag of UNMATA. Loooooove their style of dance. And kudos to Kari for being able to perfectly — and I mean perfectly — mirror the special and strange creature that is Amy Sigil.

Tito & Aida Nour. These people have rightfully earned their super-stardom in my books. Both are natural movers but you can see the hundreds of hours of practice that has gone into refining their craft and individual styles. And both were such giving performers that you could actually believe they are genuinely enjoying themselves. A true pleasure to behold!

As for the Open Stage, there were sooo many awesome performances that I will suffice to say that all of them did the Conference proud. Special shout out to the Om Laila Troupe who worked their asses off to bring a tight, strong and forceful drum solo in representation of our school. Their calibre of performance was outstanding, and for those who didn't catch it live, be sure to check out YouTube for the posted video.

As for myself, I was truly honored to be able to perform with Roula and Mayada as RM2 on the Main Stage in a piece that was highly creative, experimental, and pushed my boundaries in a big-time sort of way as a performer. I was also blessed to be able to share my voice as a soloist on the Sunday Open Stage, among so many other talented dancers from across Ontario.

I learned a lot at the IBCC and reveled in the pleasure of being able to be a student for four full days. I met a lot of very interesting and vibrant people from all over and really felt that bellydance encompasses a very large and cohesive international community, despite all of the artificial divisions we like to impose on it for the sake of argument and controversy.

Big thanks to Melody Bogin and Jennifer Watkins of Arabesque for all of their hard work, to Yasmina for having the vision (and the balls, if I may) to pull something so gargantuan off (for two years in a row!) and to all of the participants, panelists and instructors who gave their time, intention and expertise to the beautiful dance form from which we all prosper. It was a tremendously inspiring experience, and I look forward to its next incarnation!

Meaghan Shields
Toronto, ON.
http://www.myspace.com/meaghanshields