A great big warm welcome to Toronto, and to the first International Bellydance Conference Of Canada! it has been many years in the making, but the last six months of work have eaten up every hour of every day by a team of hard-working individuals in the Arabesque office. It has sometimes been a rocky road, but the bumps can't compare to the excitement and anticipation of having so many incredible bellydance artists and academics in one place at the same time sharing ideas and creativity. They come from a wide range of expertise and from so many points around the globe.
My first inspiration for this conference was the International Conference On Middle Eastern Dance in California directed by Sahra Saeeda, Shareen El Safy, and Angelika Nemeth a few years ago. I and Arabesque Dance Company had the privilege and honour of performing at this historic event. I was overcome with emotion at being able to turn a corner and see or sit down beside so many inspirational artists I had only ever heard about. Then, to witness them in performance, one after the other, was more than I could have dreamed. I was thrilled to be a room when heated debate took place on controversial Middle Eastern dance topics that concern us all as a community. So many countries in the world host similar events, so why not Canada? So the dream is finally a reality.
This conference has actually become much more than the original dream. The addition of some great world class films, Egypt's huge star Randa Kamel, my two favourite artists outside of Egypt, Amir Thaleb and Sahra Saeeda, and the participation of ALL three of the directors of the original conference in California, make our first event truly memorable.
We are inspired to repeat the conference annually, and hope to make it your one-stop bellydance battery re-charger every year. We hope to have even more variety and even more controversial discussions. Please bear with us in our first year of trial and error. We would love to hear from you after the conference with any suggestions of what works and what doesn't, and how we can make your experience even better.
Of the performers, there are approximately 150 of you who have travelled from near and far. We are very honoured to have you grace our Open Stage, Main Stage, Gala Stage, Panel Discussions, and Lecture Stage, as well as teach all kinds of classes and workshops. We are thrilled to have so many renowned and talented artists, and so many knowledgeable speakers participate in the first International Bellydance Conference of Canada. The bellydance community of Canada thanks all the foreign visitors very much for coming and joining us. For those Canadians who have contributed their talent, it is greatly appreciated and acknowledged. We hope everone find the experience worthwhile and even inspiring.
For those on the Main Stage, you should know that you were chosen out of many applicants by a panel of some of Toronto's leading bellydance school directors; Roula Said, Habeeba Hobeika, Hannan Sultan and Yasmina Ramzy. There were so many interesting artists applying and only so many spots to fill. The choices were difficult and took many hours to make. Those who did not make it to the Main Stage were automatically invited to perform on the Open Stage. Hopefully, some of these people will have the chance to grace the Main Stage in the future.
The internationally acclaimed featured artists are such gracious participants in this venture, and we are deeply grateful. This is Canada's biggest moment in bellydance, and we are ever so happy to have your names on the marquee, and of course, the opportunity to study and witness your artistry.
Get lots of sleep so you can take in as many workshops, performances, lectures, panel discussions and films as possible. On behalf of myself, conference coordinator Jennifer Watkins, Co-coordinator Melody Bogin, Webmaster Valizan, Business Manager Yvonne Liu, angel Suleiman Warwar and all the support staff and volunteers at Arabesque including Eiko Kocher and Halli Villegas who laid the ground work 18 months ago, we look forward to meeting you. We hope you go home with new roster of bellydance friends and totally inspired from this unique experience.
Sincerely,
Yasmina Ramzy
Dance Workshops
16 two-hour workshops with star instructors.
Lectures and Panel Discussions
14 lectures and 4 panel discussions by renowned speakers discussing a
wide variety of topics and timely issues concerning today's Bellydancer.
Saturday Gala Performance
A two-hour performance in a 1200-seat theatre starring the featured
instructors.
Main Stage Performances
Main Stage featuring 16 Solos/Duets and 16 Ensembles all chosen for
their artistic merit performing in 2 two-hour performances.
Open Stage
4 ninety-minute afternoon performances featuring Solos, Duets and Ensembles.
Vendor Bazaar
Shop from vendors to find that special Bellydance item you have been
looking for.
Welcome & Good Bye Parties
Dance to Live Arabic music, eat, drink and be merry!
Extras
Dumbek classes, Arabic Music Comprehension classes, free food and refreshments
all day long.
