2024 Session Details
Friday Schedule
- A Dancer’s Pilates with Jenzii-Enn
- From Student to Teacher: taking the leap with Elizabeth & Jen
- Sha’abi Soul with Samantha
- DIY Costume Box with Mandylynne
- Storytelling Through Music with Mel
- Dee-LIGHT-ful Sound with David
- Am I Emotionally Fit for My Business with Natalie
- Mermaid at Heart: Group Choreography with Ellie Maye
- Secrets to Great Sound in Percussion with Michael West
- Making Props FIT with Kylie Astarte
- From the Center with Alison
- “Leylet Hobb” (A Night of Love) Floor Show and Social Dancing
Saturday Schedule
- Gig Life: Ask us anything! with Rachel
- Khaleegy – A feast for the senses! with Helen
- Nailed it! with Keeva
- The Heart of Egyptian Rhythm – Dof with Sam Nascimento
- Discover Different Learning Styles with Janelle
- Body Positivity continued… with Samantha
- Hot Tips and Improvision Tricks with Mandylynne
- The Shape of You – Costuming for all bodies with Emily
- Somatic Sensing and Sensuality with Keti Sharif
- Artistry Unveiled: Mastering performance makeup & styling techniques with Carol
- Spiritual body informs the physical body with Ostara
- Ya Salaam! Stage Showcase
Sunday Schedule
- FluentBody with Anna Gal
- Hands and Feet, Feel the Beat! with Keti Sharif
- Aroma with Herbs and Teas for Wellness with Mimi Love
- 25 Tips for Happening Hips with Kylie Astarte
- Budgeting 101 with Janelle
- Mental Health in Bellydance: Benefits and Challenges with Ellie & Fernanda
- What’s so Great About Reda Style? with Rachel
- The History of Bal Anat, the Longest Running Bellydance Show with Amanda
- Drum and Dance Circle
Friday Sessions
A Dancer's Pilates with Jenzii-Enn
Session Type: Sparrow Session (Early morning movement)
Date/Time: Friday, 8:30-9:00am
Description: Join me for a short and snappy session of Dance Pilates Mobility aimed at getting your mind and body opened, awakened and prepared for our days ahead. Learn some fundamental movements to help you become a more fluid and flowing performer, while improving control and gaining strength to access deep core muscles assisting with balance, stability and strength.
About Your Facilitator: Join Jenzii-Enn for some fluid mobility and core strengthening morning moves, to gain greater flexion while learning some key core elements to support your dance journey. Jenzii_Enn is a qualified Pilates and Barre instructor with over 10 years experience in fitness and dance and is excited to share her love of health, fitness, dance and expression with our Bellydance Community.
From Student to Teacher: taking the leap with Elizabeth and Jen
Session Type: Presentation Session
Date/Time: Friday, 9:15-10:15am
Description: Stepping into the role of a teacher from being a student is both exhilarating and challenging. Whether you’re already teaching or contemplating the idea, this session will provide insights, practical advice, and real-life experiences from two seasoned instructors who began their belly dance journeys at Amera’s Palace in Sydney over 15 years ago. Let Elizabeth and Jen guide you through this transformative experience, sharing their wisdom and passion for the art of belly dance and building their dance communities.
About Your Facilitator: Elizabeth, who has been teaching Fat Chance Bellydance Style® (FCBD®) fundamentals at Amera’s Palace in Sydney since 2018, brings a wealth of experience. Her performances with troupes at the National Folk Festival and Sydney’s Tribal & Trance Fest, as well as local fairs, have honed her skills and enriched her teaching approach.
Jen, who started teaching open level FCBD® classes at a community center in 2022, understands the nuances of building a dance community in her hometown of Newcastle, NSW. Her student troupe, Ace of Cups, actively performs at local markets and haflas. Before returning to Newcastle 5 years ago, she ran the only fusion hafla in London, The Cellar Door.
Sha'abi Soul with Samantha
Session Type: Movement Session
Date/Time: Friday, 9:30-11:00am
Description: The working class dance of Egypt is so much more than just sparkly jeans and flippant gestures. Using popular song ‘Ya Habibi’ by Mohamad Ramadan ft. GIMS, Sam will show you how to relax into the gritty movements so you can connect with the genuine soul of sha’abi. We’ll also be looking at both Arabic and Western pop culture to understand how it’s influenced our dancing from the dangerous days of rock-n-roll through the shiny girl bands era and into the modern hip-hop flavour. Plus, learn how to keep the sassy attitude when your knees can’t keep up with mahraganat!
About Your Facilitator: Samantha has been bellydancing for more than 20 years and has been teaching through her school, Border Bellydance in Albury-Wodonga, for more than 10 years. She’s rather interested (ok, obsessed) with the modern Egyptian styles of dance, especially Sha’abi and Raqs Sharqi, and has dedicated most of her last decade to understanding the innate connection Egyptians have with their music and how Aussie dancers can learn to express themselves the same way.
DIY Costume Box with Mandylynne
Session Type: Presentation Session
Date/Time: Friday, 10:15-11:45am
Description: Want to start making your own costume adornments?
Lets look outside the box for your next DIY project to make it successful and beautiful. I will share how I approach my projects, useful tools, how to make belts and costume pieces versatile and the do’s and don’ts of crown making.
About Your Facilitator: Mandylynne started her belly dance journey in 1999 but found her place as a Fat Chance Belly Dance dancer. Mandylynne obtained her FCBD General Skills Certification and Teacher Training Certification in 2009 and is actively enhancing her skills. With a passion for sharing her knowledge and experience with others, Mandylynne enjoys seeing dancers grow and flourish. Favourite Belly dance movement: Shimmy
Storytelling Through Music with Mel
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Friday, 11:15am-12:45pm
Description: This is a musicology session that discusses musicology and theatrical dance. It does through song structure, speed, tempo, accents. It discusses character building and how to introduce your character and how to work through and develop their story. It’ll discuss stage concepts such as the 4th wall and interacting with your audience.
About Your Facilitator: Mel is a Newcastle based dancer who grew up in the gong. She is best known for her magikal theatrical performances. She is going to welcome you into her world and share some of her secrets with you.
Dee-LIGHT-ful Sound with David
Session Type: Presentation Session
Date/Time: Friday, 11:15am-12:45pm
Description: Delve into the correlation between sound and light. Are you asking for the right sound and light for your performance? Find out what you can and should be asking for and also letting your sound/light techs know about your performance pieces.
About Your Facilitator: David have been involved in light and sound and stage performance for over 30 years, with stints in musical theatre, performed as a Drag Queen, DJing, sound and lighting for bands and Dance performances, dance videography and photography. He has also worked in the fashion industry as a designer and curating fashion shows.
Am I Emotionally Fit for My Business with Natalie
Session Type: Presentation Session
Date/Time: Friday, 12:15-1:15pm
Description: This session is for anyone who wants to start or grow their business or even get that promotion. It is ‘not a how’ to but “why isn’t it happening for me?”
Natalie uses her personal experience from starting little, to paying for coaching programs to having nothing and having to look for work to beginning again. Be ready to delve into childhood beliefs and how they block, to do you have a big enough vision for your business to expand. We will be transiting Money- business-vision consciousness.
Ready to re-examine your business and be excited again.
About Your Facilitator: Natalie has a background in psychology and eastern traditions, performance coaching and emotional healing. Has started careers in government, dipping her toes in areas she was interested in but never getting further. Then seeking assistance from a life coach. So through lived experience she brings personal insight into how our personal journey/life experiences effect our success in business and life.
Mermaid at Heart: Group Choreography with Ellie Maye
Session Type: Movement Session
Date/Time: Friday, 1:15-2:45pm
Description: We’re on the beautiful South Coast of NSW, so let’s make like a mermaid and embrace the basics of rounded, water-like belly dance movement, honing our foundational techniques. In this movement session we’ll work on elegant shapes, poses and combinations, with a particular focus on graceful arms and hands. By the end of the session, you’ll have learnt a short but sweet mermaid-inspired group choreography.
About Your Facilitator: Ellie has been dancing on the South Coast of NSW since childhood and fell in love with belly dancing in 2014. A teacher for over 5 years, she has studied and taught traditional, modern and contemporary fusion styles of belly dance. She loves creating group choreographies that are accessible and fun!
Ellie is a certified Bellyqueen teacher (2022), trained under Kaeshi Chai. She is also certified in Keti Sharif’s A-Z Original, Advanced, Teacher and Performer Bellydance methodology (2021).
Secrets to Great Sound in Percussion with Michael West
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Friday, 1:15-2:45pm
Description: Who plays the doumbek? From the husband ring-in doing his best, or the dancer punching out a saiidi, to the long-time percussionist who loves music. Do you want better sound? Do you want faster hands? Do you want more confidence on stage?
In this session we will focus purely on technique and rhythm that will help you get good clear sounds, simplify the actions and get you playing faster or for longer. Here we will take an intense deep dive with a long-time percussionist for dancers on stage and other music stuff. Own that stage!
BYO Drum
About Your Facilitator: Michael is a down-to-earth fella who enjoys coaching to people improve their technique for sound and speed on the doumbek, and stage confidence. Michael likes learning new things, getting good at it and putting it to use. Michael has played for dancers since 1997 such as the beautiful Mandylynne, Kylie Astarte, and alongside Rachel Brice one night way back when. Simply, if you want to learn new improvements to what you already do then Michael’s little drumming workshop might just be for you!
Making Props FIT with Kylie Astarte
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Friday, 3:00-4:30pm
Description: This workshop will take you through an easy format for making smart and focused decisions when integrating props into your dance routines. We will be exploring the concepts of feature versus frames, incorporating props into pre-choreographed routines, being innovative with how you use your prop, as well as examining the importance of transitions, and placement of tricks.
Participants will walk away with a new way of assessing the suitability of specific props for specific pieces, and new ways of creating innovative and original choreography.
Bring 3 props (of your own choice).
About Your Facilitator: Kylie is the director of Astarte Studio Belly Dance & Fusion and has been dancing and performing for over 25 years. An experienced teacher with a penchant for the eclectic and theatrical, Kylie has gained a reputation for pushing the creative boundaries of belly dance and fusion.
Kylie is a certified teacher in Keti Sharif’s A-Z Original and Advanced Bellydance methodology, and is also a certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Leader, Pilates, Barre, and Mind Body teacher.
From the Center with Alison
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Friday, 3:00-4:30pm
Description: Come along to this interactive discussion led & facilitated by Alison to talk self development as a dancer. We will explore areas like self-expression, confidence, body image and aging in dance. Raqs Sharqi is a wonderful form of dance for a woman’s self development, but most of us struggle at various times with issues like confidence, body image, motivation & aging. The goal of this session will be to reflect on your journey as a dancer, gain insights & learn some tools and skills to take away with you to help with your self development as a dancer & as a woman.
About Your Facilitator: Alison has been studying & performing Raqs Sharqi for 18 years. Her years of experience dancing in California continues to influence her style as a dancer. Alison has experience dancing in many different venues such as restaurants, cafes, festivals, & competitions. Alison has also been working in the field of mental health for 18 years & is planning to do more teaching combining both her background as a bellydancer & as a therapist that enhances self expression and self development.
"Leylet Hobb" (A Night of Love) Floor Show and Social Dancing
Session Type: Evening Event
Date/Time: Friday, 6pm doors til late
Description: Come experience a night of love for bellydancing of all kinds with our special floor show and social dancing evening. With an open dance floor, amazing performances, door prizes and a trivia quiz to try your knowledge, this evening has a little bit of everything to it! BYO Dinner and drinks. Tea and coffee available.
Want to be a performer at this show? Check out the details on this page.
Saturday 13th July Sessions
Gig Life: Ask us anything! with Rachel
Session Type: FREE BYO Breakfast Panel Discussion
Date/Time: Saturday, 8:30-9:30am
Description: BYO Breakfast and come listen to the tales of those who have been gigging. Whether you’re a new / aspiring performer, or just curious about the pro performance scene, draw on the panel’s combined experience of thousands of shows. The dancing is what the audience sees, but there’s so much going on behind the scenes! Managing awkward situations, preparing the right show for specific contexts, professional etiquette, dealing with clients and venue managers, logistics, pricing, how to negotiate… Ask us whatever you always wanted to know!
About Your Facilitator: With her wealth of knowledge, long performance career and a teaching journey spanning thousands of classes over 2 decades, Rachel is a familiar face on the Sydney professional circuit and recognised throughout Australia’s bellydance community. She’s dedicated to sharing the joy of dance with students and audiences alike, while honouring its rich cultural heritage.
Khaleegy: A feast for the senses! with Helen
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 9:30-11:00am
Description: See the intricately decorated thobes. Smell the heady scents. Taste delicious nuts and dates. Hear the distinctive heartbeat rhythm. Feel the beauty of the Gulf as your body moves to the music.
This interactive workshop will include an introduction to the history, geography, and culture of the Persian / Arabian Gulf region, followed by listening to some music from the region and trying out some of the steps from the distinctive khaleegy (khaleeji, khaliji) dance style.
Please bring your thobe nashal if you have one. Some will be available for loan.
About Your Facilitator: Helen has been dancing various MENAHT dance styles, including khaleegy, for nearly 20 years. She teaches dance in her small home town and focuses on the joy of movement and the community that dance can create. Helen is passionate about bringing dancers together in collaborative projects like Shimmy Mob and recent choreographed and improvised khaleegy performances at events throughout 2022 and 2023. She supports the dance community through her Facebook page, Bellydancers of Australia.
Nailed it! with Keeva
Session Type: Movement Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 9:45-11:15am
Description: Let me show you how to nail it! Whether retaining choreography comes naturally to you or not, come along! We’re gonna learn a combo, how to adapt it, what to do when you forget it ad how to perform it!
About Your Facilitator: Keeva is a professional dancer living on Gunai Kurani country. Versatile and experienced in many genres, she has taught at recreational, competitive and tertiary levels for the past decade. She is an alumni of Bellydance Evolution and is currently playing a featured role in Bass Fam Creative’s latest production “Oracle the Myth”.
The Heart of Egyptian Rhythm: Dof with Sam Nascimento
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 11:15am-12:45pm
Description: Sam teachers beginner students how to play the frame drum with an authentic Egyptian feel and essence. Learn how to play base rhythmic structure and a spectrum of different rhythms.
About Your Facilitator: Sam Nascimento is an Egyptian percussionist who runs drumming classes in Perth and internationally. He has a background in Latin percussion as well as being Melbourne’s original pioneer of world music in the DJ scene.
Discover Different Learning styles with Janelle
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 11:30am-1:00pm
Description: Based on the 5 different learning styles – Verbal, Visual, Kinesthetic, Aural, and Logical. We will learn about the different ways people take in and process information. By identifying your own learning style as a dancer, you will discover the most effective ways to learn and practice steps and choreography. As a teacher, understanding different learning styles can help facilitate optimal teaching methods for a variety of students. This is an interactive and informative workshop with lots of movement, take home notes, and fun!
About Your Facilitator: Janelle began theatrical dance, drama & vocal training at the age of six and has been performing professionally in live shows, film and television since she was a teenager.
Janelle’s number 1 goal as a teacher is to inspire her students to believe in themselves, have fun and love their body and soul.
With unwavering passion, Janelle is intent on sharing her love and knowledge of dance with others.
Body Positivity continued... with Samantha
Session Type: Panel Discussion Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 1:15-2:15pm
Description: Our first discussion on Body Positivity at BellyCon23 had people in tears as the years of negativity and shame were finally validated. This year, we explore why bellydancers have such an important role in the Body Positive movement and how we can acknowledge the pain while helping ourselves and others accept and cherish the bodies we have. Learn and share practical tips of how to switch your language to be body positive in the studio and when dealing with the public (and in your own head!). Plus, join the launch of Belly +ve, an online community for body positive Aussie dancers.
About Your Facilitator: Samantha has been bellydancing for more than 20 years and has been teaching through her school, Border Bellydance in Albury-Wodonga, for more than 10 years. Since becoming a teacher she has worked hard to become a body positive ambassador both in the studio and through sponsorships and corporate talks about body positivity. She facilitated last year’s Body Positivity panel and is the founder of Belly +ve, supporting body positivity in the Australian bellydance community.
Hot Tips and Improvision Tricks with Mandylynne
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 1:30-3:00pm
Description: Improvisation is a dancers best friend and doesn’t always come naturally so let me share some hot tips and improvisation tricks with you.
This interactive workshop will give you the what, why and how to of improvisation. We will explore how to utlise what you already know, how to build on what you know and how you can apply it to improv situations. We will be doing some problems solving along the wat with some real life scenarios. Set yourself up for success.
About Your Facilitator: Mandylynne started her belly dance journey in 1999 but found her place as a Fat Chance Belly Dance dancer. Mandylynne obtained her FCBD General Skills Certification and Teacher Training Certification in 2009 and is actively enhancing her skills. With a passion for sharing her knowledge and experience with others, Mandylynne enjoys seeing dancers grow and flourish. Favourite Belly dance movement: Shimmy
The Shape of You: Costuming for all bodies with Emily
Session Type: Presentation Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 2:15-3:15pm
Description: It can be hard to work out the right style of costume for ourselves, let alone try to dress a whole troupe of dancers who are different sizes, shapes and have different preferences! Come and find out what tricks and tips Emily has to help you and troupe members look and feel fabulous when in costume.
About Your Facilitator: Emily is the powerhouse behind Melbourne’s Bluefire Bellydancers. A dance school that truly embodies advocating that every body, no matter it’s shape, is a dancers body. She has been directing, costuming and choreographing for the group for over 6 years and has tried nearly every trick in the book to get her dancers looking slick while feeling super comfortable and ready to dance.
Somatic Sensing and Sensuality with Keti Sharif
Session Type: Movement Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 3:15-4:45pm
Description: The somatic experience of bellydance is deeply internal, sensual and sensory. Join Keti, a respected global facilitator of Somatic Bellydance for a playful session of joyful, exploratory movement through the lens of lyrical Egyptian dance and rhythm. Plus Live Rhythms by Sam Nascimento!
About Your Facilitator: Having lived and performed in Egypt for many years, where she created the A-Z Bellydance methodology, Keti Sharif focuses on a somatic, musical and cultural experience that enriches the dancer’s art from the inside out. Her popular teacher training courses and A-Z Belly dance has been undertaken by over 4,000 students worldwide. Keti and drummer Sam run the blue lotus room studio in Perth Western Australia.
Artistry Unveiled: Mastering performance makeup & styling techniques with Carol
Session Type: Presentation Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 3:15-4:15pm
Description: Explore transformative makeup & personal styling to develop a character, era/genre embodiment or iconic look.
Delve into the ways makeup & styling can be used as powerful tools to bring character to life & enhance the storytelling process
Examine appearance/identity & how makeup styling choices can impact the portrayal of character from subtle nuances to dramatic transformations.
Learn principles of makeup that bring authenticity & depth to a performance.
See how apps & online tools can tailor the process & make concepts accessible to a dance troupe or cast members for a unified vision.
About Your Facilitator: Carol is an artist and painter residing in Wollongong ,who has delved into the bellydance/burlesque community of the Illawarra for the past few years.
Carol had previously worked for many years, in Sydney, freelance, as a qualified make-up artist with a particular interest in Special FX & film.
Carol now uses her expertise in makeup artistry to compliment and enhance her evolving bellydance learning and performance experiences.
Spiritual Body Informs the Physical Body with Ostara
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Saturday, 4:15-5:15pm
Description: This session will be a mix of dance, movement, breath, talking and some journaling. Come and join us and dig into how ecstatic dance can benefit you.
About Your Facilitator: Ostara has been an ecstatic dance facilitator and Bellydance teacher and professional performer for the best part of two decades. After a 6 year hiatus, she is re emerging from her cocoon to spread her wings and share the spirit of this magnificent art form!
Ya Salaam! Stage Showcase
Session Type: Evening Event!
Date/Time: Saturday, 6:30pm doors til late
Description: Come and join some of Australia’s finest dancers and groups as they entertain you with an amazing stage showcase!
Want to be a performer at this show? Check out the details on this page.
Sunday 14th July Sessions
FluentBody with Anna Gal
Session Type: Sparrow Session (Early morning movement)
Date/Time: Sunday, 9:00-9:30am
Description: Fluent Body is a somatic movement practice that awakens the senses and the body through the innate wisdom of the body. Allow creativity to flow by releasing the tension in the body through a beautiful and soft movement meditation. We will focus on pleasure and joy while releasing what isn’t helpful to prepare the body and mind for dance and creativity.
About Your Facilitator: I am a trained performer and finished my studies in Theatre at the University of Glasgow in 2017. After this, I started focusing more on dance and continued my studies in dance in Berlin focusing on my newfound love for Fusion Bellydance.
In 2022 I graduated from the Fluent Body Academy, a somatic-based practice aimed at releasing tension and processing emotions through movement.
Since 2022 I have been performing with Galeem, a Fusion Bellydance Trio based in Berlin.
Hands and Feet, Feel the Beat! with Keti Sharif
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Sunday, 9:30-10:30am
Description: Keti and Sam invite participants on a fun exploratory journey of foot patterns that resonate with the drummer’s rhythms. Lively, fun and a focus on weight sensing to live drums. This class can either be done standing with footwork or if preferred, seated and the student can clap along with the rhythms. Either way it’s fun interactive and you will learn a lot!
About Your Facilitator: Having lived and performed in Egypt for many years, where she created the A-Z Bellydance methodology, Keti Sharif focuses on a somatic, musical and cultural experience that enriches the dancer’s art from the inside out. Her popular teacher training courses and A-Z Belly dance has been undertaken by over 4,000 students worldwide. Keti and drummer Sam run the blue lotus room studio in Perth Western Australia.
Aroma with Herbs and Teas for Wellness with Mimi Love
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Sunday, 9:30-11:00am
Description: Mimi Love will talk about how the history, smell, taste and feel of herbs used as tea can help with health and wellness. What is the difference between a tea, tonic and tincture? The aspects and energetics of tea relate to different flows and channels in the body. How it can help as a daily ritual – a form of meditation and its energetics and flow that help with yin/yang and to balance the meridians on the body. TOD – Time of day and the function of the body clock. Audience participation of the smell of the herbs. Q & A.
About Your Facilitator: Mimi Love is a highly qualified Holistic Health & Wellness therapist, facilitator, mentor and dance teacher with over 20 years of experience in dance. Vibrational medicine and FOL – frequencies of life and health have been her main focus for over 40 years. Specialises with the energetics of a person/s energy by sharing her wealth of knowledge. Holistic Kinesiology and her intuition are a necessity for her health due to her being hypersensitive to the modern world and chemicals.
25 Tips for Happening Hips
Session Type: Dance Movement
Date/Time: Sunday, 10:45am-12:15pm
Description: The hip complex is just that… complex… comprising not just the ball and socket joint, but all of the muscles that support the pelvis through movement. This session will take you through 25 different types of exercises for unlocking, strengthening and stretching through the hip complex, with explanations on the what, how and why for each exercise as we work our way through. Participants will walk away feeling beautifully activated and limber, and armed with a series of standing, seated, prone and supine exercises, somatic sequences, and stretches that you do any time.
BYO Yoga Mat and towel.
About Your Facilitator: Kylie is the director of Astarte Studio Belly Dance & Fusion and has been dancing and performing for over 25 years. An experienced teacher with a penchant for the eclectic and theatrical, Kylie has gained a reputation for pushing the creative boundaries of belly dance and fusion.
Kylie is a certified teacher in Keti Sharif’s A-Z Original and Advanced Bellydance methodology, and is also a certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Leader, Pilates, Barre, and Mind Body teacher.
Budgeting 101 with Janelle
Session Type: Presentation Session
Date/Time: Sunday, 11:15am-12:15pm
Description: A current hot topic on the bellydance scene at the moment is how much we are worth as dancers and how much we should be charging for our services.
This session will provide participants with all the things to consider when costing out classes, gigs, shows and events, from idea conception right through to post-performance evaluation.
Learn to identify your break-even point and how to maximise your earnings.
About Your Facilitator: Janelle is a regular professional performer at restaurants, schools, private events and festivals throughout Melbourne. She is also a fully-qualified Business Accountant and HR Manager. In addition to successfully running her own dance school for 20 years, Janelle has been an accounts manager and bookkeeper for many businesses including professional entertainers, entertainment agencies, and event managers.
Mental Health in Bellydance: Benefits and challenges with Ellie & Fernanda
Session Type: Presentation
Date/Time: Sunday, 12:15-1:15pm
Description: How does bellydance make you feel? Capable, strong, confident? Do you sometimes feel like an imposter, too? Comparing yourself to others? Whether you’re a student, teacher, or performer, you’re not alone. More attention is being given to the mental health benefits and challenges of bellydance. Join Fernanda and Ellie for a session on mental health in bellydance. We’ll explore the findings of their recent survey on mental health in bellydance and dive into strategies for maximising the mental health benefits and overcoming some of the mental health challenges associated with this art form.
About Your Facilitator: Fernanda is recognised internationally as a fun, creative and talented performer and teacher with 28 years of experience. She enjoyed a successful career in the Middle East and teaches at Amera’s Palace. She’s also a qualified Gestalt Psychotherapist and Movement Therapist.
Ellie has danced since childhood and fell in love with belly dancing in 2014. A teacher for over 5 years, Ellie has a PhD in mental health, and prides herself on providing a welcoming and safe environment for her students.
What's so Great About Reda Style? with Rachel
Session Type: Interactive Session
Date/Time: Sunday, 12:30-2:00pm
Description: Maybe you’ve heard teachers say how important it is to learn Mahmoud Reda’s technique. He’s even referred to as the father of modern Egyptian Dance. What’s all the fuss about? Find out who Reda was, why his work was so significant, and how it relates to dancers of today – including you! Learn iconic moves, and get a taste of his flowing sequences of footwork and graceful arm pathways. These versatile combinations are readily adaptable to your personal style; for improvisation, for choreography ideas, and as drills to foster grace and groundedness.
About Your Facilitator: With her wealth of knowledge and a teaching journey spanning thousands of classes over 2 decades, Rachel is recognised throughout Australia’s bellydance community for her expertise. Discovering Reda technique through her mentor, Paivi, was a game-changer in Rachel’s dance development; she is committed to keeping this knowledge alive for future generations. Rachel’s passion for the art form and dedication to honouring its cultural origins shine through in every class.
The History of Bal Anat, the Longest Running Bellydance Show with Amanda
Session Type: Presentation
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:15-2:15pm
Description:Learn all about the world’s longest running belly dance show – Bal Anat. From it’s simple starting at a Ren Faire in California in the 1968, through to performances across the world, this show has fascinated and entertained dancers and non dancers alike for nearly 60 years. See behind the scenes footage, early photos and video and learn more about how it’s influences so many dancers and dance shows.
About Your Facilitator: Amanda is the primary pom pom shaker at APB Dance in Melbourne. Her mentor, Suhaila Salimpour is the current director of the Bal Anat show and Amanda has been working with and studying under her since 2016. Amanda performed with Bal Anat in 2022, has been an audience member for the “mother show” in California during the 2019 world tour shows and is currently Australia’s only Salimpour School Fundamentals Certified Instructor.
Drum and Dance Circle
Session Type: Special FREE Event
Date/Time: Sunday, 2:15-3:15pm
Description: Bring your drums, bring your sagat/zill/cymbals, bring your dancing shoes and your noisy hip scarfs. We’re closing this event weekeend with a drum and dance circle and all are welcome.
It doesn’t matter if you learned to drum/dance/play this weekend, or 20 years ago, come and join us for some good fun.
