Coming Events

2007 NEWS

Venus has her own TV show!
Bellydance Workout with Venus, produced by Channel M Multivision. We just finished our last shooting day on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007. This is a 20 episode instructional series featuring instruction by Venus and demonstration by dancers Lisa Jordan, Leona Planko-Finlayson, Mika Tanimura, Brandi Abele, Jen Bye. We can't wait for you to see it! Special thanks go to Renata from Avalon Dance Shop for donating ballroom dance shoes, Angelo Luzio Shoes of Montreal for donating bellydance slippers, Jaz & Sonny from Rokko Sarees, Vancouver for subsidizing fabric for most of the outfits, James Bowers for creating all the original music, Nan Lehto for sewing much of the costuming an helping with designs, Joanne Lee for additional sewing and Lynn Zimmerman of Tech 1 Hair Design, Vancouver's hottest stylist and good personal friend, for keeping my hair fab-u-lous! and big thanks to producer Shirley Cole and all the wonderful crew at Channel M who helped make this show so beautiful and such a rewarding experience! And of course thanks to my husband Rod for all his love & support to help minimize my stress during shooting! More photos coming soon! We don't know when it will air yet (my guess is spring 2008) but will definitely put out the word! The Workout series airs on weekdays at 11:00am. You can watch season 1 now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 2008 Venus Bellydance goes to Argentina!
Venus & students have been invited by Amir Thaleb of Argentina to attend his weeklong intensive in Buenos Aires Feb 2008. Let the fundraising begin! For more about Amir Thaleb visit his website.

Summer 2006

"Bellydancing Study Helps Earn Degree"
Article on Venus' Shimmylab research on SFU website

Venus Bellydance 2006 Year End Student Revue SOLD OUT!
Read the review by Devorah of the Middle Eastern Dance Association

Our ticket sales for the 4th Annual year end show on July 9, 2006 at the Hot Jazz Club in Vancouver were so successful we had to add a second show on Monday night! The show featured 50 of our Venus Bellydance students from Beginner 1 to Advanced and Repertory classes. Many were first-time performers! The dancers worked for months to perfect their choreographies, learning valuable skills in costuming, makeup, hair, rehearsal and interpersonal skills as they were required to organize their own rehearsals outside of class and work together cooperatively (the world needs more of this, yes?) in order to perform. Every solo and group piece was presented in a formal critique session before being allowed in the show. Everyone's hard work and dedication paid off in a smooth-running, highly polished presentation--enhanced with fantastic lighting by Rod "Mr. Venus" Knowlan--to houses of 220 and 150 delighted audience members. Featured guest artists included Vancouver's hottest troupe, Ala Nar ("On Fire"), whose members Lisa Jordan (Aradeeya), Leona Planko-Finalyson and Michelle Etienne are also our Venus Bellydance instructors at Renfrew Ctr, Killarney Ctr, and Masabo Studio, respectively. These ladies were also featured soloists in the show as were Nina-D, Venus, of course, and the inimmitable Aziz! Michelle Etienne also conributed four diverse troupe choreographies performed by her Masabo Beginner 1, 2 and Intermediate students.

Thanks once again to all involved for their hard work and dedication to their art form! And many thanks to all the friends and family members of the dancers who came out to lend their support and be heartily entertained!

Spring 2006
Venus Graduates and is Featured in SFU News!
This June Venus (Marilee Nugent) convocated for her second degree, a BSc in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University, after receiving a BA in Art & Culture analysis the previous spring. She would like to thank all her professors in both faculties who were so encouraging of her interest to research bellydance for many school projects and courses, from cultural-historical to biomechanical and exercise phsyiological analyses of this fascinating art and movement form. In her 4th year Kinesiology, Venus was fortunate to be approved for a directed study course on bellydance movements, supervised by acclaimed researcher in motor control and neuromuscular control, Dr. Ted Milner who has published research in such journals as Nature, Biological Cybernetics, Experimental Brain Research, Journal of Neurophysiology and others. Venus' project involved motion capture of 28 different bellydance movements with simultaneous recording of activity from 22 different muscles, and was featured in SFU news. See the article on the Simon Fraser University website. We still have much data analysis to perform and hope it will yield interesting insights into the control of complex multi-joint coordination patterns. You can read more on "Shimmy Lab" research by Venus. Please check back for Venus' research papers available on this site soon.

 

VENUS BELLYDANCE
COMING EVENTS 2007-2008

Scroll down for full calendar

POSTPONED
Venus Bellydance Year End Student Recital
IMPORTANT: We have decided to postpone this event until January - details coming soon.
Featuring Venus Bellydance Students, Instructors and special guests!
Any tickets purchased will be refunded in full.

Jan 20, 2008
Venus & the Bellydance Superstars present Bozenka
Full Details All day workshop 10-3 $75. Polish Community Hall 4015 Fraser Street, Vancouver BC. Register Now!

Vancouver, BC CANADA
For more information on any of these events, please contact Venus
or call 604 608-6608