NEW YEAR SATURDAY DANCE WORKSHOPS - 4 FULL DAYS!

Get ready to dance your way into the new year with our exciting workshops at Gymbox Victoria. Join us for four full days of non-stop dancing fun in 20 different dance styles!

Whether you're a beginner looking to learn some new moves or an experienced dancer wanting to refine your skills, our workshops cater to dancers of all levels in so many differnt fun dance styles. Come solo or bring your friends for a weekend filled with music, laughter, and of course, lots of dancing!

Don't miss out on this opportunity to kick off the new year on the right foot. Mark your calendars and get ready to groove with us at the New Year Saturday Dance Workshops - 4 Full Days!

Dance classes are 1 hour each and all at a general level, unless otherwise specified.

To see dance style descriptions, please see website www.discoverdanceuk.com under 'studio dance courses'. To see style examples, check our Youtube page at Discover Dance UK under 'playlists'.

18th January 2025

Salsa Fusion 10am

Bachata Fusion 11am

Reggaeton Fusion 2pm

Merengue Fusion 3pm

Afrobeats Fusion 4pm

25th January 2025

Belly Bolly Fusion 10am

Soca/Dancehall fusion 11am

Commercial Fusion 2pm

Heels Dance 3pm

Contemporary Fusion 4pm

1st February 2025

Intermediate Belly Dance 10am

Advanced Belly Dance 11am

Drum Solo Belly Dance 2pm

Veil Belly Dance 3pm

Shabbi Belly Dance 4pm

8th February 2025

Diva Dance Fusion10am

Baladi Belly Dance 11am

Tribal Belly Dance Fusion 2pm

Floorwork and Turns Belly Dance 3pm

Shimmies Belly Dance 4pm

SALSA FUSION (General Level) 10-11am

Learn this dance form with origins from Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish (European) and African cultures. Learn Salsa dance timing, postures, arms, footwork and flourishes. This workshop that captures everyone from the get go because of the addictive music, Latin flavour, powerful rhythmic patterns and interesting footwork. A workshop that will leave you feeling like a diva! Passionate, fierce and sensuous.

BACHATA FUSION (General Level) 11am-12pm

Bachata is danced with soft hip movements and a tap or syncopation (1, 2, 3, tap/syncopation). A style of social dance from the Dominican Republic which is now danced all over the world. Dance moves or step variety strongly depend on the music, setting, mood, and interpretation. The music is mesmerising and the movements of both Bachata and Belly Dance combined are a wonderful combination of sways, waves and sensual hip fluctuations.

REGGAETON FUSION (General Level) 2-3pm

A Puerto Rican dance form strongly influenced by Latin American, Caribbean, and hip hop music. It’s a fun, full of flavour and a free-spirited style of dance popular for its body waves, lower body isolations, locks, pops, groove and attitude! Large movements that compliment Belly Dancing accurately and a full body and mind workout that will leave you sweating and glowing with confidence. You can’t help but move your body rhythmically when you hear this music!

SHAABI BELLY DANCE (General Level) 3-4pm

Shaabi (meaning of the people) is the music and voice of the streets in Egypt and the lyrics of shaabi songs are usually about politics, personal life or love.

Dancewise, Egyptian Shaabi style is playful and flirtatious, a bit ‘cheeky’, with a strong folkloric influence. This style is full of feeling!

The movements are earthier without many spins nor big travelling steps; steps are mostly on flat feet and the style is funky, bouncy and upbeat.

AFROBEATS FUSION (General Level) 4-5pm

Afrobeats dance is a diverse and fascinating style originating predominantly form Sub-Saharan Africa. It is an evolution from traditional African dance styles following the creation of Afrobeats music. Combine the energetic fluidity and melodious rhythm of afrobeats with belly dance and you create a wonderful concoction of movements and an enthralling dance style.

BELLY BOLLY FUSION (General Level) 10am-11am

Taught by Amie Connelly

An energetic, rhythmic, fun fitness dance exercise to great music. Combining several forms of Indian and Bollywood dancing combined with Belly Dance that will have you moving and working your whole body! Higher and lower-intensity dance sequences to get you moving, sweating and smiling.

SOCA/DANCEHALL FUSION (General Level) 11am-12pm

Taught by Amie Connelly

Expel all your energy, move in ways you didn't think you could and have heaps of fun in this class. This music is what you play ay parties to get you up and dancing.Soca dancing is an upbeat dance that combines elements of Caribbean and African styles. Soca is an unstructured dance that is largely interpretive. Soca literally means the '(So)ul of (Ca)lypso', and represents a fusion of African and Caribbean Kaiso and Calypso and South Asian rhythm.
Key elements of dancehall music include its extensive use of Jamaican Patois rather than Jamaican standard English and a focus on the track instrumentals (or "riddims").Combine the two styles and you have the time of your life!

COMMERCIAL FUSION (General Level) 2-3pm

A commercial Modern dance involving elements of western dance styles to include Shakira and Beyonce like movements. Elements of Shaabi (the bellydance style), street, hip hop and modern dancing. This course will enable you to bring out your inner diva with big goddess like movements and you will be able to truly show off your skills with elaborate movements! You will also be able to expand on your arm and hand intricacies within dance.

HEELS DANCE (General Level) 3-4pm

Taught by Amie Connelly

It is a highly technical artform which when perfected creates a one-of-a-kind, dazzling display of passionate dancework.

Heels Dance is an art form for empowerment, developing strong dance techniques as well as confidence and self-expression for its practitioners. Students will receive a brief warm-up that will get them comfortable walking in heels before learning choreography with a focus on musicality, lines, grooves, hair whips, and floor work. The class environment is designed to help you tap into your sensuality and self-expression as you glide across the floor.

CONTEMPORARY FUSION (General Level) 4pm-5pm

Contemporary technique. Working on sinuosity and flawless movement of the body. Freedom of expression, strength, toning and flexibility are all attributes ascertained within this fusion style. Connecting mind and body through fluid and wide-range dance movements, taking up space to create full expression.

INTERMEDIATE BELLY DANCE 10-11am

Taught by Amie Connelly

Push your skills further and challenge your technique, learn level 2 movements, strengthen muscles, refine isolations, learn various styles and combinations. Some belly dance experience required, but not essential.

ADVANCED BELLY DANCE 11am-12pm

Challenge yourself as a dancer with intricate movements, pops, locks and complex drills, fun combinations, precise isolations and learn advanced movements and learn what it feels like to be a true belly dancer!

Build your skills rapidly with travelling steps, footwork, isolations, contractions, precision of movements and greater fluidity that will all be taught in this challenging but fun workshop. A faster paced class with lots of layering, multiple technique, isolations, varied drills and combinations from smooth and flowy techniques to empowering pops and locks. Accumulate all the skills you have learnt in previous classes thus far.

DRUM SOLO BELLY DANCE (General Level) 2-3pm

This course covers moving your body percussively using pops and locks, accents and punctuations. The music is exciting which enables rapid sharp movements combined with softer shimmies, travelling movements and fluidity. Control isolations and learn belly dancing at a very fast pace through this mindful and intricate style of belly dancing. A drum solo piece can leave an audience in absolute awe

VEIL BELLY DANCE (General Level) 3-4pm

Taught by Amie Connelly

In this course your veil is your dance partner! Learn to dance gracefully with a veil: poses and postures, flourishes and turns. Your arms will be strengthened and you will learn how to create graceful movements with them. Your upper body strength and posture will also improve and you will get moving across the room and dance floor with true refinement, elegance and grace!

MERENGUE FUSION (General Level) 4pm-5pm

Taught by Amie Connelly

Merengue is a fun, fast and easy dance made up of simple steps. The typical signature rhythm figure of merengue is the 'quintillo'. The 'Merengues' are fast-paced songs with a 2/4 beat pattern.

Merengue, originating in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, strongly influenced by Venezuelan and Afro-Cuban musical practices and by dances throughout Latin America. Originally, and still, a rural folk dance and later a ballroom dance, the merengue is at its freest away from the ballroom. Come and have fun in this fast but fun and easy to follow class.

DIVA DANCE FUSION (General Level) 10am-11am

Want to dance like Beyonce or Shakira? Inspired by all styles of dance including hip hop, jazz, funk, commerical and more. Learn styling, confidence, sensuality, empowerment and attitude and expand your dance repertoire with choreographies and exercises designed to bring out your inner Diva! A fun class you do not want to miss!

BALADI BELLY DANCE (General Level) 11am-12pm

Taught by Sarasvata Belly Dancer

Throughout Middle Eastern history, belly dance has been performed at special celebrations and occasions like weddings, birth announcements, and festivals. Learn this flowy and grounded style of beautiful belly dancing. Rhythm, flow, musicality, sensuality all describe the folk and social style of belly dancing.

TRIBAL BELLY DANCE FUSION (General Level) 2-3pm

Awaken the serpent energy in your spine and move your body in a snake like manner with tribal fluidity, smooth sensuous motions and contrast this with sharp pops and locks! Extreme control of movements and strong isolations will be encouraged to enable you to move like water with precision, grace and deep expression. A beautiful dance that has been created from a combination of worldly dance styles with intense music and deep dark soulful sounds to rouse your spirit and divine energy.

FLOORWORK AND TURNS BELLY DANCE (General Level) 3-4pm

Perfecting the range of turns, to include paddles turn, travelling turn, step turn, speed control, core control, arms with turns and generally improving the precision and connection of turns with other movements.

Strength-based seamless floor-work maneuvers to showcase a dancer's range of skills and repertoire. Embellishment postures, safety techniques, transitional movements to get on and off the floor and sequences of layers and drills with floor-work.

SHIMMIES BELLY DANCE (General Level) 4pm-5pm

Exploring the vast range of shimmies to include, Egyptian shimmy, tension shimmy, shimmy layers, twist shimmies, hagalla 3/4 shimmies, Turkish shuffle, shoulder shimmies and choo choo shimmies!

PRICES:

1 Hour Workshop: £13 (Each)

1 day of workshops: £49 (5 hours of any class on any day)

2 days of workshops: £88 (10 hours of any class on any day)

3 days of workshops: £99 (15 hours of any class on any day)

4 days of workshops: £115 (20 hours of any class on any day)

Host or Publisher Anita Makwana