Rock your body

>>Tone your physicality and hone your
sensuality with belly-, break-,
pole-dancing and burlesque

BUILDING STRENGTH, BUSTING MOVES: JoDee Allen, Studio Sweatshop

Dancing is a gateway to sin, according to the alarmists among us, from parents to politicians, teachers to preachers, media pundits to plain old puritanical harpies. Linking dancing to sex, and sex to sin, is an old but resilient idea. But while conservatism suppresses sex education in this province, country and continent, dance education is on the rise, and the curriculum comes from the sinful realms of the street, the clubs and the TV.

The ascendance of dance-themed reality shows is a boon for ballroom instructors, attracting couples young and old. But would-be dancers in their teens and 20s tend to draw inspiration from music-video choreography, itself often influenced by sensual folkloric dance, hot and heavy musicals, retro erotica or straight-up stripping.

For many, dance classes are simply spiced-up workouts, and a chance to try something new; for some, it’s the first step towards a lifelong hobby, maybe even a career. And just like acting on sexual urges, responding to rhythm is human nature, it’s healthy and it’s a good time, as long as you’re doing it right.

Hip hop and house

The b-boys and b-girls at Studio Sweatshop specialize in the dances synonymous with hip hop and club culture, from the technically, physically challenging locks, spins and freezes of breakdancing to the aerobic footwork of house (aka clubbing) to the slower, sensual flair of rap and R&B music-video choreography, which emphasizes the upper body, putting lifeless arms to good use.

The Sweatshop was founded by JoDee Allen and Helen Simard, also co-founders of the breakdance company Solid State. Allen encourages all adventurous souls to give Sweatshop a try, even if its styles may appear intimidating.

“We do a lot of warm-up, and through practising the actual movements, you’re gonna build strength,” says Allen, describing Breakdance 1. “None of us have that the first time we walk into a class. Even if you’re generally strong, your muscles aren’t prepared for these particular positions, so for the first two levels of Breakdance, we focus on conditioning, core strength and endurance training.”

She doesn’t discourage the attendance of anyone who would even consider pursuing this sort of dance instruction–that omits children under 12 and obese, ill or otherwise feeble adults, particularly those with recent wrist or knee injuries.

The current session ends on April 19 and the next one runs from April 28–July 5. Check the Sweatshop Web site (www.

studiosweatshop.com) for details, and for information about the open-house/end-of-session battle on April 20. (514) 287-9090, 24 Mont-Royal W. #704.

SHIMMY, GYRATE AND UNDULATE:
Samantha, Studio Metronome

Bellydancing

Bellydancing–aka raqs sharki, baladi or Oriental dance–is an ancient folkloric art that’s as popular in the West today as it ever was, as any hip-scarf and zill salesman will tell you. With all the attention paid to the socially restrictive mores of the Middle East, the relatively tame but innately sexy dance has regained its rebellious rep, though its popularity among young ladies probably has more to do with its incorporation into the multicultural gyrations of Shakira, Beyoncé and at least half a dozen other pop stars.

“It’s really taken off,” says instructor Samantha Burnstein, “and it seems to appeal to women of all types and ages.”

Burnstein has taught bellydancing for a decade, in high school workshops, CEGEPs, the YMCA (most Montreal Ys offer beginners’ classes on a regular basis) and now at Studio Metronome, where she leads an intermediate class—the current session began on March 17 (at $135 for nine classes), but latecomers are welcome.

Given bellydancing’s long evolution across regions of the Middle East and North Africa, and subsequently in 20th-century North America, there are many variations of the dance, and no two instructors are alike.

Gamila Asfour also teaches intermediate courses at Metronome, representing the Christine Maltais School. At 68, she’s been teaching and performing for over four decades, and was a ground-breaker for bellydancing in this province. She specializes in the formal style of post-WWII Egyptian cabarets, which bears little resemblance to Burnstein’s folkloric ways.

“No one else in the world teaches this style apart from us,” says Maltais, “even in Egypt. It’s amazing to watch this woman dance.”

If any guys out there are wondering, let it be known that despite bellydancing’s apparent reliance on the female form, there is a history of male bellydancers, and men aren’t barred from registering—just prepare to feel like the odd man out. www.stdiometronome.ca. 4557 St-Laurent, #300.

STRIP AND TEASE WITH SASS AND STYLE:
Mlle Oui Oui Encore of the Bluelight Burlesque troupe

Burlesque

Another sensual style of dance that has resurged in recent years is burlesque, a precursor to contemporary stripping that focuses more on feminine moves and less on nude writhing.

Mlle Oui Oui Encore, who taught lindy-hop for eight years at Swing Express, is a self-taught burlesque dancer who began performing solo and eventually formed the Blue Light Burlesque troupe. She teaches three levels of burlesque, the first of which is an introduction to the art of strip-tease, with an emphasis on attitude and confidence.

“Even if you’ve done 15 years of ballet, it doesn’t mean you’ll be ready to strip in a group,” she says. “There’s a specific technique to taking off your clothes: you have to learn how to unzip your dress, and what to do if it won’t unzip.”

High heels and boas are the basic accessories, while fans, stockings and pasties come into play in Burlesque 2 and freestyle is emphasized at the highest level.

Mlle Oui Oui’s courses attract women of all shapes and sizes, from teens to seniors. Though a few of her students have gone on to join her troupe, she says most people just do it for themselves (and perhaps their significant other), and not for exercise. Burlesque obviously involves some physical exertion, with moves choreographed to music, but it’s a relatively slow-paced activity that lacks aerobic or (physical) strength-building qualities. But the sheer fun, the sensuality and even the fear factor involved are packin’ ’em in. The next session runs from April 8–May 17, six (French or bilingual) classes for $122. info@bluelightburlesque.com.

EMPOWER AND ENTERTAIN: Maiko, Alternative Fitness

Pole dancing

Dancing poles may not be a fixture at your local gym (yet), but women (and some men) are learning to love the pole, and what it does for their bodies.

The goal at Montreal’s Alternative Fitness is to whip you into shape with combined cardio and strength training, not to teach strip-club techniques, although their primary pole-dancing instructor, Maiko, did just that for a year prior to launching the studio last August. Learning to balance and move effectively on a pole instills the kind of grace and fluidity necessary to work as a stripper, but it also tones muscles here, there and everywhere.

“You work out everything at the same time when you pole-dance,” says Maiko. “You’re on your feet for an hour-and-a-half, your balance centre is your abs, your pecs, your obliques, and you have to support your body weight with your arms, shoulders and back.”

Three levels of pole-dancing are taught at Alternative Fitness (though only the first two are being taught in the current session, which began on March 1), ranging from an introductory course with no physical requirements, apart from being in average health overall, to an intense curriculum of “high-level acrobatics.” (Prices range from $120–$300 per session, for classes once to three times a week, or $15 for a drop-in.)

Maiko and her instructors-in-training have backgrounds in cabaret dancing and the Chinese pole discipline, ensuring a hard work-out for women and (in private classes only) men—a recent experiment with co-ed classes sadly ended in failure.