THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT TO SUPPORT US THIS YEAR!

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN 2013 FOR THE PITTSBURGH BELLYDANCE FESTIVAL AND THE BELLY-OFF IN THE BURGH: BIGGER, BETTER, BURGH-ER!

STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS!

Join us  for Pittsburgh’s Premiere Bellydance Competition and Expo! Brought to you by Janim and Mehira (2011 Champion) and Pittsburgh’s own, Ishtar!

The Belly-Off in the Burgh: A Competition and Expo!

Saturday, November 3rd | 7pm Belly-Off Competition

Pittsburgh Dance Center

4765 Liberty Avenue , 2nd floor

Pittsburgh PA

Looking for 2011 results? Jump here for a summary of winners!

What is the Belly Off?

The Belly Off is a competition that focuses on impromptu dancing to a live band. All contestants will receive a short taxim followed by an upbeat tune to finish their mini set. The upbeat tune will be drawn from Ishtar’s repertoire and challengers perform the selected tune on the spot. The panel of knowledgeable judges will determine the winners! The competition is open to dancers of all styles!

Not interested in participating? That is fine! Join us as we cheer on our local favorites in an exciting evening of Belly-rocking tunes provided by Pittsburgh’s very own Ishtar! Admission to the show is $10 in advance and $15 at the door! Not only are you seeing an intense competition, but you will see the judges and past winners performances as well as have access to many vendors!

ONLINE TICKET SALES ARE CLOSED! PLEASE PURCHASE YOUR TICKET AT THE DOOR! THANK YOU!!

Download a registration form here: 2012 Belly-Off! Registration form 

Schedule:

Saturday, 7pm Belly-Off Show and Competition begins

Sunday, November 4th, 9:30-12:30 pm Sherena’s Tango Fusion Workshop!

Sunday, 1:30-3:30pm Double Trouble: Double Veil Workshop with Mehira and Janim

Entry fee: $40 for solo contestants and $50 for groups. Register by paypal or by check. Contact Janim at JENGAL55 at gmail dot com for registration information by check! Read below for category information! Once you have purchased your registration, you will be contacted for which category you wish to enter!

Categories

This year we will have three categories with a maximum total number of participants limited to 20:

Entertainer of the year! - 3 or more years of professional bellydance experience. .

Headliner - less than 3 years professional bellydance experience

Troupe - groups of 2 or more people

Competitors may also purchase a DANCER PACKAGE! This package will contain video(s) of your performance, photos from your performance, and your scores and the judges notes. This package must be purchased prior to the start of the competition. Package is $25.

REGISTRATION CLOSES OCTOBER 29, 2012!!!

Prizes: Cash and fun prizes to be awarded to our belly-off champions. If you are interested in sponsoring an award, please contact us! Email to jengal55 at gmail dot com

Competition Rules and Criteria: Click here for the details!

Joining us from out of town?

Lodging: We will all be staying at the Comfort Inn Conference Center | Pittsburgh East

699 Rodi Road Pittsburgh PA 15235

PHONE: (412) 244-1600 FAX: (412) 823-1691

We have blocked some rooms for our event at $84.99 a night per room for double or single occupancy. The hotel will honor our group price Friday through Sunday night of our event, in case you decide you want to stay longer. The rate expires on 10/14/2012 so hurry and save with this great rate! Just mention the Belly-Off when making your reservation!

Meet our Distinguished Judges: Sherena, Amartia, Kweilin Nasar, and Holly Kirby

Sherena of Ohio- Sherena has been dancing since she could walk. Growing up a second generation Bellydancer, as well as belonging to a local ballet company, she has been able to gain 20 years of experience at the age of 29.

She goes on to explain how it all began, “I was six when I attended my first Bellydance class with Rosemary Popovich. Not only did I love learning Bellydance, I was anxious to learn it all. I studied Polynesian, Jazz, Tap, Ballroom and another great love of mine, Ballet. I was performing weekly at the Desert Inn, and other Middle Eastern Restaurants throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. International festivals, and fundraising events for the Canton Symphony Orchestra are  some of the other events I performed for.

“Furthering my studies I began attending classes at the Canton Ballet Company and was quickly accepted as an apprentice to the company at age 12. I continued to study with many Masters of the Art of Bellydance, including Dalia Carella, the late Bert Ballendine, Conchi & Schehera of Ohio to name a few. I remember playing my zills in the living room, or trying new sword tricks, my Mom would say “take a break!!!” I could not stop until I got it right!“

At age 14 Sherena now a full time Company Member of the Canton Ballet, decided to pull out of public school and have a private tutor. This gave her more time to dedicate to Dance. She appeared in several Ballet classics, The Nutcracker, where she later was featured as Arabian Lead, Swan Lake, and Cinderella. She studied with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and attended several workshops with Edward Villella, and Laura Alonso—daughter of famous Cuban Prima Ballerina Alicia Alonso. “I was dancing 6 hours a day, 4 hours of school, and on the weekends driving to Michigan or PA to perform at International Festivals, Middle Eastern restaurants, or Arabic weddings. Bellydance continued to be a staple every weekend as it is for me today.”

In 2OOO she was the opening act for Assi El Hallani at Tangiers in Akron, Ohio and has opened for other Lebanese stars such as, Wael Kafoury. In 2006 she auditioned for the Bellydance Superstars and was asked to join their American and European tours including their tour in 2008-2009. Her next adventure would come when she was chosen out of more than seven thousand applicants to be a part of the reality show, America’s Next Top Bellydancer/Project Bellydance, where she took first runner up. After Project Bellydance did their final show, Sherena was asked to join 5 of the other cast members to film a workout DVD called the Final 6. Not even a week later, Sherena was on her way to the Bellydancer of The Universe Competition held in Long Beach, California in 2011. She placed 1st runner up in the drum solo category and 2nd runner up in the Universal category.

Amartia of Maryland -  Amartia is a professional belly dancer in the Baltimore/DC/Harford County area. She has been dubbed the Greek Bellydance Bombshell!

Amartia has been dancing nearly all of her life, starting with numerous Greek Folk Dance groups. She has been studying bellydance for nearly a decade. Throughout that time she has become adept at all forms of props from veil to finger cymbals to wings to cane, to veil poi and fans. She has studied numerous styles of bellydance believing that learning should never stop

She is a regular dancer at Bombay nights, Sizzling bombay, Neel’s Kabob House, and Tobacco Center Cafe. She has also performed nationwide at Rakkasah West and East, at the Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive, at La Danse Oriental, at The Blue Monk and at the Hawthorne in Oregon.

Amartia is an award-winning bellydancer. She has traveled to compete all over the United States. She is the 2008 Jewel of the Nile and the first place winner for veil dance from Arabian Nights. More recently she was one of the 23 bellydancers chosen to compete in a reality web-show- Project bellydance!

Kweilin Nassar- Kweilin Nassar has been dancing ever since she could stand. Being of Middle Eastern heritage, everyone dances as an expression of joy. Her grandmother, mother and mother’s sister were all excellent dancers as traditionally expressed in the villages of Syria and Lebanon, but void of hip movements.

When she was 16, a turning point occured. Kweilin was mesmerized by a very skilled Oriental dancer fro Morocco who performed on champagne glasses and moved her hips to every beat of the music. She decided to pursue this dance form with enthusiasm. Her cousin, Ibrahim (Bobby) Farrah, was one of the finest Middle Eastern dancers in the U.S. and abroad, and he tutored her to refine her Oriental dance.

Nassar’s professional dance career began at the Mediterranean restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA, where she was the premier dancer for many years. Performing to a live Middle Eastern and Greek orchestra, which included renowned oudist Joe Budway and eight other musicians, each evening was exhilarating for all.

Kwelin’s skills as a solo Oriental dancer were only one part of her Middle Eastern dance expertise. Her love of folk dances was demonstrated as she trained and choreographed for a troupe of 20 folklore dancers. The group performed two-hour concerts in Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Music Hall and in the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Nassar was honored to represent American-Lebanese at the Smithsonian’s American Folklife Festival in Washington, DC, and choreographed and performed in the Lebanese progra for the Pittsburgh International Folk Festival for many years.

In addition to performing in Mexico City, Miami and other U.S. cities, she has taught Oriental dance workshops specializing in the expression of the dance.

Holly Kirby- Holly is an award winning Latin dancer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She specializes in all forms of social dance, but in particular Salsa and Tango.

Currently, Holly owns the Pittsburgh Dance Center and teaches classes there while hosting social dance nights every weekend!

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