WATCH ABOVE: Toronto has fallen crazy in love with Beyography. Trish Kozicka drops in on a class to see what it’s all about.
TORONTO — Beyoncé dance classes — better known as “Beyography” — have taken Toronto by storm.
“It has seriously been one of the biggest game changers of the last year of my life,” said Jess Salguerio, an actress who’s been doing the Beyography classes for about half a year.
“I definitely have had the most successful six months of my career and I’m sure that this is directly related.”
But it’s only in the last month, as word of Beyography spread, that the class has really exploded. Now dozens of students pack a studio in the city’s west end each Wednesday at noon for two hours. That’s how long it takes Nicky Nasrallah to teach them the choreography to one of Beyoncé’s songs. Last Wednesday it was ‘Ego.’ This week, it’ll be ‘Run the World.’
WATCH: Nicky Nasrallah teaches us Beyoncé’s top three dance moves
Nasrallah has memorized the moves to about 20 songs, all from watching YouTube videos and attending four of her concerts in 2013.
“She took all my money then, so basically I’m being paid back through these classes,” he joked, adding that the pop star is his “one and only.”
“She is the embodiment of flawed perfection. She’s so perfect, but she’s also relateable because she does screw up a lot. She falls on stage all the time. I’ve been at her concert where she’s sung the wrong lyrics.”
Her dancers aren’t flawless either, or even totally in sync. Instead, they each inject their own flavour into the moves — and that’s what Nasrallah encourages his students to do as well. It’s how he says his class differs from other dance classes.
At the end of the day, Beyography is just about having fun and feeling empowered.
“It gave me so much confidence, and just made me remember what was so good about being a bigger version of yourself. Beyonce has a persona called ‘Sasha Fierce’, which is who she is on stage. And it allows her to be this enhanced version of herself,” said Salguerio.
READ MORE: Did you know you can study Beyoncé at the University of Victoria?
“Coming to this class, I kind of just started to embrace this like powerful, feminine prowess and that’s what’s so cool about Beyonce music.”
“I’ve had other people, Nasrallah added, “who’ve said, ‘I’ve been really depressed lately and this class is the only thing that’s kept me going.'” Another student used the class to help land a spot in the “Kinky Boots” musical.
Another perk: The work-out it gives you.
“There’s a lot of squats in her numbers. She loves squatting…It’s where she gets her booty from: squatting in heels!”
There’s also a lot of hair whipping. So beware of whiplash.
Nasrallah plans to introduce some evening and weekend classes in July. You can sign up for his mailing list here, or find out more on his Facebook page.
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