Online classes with Audra
Unsure of what’s right for you? Get in touch
Weekly online live stream classes with class recordings:
Spring Session (7 weeks) - Wednesday, April 17 through Thursday, May 30
Performance Level Up Series (Wednesdays 6-7 pm ET):
Elegant Arms: Beyond Technique - April 17, 24, May 1
Preparing Your Improvisation - May 8, 15, 22, 29, June (no class June 5) 12, 19, 26, July 3.
Final Touches: Details for a Stunning Performance - July 10No online or in-person classes June 5 & 6
Summer Session (7 weeks) - Wednesday, June 12 through Thursday, July 25
SUMMER BREAK
Fall classes resume Wednesday, September 11
This subscription provides livestream and recorded access to our regular classes (Boot Camp, Fluid & Funky Phrases and Creative Movement), and as well as any specialty classes or workshops offered. You'll also receive access to last session's class recordings, any pop-up online workshops offered during your subscription, curated specialty programs & access to the online library of practice & tutorial videos.
Dark Side Boot Camp is continuous drilling session designed to challenge all levels, we drill movements in a variety of ways (slow/fast, stationary/moving, repeated/alternating). The aim of the class is that each dancer works within their own skill set, so removing any additions or aspects of the drill that are overwhelming or frustrating is always encouraged. Registrants for the full session receive access to both live stream and class recordings.
Fluid & Funky Phrases is designed to help you connect to and develop fluidity and liquidity in your dance, this class focuses on general form and movement as you learn original dance phrases created by Audra. Not cumulative - this class is perfect for drop-in. Open level, all styles welcome. Registrants for the full session receive access to both live stream and class recordings.
Creative Movement classes are an opportunity to discover and explore movement and movement qualities through guided exercises working with Space, Time, Weight and Flow. You’ll discover the qualities you are naturally drawn to and play with the qualities we tend to avoid, as you begin to notice and build your personal movement vocabulary. All levels and styles warmly welcomed. This class is perfect for drop in and for those getting back to moving or new to movement classes.
Please use coupon codes below to save 50% or 100% off of session fees, with. no questions asked.
I think dance and movement are important for mental health and should be accessible to everyone.
Boot Camp - HALFOFFBOOT or ALLOFFBOOT for 50% or 100% off
Fluid & Funky Phrases - HALFOFFFLUID or ALLOFFFLUID for 50% or 100% off
Creative Movement - HALFOFFCREATIVE or ALLOFFCREATIVE for 50% or 100% off
Specialty Classes
A 3 course package that includes Elegant Arms: Beyond Technique (3 hours), Preparing Your Improvisation (8 hours) and Final Touches (1 hour). Total value $360.
In this 3 week course, you’ll learn tips and exercises that will elevate your ability to connect to and energize the upper limbs as you create beautiful and elegant frames and pathways. Stepping away from improving your technical skills, this course instead focuses on increasing awareness of your arms as we examine intentional placement, variations and moving pathways. Classes run Wednesdays 6-7 pm ET April 17, April 24 and May 1.
Unsure about how to prepare for an improvised performance? Tired of your improvisations not changing or getting better? This 8 week course will take you through simple guided exercises covering methods that will offer you depth and options that are separate from (more) technique development, music mapping and merely knowing your song well. Wednesdays 6- 7pm ET, May 8, 15, 22, 29 and June (no class 5), 12, 19, 26 and July 3
A 1 hour class for all levels and styles.Join Audra for a 1 hour class as we discuss and practice some of the finishing details you’ll need to level up your performance. Whether you’re a soloist or troupe member, dancing choreography or an improvisation, a first timer or a seasoned pro, these elements are often omitted in classes or rehearsals. Often neglected, these things can be the final touches that can provide an almost intangible sparkle to your piece. Wednesday, July 10, 6-7 pm ET
Drop In Classes
Drop ins are welcome in any class, at any time. While the optimum experience is obviously regular attendance, we recognize that not all schedules will allow for that.
Classes are $25 per one hour class and can be scheduled up to the class start time.
You’ll receive a Zoom link in your confirmation email that will arrive moments after you register.
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We’ll work with 4 elements that can help bring expression and emotion to your dance. We’ll be applying our tools onto improvisation, but this work can also be applied to choreography. Especially helpful for performers, but beneficial to all dancers.
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A continuous drilling session designed to challenge all levels, we drill movements in a variety of ways (slow/fast, stationary/moving, repeated/alternating). The aim of the class is that each dancer works within their own skill set, so removing any additions or aspects of the drill that are overwhelming or frustrating is always encouraged.
Registrants for the full session receive access to class recordings.
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Designed to help you connect to and develop fluidity and liquidity in your dance, this class focuses on general form and movement as you learn original dance phrases created by Audra.
Not cumulative - this class is perfect for drop-in. Open level, all styles welcome.
Registrants for the full session receive access to class recordings.
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Creative Movement classes are an opportunity to discover and explore movement and movement qualities through guided exercises working with Space, Time, Weight and Flow. You’ll discover the qualities you are naturally drawn to and play with the qualities we tend to avoid, as you begin to notice and build your personal movement vocabulary.
All levels and styles warmly welcomed. This class is perfect for drop in and for those getting back to moving or new to movement classes.
Registrants for the full session receive access to both live stream and class recordings.
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Fundamentals takes a look at foundational and essential belly dance technique as we focus on one group of isolations or movements per week.
Open to all levels and styles. Suitable for absolute beginners.
Here’s what people are saying about
Live Online classes with Audra
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"I am loving the online classes!
It's great to get to work with Audra in real time. It's so much more social, keeps me actually showing up for dance and I can ask questions or for clarifications if I'm unsure of anything.”
Susan (St. John’s, Newfoundland)
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"These classes are amazing!
Not only do I get to take Audra's weekly classes from the other side of the country, but the quality for an online class is top notch! Audra is as attentive as always (even called out my fiancé when he thought he was being sneaky and jokingly messed with me during class ).
The tech quality is also fantastic! Sound and video are way better than other online classes.
Can't wait for more!”
- Kelley (Edmonton, Alberta)
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"Audra fosters an environment of support & caring
that I find really helps me to thrive. Taking classes with Audra always leaves me feeling inspired, empowered, supported, and revitalized. It's such a huge motivator for me to be able to learn from Audra and connect with my awesome dance friends across the country despite our current circumstances.”
- Mallory (St. John’s, Newfoundland)
“Between the intensive and daily private lessons during that time, she changed my dancing in five days flat.”
- Heather
“Your online classes have been a lifesaver! Please don’t ever stop!”
”Thank you for offering all these online classes. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
“Your ability to build community is incredible!”
“You’re an amazing teacher. You’re not just an instructor, you’re a true teacher.”
“Thank you for doing what you do.”
“Thank you for expanding my creative mind and furthering layering and pathways.”
Audra Simmons is a captivating dance artist from Toronto. Her authentic performance style is just as at home steeped in musicality as it is in complete silence. Her signature balance of tension and release keeps audiences at the edge of their seats. As a solo artist, she has graced stages of festivals and shows, both in person and online, across Canada and internationally. With the recent pivot to online shows and video collaborations, Audra stands out as a master of lighting and effects that drench her performances in atmosphere and mood. Her offerings are authentic, unexpected, and thoughtful.
With regular appearances at live online shows such as Glitter Super Amazing Exploding Art Show and Bellydance Brew, she’s grown a dedicated online following. Video collaborations such as Dark Winter, Connections, and her own production of Uncanny Haunting’s Living Ghosts, have solidified her place as a sought-after dance video creator. In fact, her course The Online Dancer: Shooting and Editing, was featured in the 2021 Bellydance Bundle, a collection of classes from 55 renowned instructors from all over the world.
Audra’s dance company Lavish performs modern, fusion bellydance, and experimental dance at local and international venues. Under her direction, Lavish’s diverse body of work includes full length productions: STEP in 2010, Affogato in 2011 (which toured Ontario and Quebec), and Fragment Repair in 2017. She has also produced many events showcasing local dancers and international icons in the bellydance world.
A forever student, Audra continues to stretch her own ideas and skills by reading, researching, and attending workshops. She builds on the foundations that she learned during her early training with Arabesque Academy, Rachel Brice, FatChanceBellydance, and the Suhaila Salimpour School of Bellydance.
In 2004, Audra founded The Dark Side Studio in Toronto, Canada’s first dance studio dedicated to fusion and modern bellydance. Under her artistic direction, the studio has evolved to include experimental movement studies as well.
Audra specializes in movement for adults with all levels of experience. While her specific style leans toward fusion or modern bellydance, her teachings can apply to all styles of bellydance and the wider dance community. Audra strives to create a welcoming and supportive environment for her students. She aims to help all students develop their dance skills, their mind/body connection, and their ability to move with confidence and creativity. With over 20 years of experience in teaching, Audra is well known for her ability to challenge and elevate her students, and for creating community in the truest sense of the word.
At the Dark Side Studio, she launched her Dark Side Dance Program, a four-level certification in technique and musicality geared toward bellydancers of all styles. She has taught over 25 of these intensives and has certified dancers in Canada, the US, and internationally. Audra also teaches Take It Back intensives which focus on musical theory, music mapping, and movement creation techniques. In 2019 she hosted the first Illumination retreat at the prestigious Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta and returned in 2020 for a second year before the pandemic hit.
Quickly adapting to our new reality, Audra switched her full weekly class schedule to live online classes and workshops, as well as on demand recorded classes. She also offers in-person popup workshops in southern Ontario as pandemic restrictions allow.