The Art of Belly Dancing

🐉🏮 Lion Dance — Tradition & The People Behind It 🏮🐉 The drums thunder. The cymbals clash. The lion awakens. At the Hamilton Lunar New Year Market, the Lion Dance by @wushuhero brought strength, joy, and prosperity energy into the room. Rooted in centuries of tradition, the Lion Dance is performed to chase away negative energy and invite good fortune for the year ahead. The drumbeat is said to mirror the heartbeat of the community — bold, unified, alive. Special thanks to Jaycee of Red Packet PopUps and Joyce of the Hamilton Chinese Association for helping bring this celebration to life. Events like this don’t just happen — they’re built by dedicated people who care deeply about culture and community. And in the final moments of the video — the lion rests. The performers step out. On their phones. Human again. It’s a fun reminder: Behind every powerful tradition are everyday people carrying it forward. In this Year of the Fire Horse — bold, fast-moving, transformative — it felt powerful to witness both the spectacle and the humanity behind it. Tradition lives because people choose to keep it alive. Grateful to celebrate together. 🐎🔥✨ #LunarNewYear #LionDance #YearOfTheFireHorse #HamiltonEvents #CommunityLove

🏮✨ Proud Heritage. Proud Identity. ✨🏮 After the danceFLOW Qigong & Tai Chi session at the Hamilton Lunar New Year Market, Genevieve and her mother, Sharon, came up to Robert from danceScape to share something meaningful. A conversation about identity. About heritage. About pride. Sharon spoke about how proud she is of her daughter — a Canadian-Chinese young woman who embraces both cultures with confidence and joy. To be fully Canadian. To honour Chinese roots. To carry both with strength. That is powerful. Moments like this remind us that Lunar New Year celebrations are more than festivals. They are spaces where younger generations see themselves reflected — where culture is lived, not just remembered. In the Year of the Fire Horse — symbolizing bold energy and forward movement — it feels especially meaningful to witness children and young adults stepping forward grounded in who they are. Heritage is not just history. It is identity in motion. Grateful for conversations like these and for grassroots organizations like the Hamilton Chinese Association and Red Packet Popups. 🐎🔥✨ Video Credit: Nicholas Brudnicki & Beverley Cayton-Tang #LunarNewYear #ProudHeritage #CanadianChinese #YearOfTheFireHorse #HamiltonEvents

🏮 The Beauty - and Value - of Imperfection 🏮 At the Hamilton Lunar New Year Market, I met four talented young clay artists from Sheridan College — the collective @burned_mud. I purchased a beautiful handcrafted vase. Its top lip was slightly uneven. But not defective. Just not symmetrical. Because what I saw was not a flaw. I saw presence. In Japanese aesthetics, there is a concept called wabi-sabi — the appreciation of imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness. Beauty not in polish, but in authenticity. Not in symmetry, but in story. Imperfection signals touch. It reveals process. It carries the fingerprint of the maker. The vase reminded me of my father’s Rolex. The glass is scratched. There is no original box. No documentation. Yet it is among my most treasured keepsakes. Its scratches are biography. Its wear is time made visible. Its “imperfections” are evidence of a life lived. There is another Japanese concept — kintsugi — where broken pottery is repaired with gold. The crack is not hidden; it is illuminated. The repair becomes part of the beauty. We often confuse perfection with value. But many cultures — especially within Asian philosophy — suggest the opposite: what is slightly irregular is more alive. Even in Daoist thought, the rigid breaks. The flexible endures. What moved me most was that these artists — from mixed cultural backgrounds — were part of a Lunar New Year celebration rooted in tradition, yet alive with new voices. Clay shaped by young hands. Tradition carried forward through diversity. Imperfection embraced as identity. Perhaps perfection is static. But imperfection breathes. And perhaps that is why certain objects — scratched, uneven, worn — mean more than anything flawless ever could. #LunarNewYear #WabiSabi #Kintsugi #BeautyInImperfection #HamiltonArtists burnedmud YearOfTheFireHorse

🏮✨ Lunar New Year Highlights — Year of the Fire Horse ✨🏮 Another beautiful moment from the Hamilton Lunar New Year Celebration. We began with breath. With balance. With movement flowing through the room. Before the Lion Dances. Before the music. Before the market came alive. danceScape opened the afternoon with danceFLOW Qigong & Tai Chi — welcoming first-time participants, families, and curious onlookers into gentle, grounding movement. And congratulations to Ila & her mother — winners of the Lucky 88888 Prize! 🧧✨ Eight symbolizes prosperity and abundance — a fitting way to welcome the Year of the Fire Horse, representing bold momentum and forward energy. In a year that symbolizes rapid change, we were reminded: Momentum begins with balance. Grateful for every person who stepped into the circle with us. More highlights to come. 🐎🔥✨ #danceScape #danceFLOW #LunarNewYear #YearOfTheFireHorse #HamiltonEvents

🏮✨ danceScape at the Hamilton Lunar New Year Celebration ✨🏮 What an incredible way to begin the Year of the Fire Horse. danceScape was honoured to open the Hamilton Lunar New Year Market with a danceFLOW Qigong & Tai Chi session, welcoming participants of all ages into breath, balance, and gentle flowing movement. Before the Lion Dances. Before the music. Before the festivities filled the space. We gathered in stillness — grounding energy, aligning posture, and moving together as one community. It was beautiful to see families, newcomers, and festival guests join in — many trying Qigong and Tai Chi for the very first time. A moment of calm before celebration. A foundation before forward momentum. Congratulations to Ila & her mother for winning our Lucky 88888 Prize at the Hamilton Lunar New Year Celebration! 🧧🐎 The number 8 symbolizes prosperity and abundance — and what better way to welcome the Year of the Fire Horse than with a little extra good fortune? Grateful to share movement, culture, and connection with Hamilton. More highlights to come. 🐎🔥✨ Video Credit: Thank you to @nbrudnicki and Beverley Cayton-Tang #danceScape #danceFLOW #LunarNewYear #YearOfTheFireHorse #HamiltonEvents CommunityLove DanceWinterDifferently

🏮✨ Hamilton Lunar New Year Celebration on CHCH Television @chchtv ✨🏮 This year’s celebration at the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre in downtown Hamilton was bigger and more vibrant than ever — over 28 vendors sharing food, art, vintage clothing, and drinks, alongside cooking demos, martial arts, Lion dances, calligraphy, dumpling workshops, lantern making, and family-friendly activities throughout the day. danceScape opened the afternoon with danceFLOW Qigong TaiChi — grounding breath and balance as the festivities unfolded. 2026 marks the Year of the Fire Horse — symbolizing rapid change, bold energy, and powerful forward momentum. Congratulations to the Hamilton Chinese Association (Joyce) and Red Packet PopUps (Jaycee) for organizing such a wonderful and meaningful community celebration. 👏🏮 Grateful to celebrate culture, community, and new beginnings together. Stay tuned for more video highlights on @danceScape. 🐎🔥✨ #danceScape #CHCH #LunarNewYear #YearOfTheFireHorse #HamiltonEvents

🏮🧧 Hamilton Lunar New Year Celebration — Year of the Fire Horse 🐎🔥 Black. White. Stillness. Flow. In this video, Qigong & Tai Chi move through light and shadow — a reflection of yin and yang. Strength and softness. Grounded and rising. Breath becoming motion. As we welcome the Year of the Fire Horse — symbolizing bold energy and forward momentum — we begin with balance. 📅 Sunday, February 22 🕐 1:00–6:00 PM 📍 51 Stuart St, Hamilton 🎟 Free event (ticket required — link in bio) 🌿 1:00 PM — danceFLOW Qigong & Tai Chi mini class Led by danceScape Then stay for: 🐉 Lion Dances 🎶 Live Music 🥋 Martial Arts 🀄 Mahjong 🏮 Lantern Making 🛍️ 28 Artisans & Vendors Arrive early for street parking. New year. New energy. Forward — together. 🐎✨ #danceScape #LunarNewYear #YearOfTheHorse #danceFLOW #Qigong

To grow, you need the courage to break old patterns and the discipline to build new ones. Growth doesn’t have to be loud. Sometimes it’s a slower breath. A softer step. A steadier rhythm. In danceFLOW, change begins quietly — through breath, balance, and mindful movement inspired by qigong & tai chi. Small shifts. Consistent practice. Real strength. 🌀 Tues 1:30 pm (Online) 🌀 Thurs 6:00 pm (Studio + Online) 🎥 Replays available anytime. — danceScape #danceFLOW #RhythmFirst #MindfulMovement #Qigong #TaiChi

🏮🧧 Hamilton Lunar New Year Market — A Quick Reminder 🧧🏮 We’re looking forward to Sunday’s celebration in downtown Hamilton! danceScape will be leading a mini danceFLOW Qigong & Tai Chi session at 1:00 PM — a gentle way to begin the Year of the Horse with breath, balance, and intention. 📅 Feb 22 📍 51 Stuart St, Hamilton (near Liuna Station) Helpful reminders: • 600+ tickets already claimed • Free tickets required — link in bio • Free street parking available on Stuart St (arrive early to secure a spot) It’s shaping up to be a vibrant afternoon of Lion Dances, music, martial arts, food, and community. We’d love to see you there. 🐎✨ Let’s continue to Dance Winter Differently. #danceScape #LunarNewYear #YearOfTheHorse #HamiltonEvents #CommunityLove