Nicky Nasrallah, who created the class on a friend’s recommendation, has been holding classes sporadically over the last 2 years. A friend, who is a major Beyoncé fan, would challenge Nicky to Beyoncé dance-offs. Other friends would inquire about learning and thus Beyography was born.

The class which is held in the West end of Toronto every week, teaches you how to dance like Beyoncé while getting a work out. After attending a class, I’m further in awe of Mrs. Carter and her sing-dance-entertain triple threat skillset.

I consider myself a decent dancer who can follow any 1-2-3 step. So despite the assignment not being within my ‘Fashion Expert’ focus, I decided to go with it and thought, “how hard could it be?” Well, not only did I underestimate the difficulty of the dance moves, but the effort it takes to tie it all together to make it as flawless as Bey does.

I walked into the triangular shaped roof building in my black tights, tank top and runners (the invite said heels were optional so I opted out) ready to have a good time. A few surprises greeted me. First, I’m the only Black girl in the group. Beyoncé is revered by all so the diversity of White, Chinese, Indian and more was not surprising. But not one other Black girl in the room. I’ll leave it up to you to decode that one. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Second surprise? Nicky, the instructor is a man whose excitement and warmth instantly relieves any nerves I have. He teaches choreography to a different Beyoncé song every class. Today was Ego.

If you’ve seen the Ego music video, you’ll note that it’s typical of Beyoncé and her various leg work, endless hand movements and gyrating back and forth. Nicky started us off slow without music. Easy-peezy. Confidence is still intact. I’m not alone in this. I see the smiles all around me. Mostly in surprise and content that their bodies are capable of swinging like Beyoncé’s.

Music is then added. “C’mon ladies, you got this!” Nicky says to us. His encouragement is charming. Ego is not a fast song. But moving on-beat with my newly learned dance moves was far from easy. I realized that Mrs. Carter makes it so seamless that I had come to take the challenge in dancing for granted. I decided to go at my own pace and see what happens. Something that Nicky himself emphasizes. “I’m not looking for everybody to be doing the exact same thing at the same time; I just want you to interpret the choreography in your own way.”

I wasn’t a pro in the end, but I was proud of my progress and the fact that I made it my own which brought back the fun and confidence. Dancing is one of my favourite ways to exercise so I’ve done Zumba, Belly dancing, Socacize and the likes. Beyography offers something different in that it allows you to move like Beyoncé to some of her hits while bringing your sexy and burning your thighs.

Andrea Rose Mattioli, who I met in the class, sums it up best. “This class is for women of every age, dance experience, background. I saw it to be for everybody, whether you’re a Beyoncé fan or not. I felt incredibly empowered and worked out. “

The cost is $15 per class. You can sign up for Nicky’s mailing list at www.beyography.com. For now, here are some of his new class times:

Every Tuesday from 12pm to 2pm
Every Wednesday from 12pm to 2pm (already happening)
Every Thursday from 7pm-9pm (starting July 23rd)
Every Friday from 6pm-8pm (starting July 17th)
Every Saturday from 2pm-4pm (starting June 27th)

Beyography Twitter @beyography

Beyography Facebook facebook.com/groups/beyograpy

Beyography Instagram @beyographytoronto

Nicky’s Twitter @nickynasrallah