After 5 years of online Hula dancing together through our screens at home, we are bringing the rhythms and dances from the beautiful Pacific Islands to High Park!

Our in-person pilot Hawaiian and Ori Tahiti series is designed to teach you the fundamentals through beginner-level steps and choreography and group practice, no experience is needed! Our community dance and fitness programs provide our members with a space to connect, move, and release everyday stressors.

All you need to wear are comfortable clothes, go barefoot or wear indoor sneakers, and a bottle of water.

For the Spring schedule / to join the class list for registration updates, click here

Happy 2026,

The Arts Etobicoke’s Senior’s Dance and Movement program returns this January.

I will be facilitating the first half of the winter term - my classes combine energetic and tropical Latin dance movements and rhythms, functional exercises, and brain health games and activities.

There will be various artists supporting this program throughout the year.

If you live in Rexdale/ North Etobicoke and are over 55 yrs+ want to join us, do email program manager Alek at alek@artsetobicoke.com

Hello members,

I’m happy to announce that our online Yoga program is returning with the caring Anurag.

As someone who does regular strength and mobility exercises, how we breathe and understand how our body moves (mindfulness) plays a huge role in how effective we will be as dancers, regular gym-goes, body builders and athletes.

This beginner-level class will combine 2 sections: Vinyasa (Yoga flow), strength, balance, and mobility exercises, and breathing exercises.

Suggested: a chair or wall for support, a pillow or towel for your knees and wrists, a mat or carpet, and indoor shoes for grip, or you can go barefoot.

For the online schedule and to register, click here

Spooky season is around the corner and I can’t wait to give kids a hand in bringing their costumes to life.

Last year, my Halloween mask decorating sessions filled up quickly, so I wanted to get ready now by planning a session in the High Park - Bloor West area.

The fee includes 1 paper card mask, a range of supplies, and lots of hands-on help from tracing to cutting and pasting. I put a cap on this session so that I can give all of the participants hands on help.

Ages 6 - 11 suggested | 10 spots | 60-minutes long | parents are welcome to wait outside of the room in the common area or will be asked to assist if their child has special needs.

For the schedule / to register, click here

Hi friends,

Kids ages 6 to 12 yrs-old can get crafty with me this Fall at the Toronto Public Libraries. We will be making paper candles (diyas) to celebrate Diwali (the Indian Festival at Lights) and crafting up spooky paper masks in time for Halloween night.

If your child has a theme or design in mind, they are more than welcome to bring a printout of it so that they can try to make something similar.

All supplies are provided by the branches and me | 1 craft per participant | Ages 6 to 12 yrs only.

Halloween Crafts

Oct. 4 - Warden Branch (must call to register)

Diwali Crafts

Oct. 10 - Runnymede Branch (tickets given out, first come first serve)

Kindly note: more dates and locations may be added.

To register your child or more info, please visit the TPL website for telephone numbers and location addresses, here »

Young crafters ages 10 to 13 yrs-old can join our 6-week creative sessions and celebrate the holidays by making bright diyas for Diwali, dark haunted houses for Halloween, festive Christmas ornaments, and more!

My curriculum is designed to support all skill levels, from beginners to experienced artists.

Dates: Every Thursday, October 16 – November 20 

Age: 10 – 13 years old

Time: 3:45pm – 5:15pm

Location: Thistletown Community Centre, 925 Albion Rd.

All supplies included. 

Priority registration will be given to North Etobicoke residents and will be on a first come first served basis. 

For more info, visit: https://www.artsetobicoke.com/events/after-school-arts-in-rexdale-ages-10-13-fall-2025-with-sumera-garcia-quadri/

To register, email their program manager Alek, alek@artsetobicoke.com

Hello members,

Our winter term Hula program was a success and we’re happy to run a longer 8-week program to keep you moving from home during the cooler days.

The Hula Dance Fitness program is a full-body dance workout that pairs Hula dances from Samoa, Hawaii, and Tahiti with rhythms from the Pacific Islands. To connect to a broader audience, Cheryl includes Reggae, 90s HipHop, and Disney’s Moana songs in her classes. This is a beginner-friendly program that can be done wearing indoor shoes or barefoot on a mat.

This style of dance is not commonly offered in Toronto and we wanted to give our members and more Canadians a chance to experience a new workout experience.

Classes are beginner and drop-in friendly.

For the schedule, click here.

This year, I’m VERY lucky to be back to get youth moving and feeling safe as they walk around their hoods.

The end-of-school-year teen series will be hosted by 3 FANTASTIC community organizations.

1.Etobicoke North

June 5 - at the Rexdale Hub, 21 Panorama Ct, from 5 PM to 7 PM (ages 12 to 19)

To join us, call or text Taniya at AlbionBGC: (647) 393-6792

2.Central Scarborough

June 21 - at McGregor Park Community Centre, 2231 Lawrence Ave. E, from 11 AM to 12 PM (ages 13 to 18)

To join us, call or text Malvern Youth Liason Eileen at: (416) 771-3475

Waivers required. Youth under 18 years old must have a parent sign their forms in order to participate.

For the Fall kids Trick or Treat series, keep an eye out for dates and locations.

Sumera

Happy Asian Heritage Month

Our team is very lucky to support the City of Toronto’s Asian Heritage Month events with fun Bollywood-inspired workouts and dance classes across Toronto.

These are FREE after-school events for youth living in: North Etobicoke, Central Scarborough, Flemingdon Park, and Regent Park/East York.

To register for our sessions and/or the other workshops, scan the QR code or contact Mariz via

Email: rheemariz.fabico-pe@toronto.ca

Phone: 416-906-4967

We brought back our Adult Classical Indian Dance Fusion program with Mithila after 3 years, online, so that we could get as many members moving as possible.

Through our online program, participants get to learn new weekly choreography that includes steps and gestures from the Indian dance form, Bharatanatyam. Our instructor play a mixture of Tamil, South Indian, and Bollywood songs.

Our instructor Mithila is from Tamil Nadu, India, where she trained in Bharatanatyam for over 20 years. When she came to Canada in 2019, she joined our team as a group dance fitness instructor and supported our Bollywood fitness and dance programs.

Classes are beginner-friendly and drop-in friendly.

To join us from home, click here.

Hi friends,

This winter break, kids can join me at various Toronto Public Libraries to make their very own Christmas crafts from wood ornaments to paper candles.

Me and the branches will provide art supplies. 1 craft per participant. Ages 6 to 12 yrs-old only.

Dates below:

December 14 - Bridlewood

December 21 - Goldhawk Park

December 28 - Goldhawk Park

To register your child, please visit the TPL website for telephone numbers and location addresses, here »

Happy August parents and little Yogis,

This Fall and Winter, we’re bringing back kid’s Yoga program to our High Park location.

Through our group fitness class, kids ages 6 to 11 get to travel through different Safari themes while developing strength, flexibility, and calming breathing techniques. We hope to have kids leaving the class feeling less stressed out and anxious, stronger ad more confident, and with at least 1 new friend.

No experience is needed. This class is beginner-friendly and for those new to fitness/Yoga.

For the 2023 fall and 2025 winter schedule / , click here.

Welcome back fitness-goers and dancers,

In case you aren't yet subscribed to our e-newsletter, this is a reminder that our Fall registration is now open.

If you'd like to check out what classes are returning online or in-person and the fees, please click on class schedules under the menu bar and select a location.

Programs that reach their registration requirements proceed. Our awesome instructors will be allocated based on our registration targets ;).

To see what other community events and centres we’re supporting this Summer and Fall, please check out our home page monthly.

If you have any questions, please send me a message here and I am happy to give you a call at a time that works best for you.

We hope to see new and familiar faces movin' and groovin' with us this Fall.

Sumera

Hello all,

This summer, we were invited for the first-time to instruct an evening of dance classes at Bloomfield Town Hall as part of Baxter Art Center's Fun Fridays.

The classes are for all ages and anyone looking to have fun on a Friday night.

If you’re visiting the county or live in the area and want to join in, please register with Baxter Arts, here.

Happy South Asian Month,

I’m Sumera and I elated to instruct out 1st Bollywood Dance Workout for the awesome students at Lambton College’s Toronto location for South Asian Month/.

This physical activity is exclusive to their students.

To register for our session, scan the QR code.

Thank you to Cassandra for thinking of me for their students.

Men's Bollywood Dance Fusion with Deepak

Deepak will be facilitating the 1st men's dance program at Swansea Town Hall. This class will fuse both moderate to fast-paced dance movements and energetic South Indian folk and Bollywood songs.

This program is designed for men ages 18+ and from all fitness levels. Just as we have done for women and kids, we hope to provide a positive program for the community and a space for men to socialize.

To join the Friday class list, click here.

Hello there,

If you’re new to our community-based dance and fitness programming, WELCOME!

Since April 2014, we’ve been running seasonal fitness programs. We’ve made a few changes since then, from going from 1 class per term to at least 9 to having one of Toronto’s only women’s Bollywood Fitness and Kid’s Fitness Circuit programs across 3 locations to having over 6 instructors help me per year.

If you’re looking for a fun weekly dance workout program for you or your kids online or in person, you’ll have a blast. Our programming is low to moderate intensity, full of fantastic professionals who want a space to move, and provides an opportunity to clear your mind and release some stress.

To see if we’ve got a program for you, do check out the online, High Park, and Annex schedules.

Keep on moving for your mood,

Sumera

Like so many I know, I (Sumera) was mesmerized by the Egyptian folk and belly dance performances at the annual Toronto Caravan in the 90s. As a kid, my grandfather would get our Caravan passports and take us to the few restaurants hosting the performances. Little did I know how much technique and body strength and control were needed to practice this style of dance until I took my first class in my 20s!

I began formal Belly Dance training between 2014 to 2018 under Souhaer Zarik, A Palestinian dancer and owner of HipKik. My goal was to elevate our Bollywood dance and fitness programs while having fun staying fit. Through her instruction, I slowly learned to move my body in a way I had never done and in doing so, improved my upper body form and isolations, learned beautiful and romantic gestures, and developed a love of scarf and veil work.

After the pandemic-related lockdowns, I realized that Toronto had lost some iconic dance studios and dance programs. Belly Dance is one of them. With no courses in West Toronto, I decided it was time re-launch a program after 5 years.

Whether you’re joining us to elevate your Bollywood dance styling or just to move your body in a new and fun way, this program is beginner-friendly, intimate, and women’s only.

To take a class, click here