Beyography classes teach you to dance like Beyonce

Beyography is a Beyonce-inspired dance class run by super-fan Nicky Nasrallah. The class began three years ago when Nasrallah started teaching his friend and now assistant, Katherine Wilson, some of Beyonce's moves.

Its popularity exploded this past year, as it's the only place in Toronto offering a Beyonce-style flawless workout.

Classes run three days a week, alternating between Steps Dance Studio and Elevation Dancentre Studio, and are also taught in Hamilton through the Academy of All Things Awesome.

Beyography also offers private Beyonce dance classes (bachelorette party, anyone?), for $25 per person (minimum eight people).

Nasrallah constantly introduces new choreography, teaching over 20 songs on a rotating basis. Since Beyography is intended to cater to everyone, from beginner to Beyonce super-fans, Nasrallah has taught both six year olds and sixty year olds in his class. The class I attended was almost all women, mostly in their twenties and thirties.

I registered for a two-hour Saturday afternoon class for $15, and tried my best to learn the choreography to Beyonce's Sweet Dreams. Nasrallah led us through a warm up in his signature red socks (they make it easier to follow his steps) before we got right down to it.

He did a great job breaking the steps down so even the most beginner dancers could get it, but the music made everything a little more complicated. Most people danced in socks, some wore sneakers, and the fiercest of Sashas broke out their heels at the end of class.

Nasrallah's goal is for everyone to have a good time in the class: he sang along (sometimes with his own lyrics), cracked jokes (he's a seasoned improviser and comedian), and asked if anyone needed clarification or to go over a step again.

Two hours of dancing really adds up, and by the end of class I felt like I'd gone for a five-kilometer run -- in heels. I will definitely be going back, maybe even for the most popular and most complicated choreography, Single Ladies. For now, I'll just hope Sweet Dreams comes on at the bar, so I can show off my new dance moves.

Writing by Katherine Stanbridge. Photos by Liz Beddall.