Dancer · Choreographer · Instructor
NATSUMI SOPHIA BELLALI
ABOUT
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​​Natsumi Sophia Bellali was born to a Japanese mother and Moroccan father, and was raised in Montreal. She received her modern dance training at The Ailey School in New York. She is a founding member of MICHIYAYA Dance, and was an understudy for Hard Nut with the Mark Morris Dance Group. She deepened her artistic voice during the creation of Calling: a dance with faith with Ping Chong + Company, directed by Jesca Prudencio, presented at the LaMaMa Moves! Dance Festival.
Her works Salam Tata, premiered at Festival de danse contemporaine de Sherbrooke, and Watashi(tachi)​, developed in residency The Dance Centre in Vancouver, explore her identity as a child of immigrants living in the West. Her commercial dance voice is also showcased through being Associate Choreographer on Virgin Voyages' immersive party 'We Fancy' still touring the world. She recently performed in the Ensemble of la comédie musicale: TOOTSIE at Espace Saint-Denis, and brought to Quebec City and Gatineau in summer 2025. ​
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Bellali is currently working on la Trilogie des dragons with Ex Machina / Robert Lepage, and Entre nous sommes pris entre nous with Production Mille Feux.
ONGOING:
SALAM TATA
illustrates the crossroads of identity, caught between the expectations and contradictions of her western life and Moroccan heritage.
WATASHI(TACHI)
explores what the Japanese diaspora in Canada may have lost, and may have held on to.
Marsoul Media
Half Japanese half Moroccan dancer Natsumi Bellali shares her experience in growing up in both cultures, defining her identity, and finding peace with her career and religion.