Bellydance Superstars in 'Bablesque' at the Birchmere, Nov. 6, 2007
I can pretty much say I was completely bowled over by shiny. I apologize if I came off to anyone like a complete freakin' flake-- coming straight from work + daylight savings time is kicking my ass + tired + over-stimulated + ubiquitous shiny = me being kinda zoned and flighty at the same time.
To start: I will say that I do have somewhat of an anti-cabaret bias. I find the flirtatious aspects to be forced, the costuming to be garish, and overall, cabaret tends to bore me to tears after about two minutes. Which is not to say that I haven't/won't study aspects of cabaret and don't respect the skills of cabaret dancers, it's just that I'm pretty certain that I'm a tribal girl through and through.
That said? Jillina and Petite Jamilla for the win. Jillina proved exactly why she's the Queen Bee of BDSS with one of the most playful and fun drum solos I've seen-- she clearly loves working with Issam, and they made a great pair. As for Petite Jamilla-- she did a brilliant quadruple-veil spinning piece with dancers behind her emulating Sufi whirlers (with gorgeous hand positioning). Sonia, who is a beautiful dancer, both physically and technically, nonetheless bored me because she was in her head the entire time, and none of the smiles she gave ever connected as genuine, to me. On the other hand, Sabah, BDSS's bellydance/ballet fusion artist, was a joy to watch because she gave big, genuine smiles all night long, whether she was the featured dancer at the time or not. The Indian-fusion piece was really fun, and again, I loved the attention to the hands-- Kami Liddle was all over this one. The facial expressions were bright without being over-the-top cheese. The Polynesian fusion number was well danced, but totally cheesy. However, it was the only number that included the dancers vocally cheering for other dancers, so I'm willing to give it a pass.
And for the tribal girls. Oh man. Be still, my beating heart. Jesus. Writhing, fierce, serpentine Goddesses. Featured last night: Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle, and (wearing many hats) Colleen (who brought really powerful tribal movements even during her cab-centric drum solo). Let's see... the Indigo (plus Kami) did the 'Opa Cupa' choreography from Le Serpent Rouge, which is probably one of my favorite choreographies, so I was pretty stoked. Zoe did her solo in the first act, which, as far as I can recall was the same one she did on the Tribal Fusions DVD. Can I just say how freaking amazing this woman looks in a collar of feathers? Fierce. Her facial expressions weren't as animalistic as some I'd seen her make, but overall, it was pretty damn good. In the second half, there was a really interesting brokedown doll choreography that was both fabulous and totally creepifying. Zoe and Rachel make the most spot-on dollfaces, I ain't gonna lie. Also in the second half was Rachel's solo-- and she brought her A-game. She was in it, body, face, great energy. From a costuming standpoint, she had a little ruffly neck collar thing that totally framed her face perfectly-- it was a great look overall, surely influenced by Ms. Mardi Love, who, by the way, was terribly underrepresented. The show needed more of Mardi's grace-- everything was wonderful, but very peppy, very fast paced. I would have liked to see Mardi's floating, ephemeral style showcased.
Overall-- it was a good show. Stellar dancing, a good mix of fusion pieces, great costuming, high energy. Also, it was great to see so many of the dancers also accompanying Issam in drumming. They really understand the music, and it shows. I zhagreeted until my tongue was tired. Also-- Memo to Miles Copeland: did you gank your hair off the Crypt Keeper? I mean, what's up with that, dude? Get somebody to fix that mess posthaste!
Non-show highlights:
-- Getting quality time in with Abby in the car. Trading war stories. Being terrible gossips. Ahem. :)
-- Seeing lots of people I like: Greg and Pam, Colleen, Julian, Lorne, James (the LJ-less). Also seeing Asharah and Maduro.
-- Also getting to meet Ruthanne and Cat.
-- Props to Julian and Lorne for saving us fan-freaking-tastic seats.
-- Getting specialized Rachel Brice prop playing cards that the tribal girls threw from the stage during their first act.
-- Dinner and wine for under $25.
-- Julian's chocolate truffles, which were amazing.
-- And a major thanks to
gsh for my ticket. Best birthday present ever! :)
To start: I will say that I do have somewhat of an anti-cabaret bias. I find the flirtatious aspects to be forced, the costuming to be garish, and overall, cabaret tends to bore me to tears after about two minutes. Which is not to say that I haven't/won't study aspects of cabaret and don't respect the skills of cabaret dancers, it's just that I'm pretty certain that I'm a tribal girl through and through.
That said? Jillina and Petite Jamilla for the win. Jillina proved exactly why she's the Queen Bee of BDSS with one of the most playful and fun drum solos I've seen-- she clearly loves working with Issam, and they made a great pair. As for Petite Jamilla-- she did a brilliant quadruple-veil spinning piece with dancers behind her emulating Sufi whirlers (with gorgeous hand positioning). Sonia, who is a beautiful dancer, both physically and technically, nonetheless bored me because she was in her head the entire time, and none of the smiles she gave ever connected as genuine, to me. On the other hand, Sabah, BDSS's bellydance/ballet fusion artist, was a joy to watch because she gave big, genuine smiles all night long, whether she was the featured dancer at the time or not. The Indian-fusion piece was really fun, and again, I loved the attention to the hands-- Kami Liddle was all over this one. The facial expressions were bright without being over-the-top cheese. The Polynesian fusion number was well danced, but totally cheesy. However, it was the only number that included the dancers vocally cheering for other dancers, so I'm willing to give it a pass.
And for the tribal girls. Oh man. Be still, my beating heart. Jesus. Writhing, fierce, serpentine Goddesses. Featured last night: Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, Zoe Jakes, Kami Liddle, and (wearing many hats) Colleen (who brought really powerful tribal movements even during her cab-centric drum solo). Let's see... the Indigo (plus Kami) did the 'Opa Cupa' choreography from Le Serpent Rouge, which is probably one of my favorite choreographies, so I was pretty stoked. Zoe did her solo in the first act, which, as far as I can recall was the same one she did on the Tribal Fusions DVD. Can I just say how freaking amazing this woman looks in a collar of feathers? Fierce. Her facial expressions weren't as animalistic as some I'd seen her make, but overall, it was pretty damn good. In the second half, there was a really interesting brokedown doll choreography that was both fabulous and totally creepifying. Zoe and Rachel make the most spot-on dollfaces, I ain't gonna lie. Also in the second half was Rachel's solo-- and she brought her A-game. She was in it, body, face, great energy. From a costuming standpoint, she had a little ruffly neck collar thing that totally framed her face perfectly-- it was a great look overall, surely influenced by Ms. Mardi Love, who, by the way, was terribly underrepresented. The show needed more of Mardi's grace-- everything was wonderful, but very peppy, very fast paced. I would have liked to see Mardi's floating, ephemeral style showcased.
Overall-- it was a good show. Stellar dancing, a good mix of fusion pieces, great costuming, high energy. Also, it was great to see so many of the dancers also accompanying Issam in drumming. They really understand the music, and it shows. I zhagreeted until my tongue was tired. Also-- Memo to Miles Copeland: did you gank your hair off the Crypt Keeper? I mean, what's up with that, dude? Get somebody to fix that mess posthaste!
Non-show highlights:
-- Getting quality time in with Abby in the car. Trading war stories. Being terrible gossips. Ahem. :)
-- Seeing lots of people I like: Greg and Pam, Colleen, Julian, Lorne, James (the LJ-less). Also seeing Asharah and Maduro.
-- Also getting to meet Ruthanne and Cat.
-- Props to Julian and Lorne for saving us fan-freaking-tastic seats.
-- Getting specialized Rachel Brice prop playing cards that the tribal girls threw from the stage during their first act.
-- Dinner and wine for under $25.
-- Julian's chocolate truffles, which were amazing.
-- And a major thanks to
gsh for my ticket. Best birthday present ever! :)