Belly Dance Superstars: Raqs Carnivale
2 ratings since posting on Saturday, March 10, 2007
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Overall Rating based on 2 ratings |
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They are the best! What a great show! - Zahira , posted 03/10/07 |
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When I went to see the Bellydance Superstars, I expected to see a decently done theatrical belly dance show, perhaps along the lines and quality of Mosaico or Viva El Paso... What I saw in Mesa, Arizona was the best dance show I've ever seen, a worthy match for (or maybe even a better show than) Riverdance. The lighting, choreography, costumes, and talent were amazing. My experience started off good early in the day after an excellent workshop with Jillina, who is an amazing teacher. We worked hard but enjoyed every minute of it. As for the show, her skill as artistic director and as a performer shined through with routines ranging from classic cabaret, to hip hop and bollywood fusion, to a hilarious drum solo (her sense of humor as she dances shines through). On the tribal side, Rachel Brice and Mardi Love were gems along with their entire troupe. The Tribal choreography and music was amazing and the ways it was integrated with the cabaret acts was spotless. Lets face it... tribal can be weird sometimes but these gals took even the weirdness and made it downright enjoyable. Both also participated with the musicians. I'm embarrassed to say as much of a Rachel fan as I am, it took me half the show to distinguish her from Mardi because they looked extremely similar (I remember Rachel's tattoo right before intermission and spotted her). Others I have to mention are Sonia, who is just an amazing cabaret talent and performed the first full length drum solo of the night. Petite Jamilla had one of the coolest routines, a combination of crazy music, endless spinning forms (and some of the coolest harem pants ever) and an extremely well done quadruple veil routine... which she did without stopping her spin. There was another dancer whose name escapes me who did a ballet fusion routine which was very good, and the Bollywood fusion routine (which was almost the entire cast except for the tribal girls) was great fun and very well done. The only routine I didn't care much for was one routine based on Marlene Dietrich's chair dance... The rest of the show was very family friendly and although I understand it was based on that routine, the gal dancing honestly looked like she was almost naked from the waist down because her sheer pants matched her skin color. I can't recall which dancer this was but at other points in the show she showcased some amazing talents with flips and tumbling. All in all, it was a great show and I recommend that anyone with an interest in dance or anyone who is trying to convince someone what the dance is really about should go see this show. Two thumbs way up. - Jael , posted 03/10/07 |
