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Reviews: Shows, Music, Videos, and More! -
Show Review * 5th Annual Redwood Coast Belly Dance Festival
by: Nizana (Nov 22 2009)
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5th Annual Redwood Coast Belly Dance Festival
Arcata, CA * October 2-4th, 2009
As reviewed by Nizana
Shoshanna sponsored her 5th annual festival in Arcata, CA on Oct 2-4, 2009 and I have to say I had a really good time! This was the first one I’ve attended, but I think Shoshanna is just lovely, and when I saw she had the incredible Dalia Carella coming, well, I couldn‘t resist! I was ready for a long, fun weekend, and this festival had it all going on.
I got to Arcata on Thurs evening due to flight limitations, which gave me time to explore Arcata and Eureka on Friday. Fun little towns, very artsy, and lots of people walking all types of pooches everywhere, which I thought was pretty cool. On Friday evening, I took Dalia’s Master Class on Orientale choreography in Shoshanna‘s lovely studio. Ah, the fabulous Dalia! While we didn’t get through the choreography, we did learn some great combinations, and the stage essence to go with them. She encouraged us to be dancers, and not robots. The dance was to a fast-paced Lebanese song, but the combos are invaluable to use where one sees fit!
Saturday was big time festival day, packed with all sorts of things going on. The venue was really nice and the event well organized and included programs. Vendors were varied (over 2 dozen!) and provided lots of shopping opportunities. Had to get a new pair of zils, and an ankle henna tattoo, and it turned out really cool! Fatima was surprised to see me and asked if I’d moved there, but I told she and Gaylene that I was just down to play for the weekend! It was great to see familiar faces, and the overall vibe was very friendly!
On Saturday, the workshops offered included Dalia teaching Dunyavi Gypsy, which I’ve studied with her before, and really enjoyed, and wish I could’ve fit in to in my schedule. Amira from Vancouver, WA started off the workshops with morning yoga, followed by Ray Dowler with “Doumbek Fundamentals.” Tatseena rounded out the Saturday workshops with “Secrets of Sword and Slithery Floorwork to Mesmerize your Audience.”
The performer lineup was fabulous, with most dancers from California and Oregon, and two of us from Washington. One of my favorite soloists was Tiaja from Fairfield, CA (darling costume to boot.) One of my favorite troupes was ModRom Dance Collective, under Kitiara’s direction, who also danced one high energy solo. I was bummed that most of my pics came out too dark, but it was nice to have DVD recordings of your performance available. The variety of performers was great, and the costumes were more creative than traditional. There were a lot of duets, and the troupes ranged in numbers from 3 to 18!! There were quite a few swords in play, and also a good number of dancers playing zils. Saturday night had the Brothers of the Baladi at an after party at the Arcata Theater Lounge for even more dancing into the night with Shoshanna and some of her Ya Habibi dancers performing live.
The last evening spots were graced by the instructors, and I really enjoyed getting to watch the different dancers all afternoon and evening after I performed Tatseena performed an entertaining fusion set, and then a drum solo (with zils) with Ray Dowler. I really enjoyed some of the looks she gave as she danced. Jody Waseca came out of the audience with layer upon layer of clothing, that she comically got out of, and then went in to a wildly energetic performance. Dalia closed the evening with an expressive fusion set, her hands and face telling the story of the dance along with her movements. I love watching her dance! Excellent show!
Also due to flight issues, I had to leave to get back to Spokane on Sunday, another day of full festival goings-on that I had unfortunately had to miss. Workshops included more Morning Yoga to get your day started with Amira, and a drumming class, “Drills and Frills,” with Ray. Jodi Waseca presented “Dynamics and Theatricks-How to Bring your Fusion Vocabulary to Life!” Dalia wrapped up the days workshops with “El Mundo - a fusion of Latin and Afro-Caribbean, Arabic & Spanish Dance.” What an incredible lineup of workshops over the weekend!
Both days, the performance stage offered a variety of performance styles as well as open dance opportunities. The workshop offerings were fabulous in that they covered a wide range of the type of classes of what dancers should be taking to be more well-rounded. A very fun event, to be repeated in 2010. Thanks, Shoshanna!
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