Rakkasah’s Spring Caravan 2007
Reviewed by Johonna Gamble
I happen to love supporting the Rakkasah family of festivals in amongst all the activities I do each year. Having been to West for its’ 25th year and every year of East so far, I thought I’d send a review out for their newest venture, Spring Caravan, so my family and I piled in the car and headed North to New Jersey from our home in Virginia. Not a terrible drive (just under 9 hours). The most noticeable difference from most of the rest of our travels north is the trees which are all blooming white, pink and shades of purple and green, while the usual trip in October for Rakkasah East the trees are flushed with fall colors of orange, red, yellow and brown. The weather and scenery was wonderful. Having our daughter’s portable DVD player for the junior members in the back seat is fantastic.;-)
Many of you know Summer Caravan, since until a few years ago it was an annual event in the San Francisco/Bay Area each year. Featuring a class line-up of more fusion and tribal than cabaret, it had done very well for many years. As time passed though, other activities mid-summer in the area made it congested with really great events, so the organizers of Rakkasah decided to take the event to the East Coast and move it earlier in the season. Excellent choice since tribal and fusion is spreading like wildfire throughout the Eastern seaboard.
Now back to the review….This was the first year of Spring Caravan in New Jersey. And as the first year, there are bound to be some things that could easily become problems. The most significant is the number of dancers who after calling in to dance, called at the last minute saying they weren’t coming or even more surprising, just didn’t show. How sad that they missed out on an opportunity to perform, especially when we had bellydance DVD producers like Neon of World Dance New York attending. To cover for this there were announcements that dance spaces were available for dancers who would like to perform, which filled most of the spots that where about in advance. For the spots where the dancers didn’t show without calling, they added in some wonderful open dance times with the bands Djinn of New York, and Pangia of Mt Shasta, CA. These are always fun to watch and participate in since we can see the future of bellydance with all the charming children and younger dancers out just having fun in addition to the more experienced dancers who just can’t help moving to the terrific music.
Speaking of the music, we took over the restaurant at the Marriott which is across the street from the Ukrainian Cultural Center where the festival runs all weekend, as we often do at Rakkasah East on Friday and Saturday nights for impromptu jam fests. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy these sessions. It is so much fun to see seasoned dancers just kick it right next to baby dancers and move to the music. Did I mention the great sounds that come through the speakers? I just can’t seem to get enough of these delicious moments. Especially on the rare occasions we get a treat like when Melissa ‘the Loud’ of Djinn, who plays the Hurdy Gurdy, got up and danced for a bit in front of the band before returning to play. “I didn’t even know she danced,” said one of the dancers next to me with a bit of surprise in her voice.
The classes were terrific with everything from fusion fast and slow, African, to a 1940’s choreography. The diversity of the classes is what I truly love about the Rakkasah Festivals. That and how family friendly they are. I can easily say this after watching one mom, backpack or sling her baby through most of the dance classes. The baby was almost unnoticed, but when she was, we just wanted to play pass the baby she was so beautiful and happy. I hope she will return in October for Rakkasah East, since my youngest son seemed quite taken with her.
Along with many of the steadfast vendors of the Rakkasah Festivals there were many new faces. With them and the title/theme of the event brought a different selection of wares on display. More full opaque skirts and harems, African tribal jewelry, Indian silks and saris, dark colors and gothic leathers. I was disappointed that there weren’t more DVD and CD merchants, since I use these trips as opportunities to pick up new materials to review and use.
All in all this was a great first year for Spring Caravan. Good attendance, wonderful teachers and performances, and plenty of merchants with a wide range of merchandise. I’m already waiting with my calendar in hand for the dates to next year.