Belly Dance Power & Passion
As Reviewed by Maia of Lake Oswego, OR
Soulfire Productions, LLC (Sedona Ruiz)
A Live Show and DVD Production *Monday June 29, 2009
Lake Oswego High School Performing Arts Center * Lake Oswego, Oregon

As a resident of and belly dance teacher in Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland, I’ve become used to people’s raised eyebrows and snarky “Ooh!” when I’ve disclosed my occupation.  L.O. is a pretty conservative little town, and as a volunteer at my kids’ high school I’d been met with some obvious skepticism and judgment…until I applied my costume-making skills to several Theater Arts department productions, at which point it was clear I was not an immoral influence but an involved Mom with some unusual skill sets.

Sedona

Imagine my surprise when posters for this event sprouted up at my dry-cleaner, coffee house and local French pastry shop; obviously this was going to be a big production, and here it was in my home town, at my kids’ school...and I had had no idea it was going to happen.

Belatedly I received a Facebook invitation to become “friends” with Sedona Ruiz, the producer of this event, who then invited me to become a “fan” of her production company.  I was invited to “come cheer us on and have your applause heard on our DVD”.  Oh, yes, and pay $25 for the privilege.

The lineup included several dancers whom I hadn’t seen before, so I decided to go out of curiosity, because I wanted to see how belly dance was going to be presented to my local community, and because, let’s face it, I’m a belly dance addict.  My Mom (the illustrious Didi), one of my students and her husband, and a non-dancing friend (who’d never seen belly dance before) accompanied me.

By choosing the Performing Arts Center at Lake Oswego High School, Sedona immediately conferred on her production a level of professionalism.  This is a beautiful facility with a large stage, wonderful lighting and sound equipment, and a comfortable theater with room for over 600 people and not a bad seat in the house (I know because I think I’ve sat in each one over the years!).  There are large, clean, comfortable dressing rooms, so the dancers weren’t schlepping their costumes into bathroom stalls to change, and had lighted mirrors for makeup and hair.

The theater was well over half full by the time I arrived, and continued to about two-thirds full until the doors were closed.  I recognized many dancers from the area and beyond in the audience.  There were several cameras spaced around the auditorium, including one on a boom near the center of the seating area.  For the most part these seemed to disappear as the lights were lowered, but there were times when the boom was distracting.

The master of ceremonies was a handsome, pleasant and funny young man who didn’t seem completely prepared for his role.  He introduced Alimah, and the dancing began.

Alimah opened with wings to Debussy’s Clair de Lune; very pretty and graceful.  Then she danced a lovely Egyptian Oriental routine, including a section in samaii rhythm that was particularly well-danced.  Her teal and olive costume was beautiful and sparkly, and she was polished and professional.

Ruby (in gold) danced next; she was accompanied by Sallah (violin) and Eric (tabla) of House of Tarab, playing a luscious ciftetelli.  Ruby danced on goblets, making it look effortless – even down to a one-legged split, and dancing on two glasses.  Then a lively drum solo with Eric.  Her dancing was passionate and sensual yet playful.  I liked that she was wearing gold opaque pants under her skirts so during her split I wasn’t worried about inappropriate exposure.  Which brings me to…

Shara has invented a style called “Sambali”, fusing Samba and belly dance, which she performed for us.  Her costuming seemed awkward.  While more covered than most of the Samba costumes I’ve seen (indeed, no backside exposure whatsoever due to a multilayered bustle), the expanse of leg, the platform heels and being able to see the mechanics of the movements were distracting for me (as it is when I watch anyone dance in a costume that reveals so much leg). Shara is beautiful, has a gorgeous body and is a skillful dancer, but this was not one of my favorite numbers.

Sedona performed next in a lovely pink costume.  She opened with fan veils to Lamma Badda Yata Sana, finishing the song with some impressive floor work incorporating the veils into backbends.  Then an exciting drum solo.

Dahlia danced an Egyptian Oriental in an elegant and understated green costume that showed a lot of her long and beautiful legs.  I particularly enjoyed the Saudi and Baladi portions of her music, where it seemed that she was really feeling and responding to the music – she felt reserved during most of the rest of her dance. 

Claudia danced to a synthesized Lebanese Oriental piece and then a drum; her sparkly royal blue and silver costume really caught the light.  She’s a skillful and elegant dancer.

Karim Nagi

Karim Nagi closed the first set dancing a wonderful tahtib in a grey dish dasha; he knows his music, he knows his stick and he knows his dance.  He played with the audience and got us involved.  Karim dances as much with his face as with his body.  He was clearly comfortable on the huge stage and used the entire space to great effect.

After intermission we were plunged into the fire with Delilah and House of Tarab.  There truly is nothing like live music performed by skillful and passionate musicians to elicit soulful and emotional dance; and Delilah, a legendary American dancer, performed an expressive and intense set.  She was stunning in a purple and rhinestone costume.  Starting with an elegant veil, she transitioned to a short happy piece; then an incredible affecting oud taxim and of course a fiery drum.  Delilah pulled us into her performance – you couldn’t take your eyes off her.  It was a delight to experience.

Delilah

Magidah certainly had a hard act to follow, but she did by contrasting a cool, almost ironic attitude with Delilah’s fire.  Looking gorgeous in a fuchsia costume that set off her magenta hair, she opened with a veil and then a hipster oriental to vibraphone and saxophone “lounge music”, ending with her powerful drum solo.  Magidah engaged the audience with her mischievous, tongue in cheek attitude.  My non-dancer friend found Magidah’s performance her favorite.

Yemaya danced next in a simple and elegant white costume with a silver veil.  She opened with a taxim and veil to a recording of Bir Demet by her late step-father, Joseph Pusey.  She is certainly a beautiful example of classic American Cabaret belly dance --  the soft and graceful variety.

Darshan followed with Tribal Fusion to industrial music.  My student’s husband liked her costume best of all (“It’s different from everybody else…”); semi-sheer pants layered with lots of texture hanging from her hips and a simple bra-top.  Darshan is incredibly strong and her training in other dance forms and movement philosophies is obvious.  Her dance was connected to her music and she has a beautiful, expressive face (as opposed to “flat-affect-zombie-dancer-from-hell-don’t-mess-with-me-or-I’ll-plunge-a-spiky-bracelet-into-your-eye”).  Particularly impressive were her Berber walks and the several elegant drops, which she performed with grace and ease.  She appeared very comfortable and confident on the big stage.

Darshan

The final soloist was Rachel in cream and rhinestones.  She opened to Tamra Henna, playing finger cymbals (the only dancer of the evening to do so).  Again, a classic American Cabaret belly dancer, but this time more powerful.  She was relaxed and confident, projecting her personality and sense of humor.  Rachel’s floor work and drops are remarkable. She closed with a muscular and impressive drum solo.

The final act was Belly Dance Soulfire, a troupe made up Claudia, Ruby, Sedona and Shara.  In red sheer pants and overskirts and coordinating red bedlah, their jazz-fusion dance to Karim Nagi’s “Everybody Yalla” was spirited and sexy – the music is infectious and the dancers all looked like they were having fun.  Karim joined them onstage playing live drum and dancing and the energy soared.  A costume malfunction interrupted the first pass through the routine and a sound tech problem the second, but the third time was a charm, and it was great.  Each dancer had her turn dancing a drum solo with Karim (which must have been a joy, because they all appeared to be having a blast).  It was a stirring finale.

Positive notes:  All of the dancers were beautiful and well groomed in gorgeous costumes that fit them well;  their makeup was wonderful (a real consideration both for video and stage);  the venue was superb;  the dancers were skillful and technically excellent; the lighting effects, spotlight and sound were all exceptional; the emcee was cute and funny.

Negative notes:  Because this was a hybrid production, combining both a stage show and a video shoot, there was some awkwardness in transitions between each act; often the dancers seemed distracted by the cameras and unable to connect to the audience; the emcee, though delightful, seemed unprepared for his role, especially when he was required to fill significant amounts of time; many times it seemed as though the audience was an accessory to the filming process, rather than the recipients of the dancers’ energy.

$25 is a significant amount of money to pay to see a belly dance show – Bellydance Superstars are currently charging $26 to see their shows.  While there was clearly a high level of professionalism around the filming and technical aspects of the show, the transitions between acts and the presentation of the show to the audience deserved more energy and consideration. 

Comments from others who attended the show:  My non-dancing friend said, “It looked to me as if many of the dancers were trying to show how many parts of their body they could move independently of each other.  While they seemed synched with the music, it was hard to watch and feel connected to the dancer and her dance.”  My student said, “Sometimes it seemed more about the props or the technique than the dance.”  Didi said, “I wanted more Egyptian.”

All in all it was an impressive first production for Soulfire.  I’m looking forward to their next show and hope I’ll know about it sooner, so I, my students and friends can plan to attend.