Bloomsbury Theatre, London - Friday 8th October 2004
On the whole I was very impressed by what I saw, but there were one or two things that (for me anyway) I thought did not work. I really enjoyed all the performances by both Ansuya & Sonia (though it would have been nice if Sonia had smiled little more). I would also liked to have seen more of Dondi, because what I did see made me feel that she was underused. Dondi's 'Marilyn' skit was highly entertaining, and again it underlined the fact that we didn't get see anything like enough of her. Every time Kaeshi appeared, her beautiful smile lit up the stage and her balancing skills in her candle dance were very impressive. All these dancers had very good presentation and entertainment skills; they made good eye contact with the audience.
Amar Gamal's dancing was technically almost perfect, but to me it looked as though she was working so hard to make it perfect, that to a degree she seemed to lack the warmth of the dancers above. Jillina - I won’t be popular for saying this, but what I saw left me wondering why exactly everyone raved about her at Fantasia. Well okay, she didn't probably didn't do enough on her own for me to make a serious judgment, so perhaps I just need to see more of her on her own to understand and appreciate her. I have one of her instructional DVDs and two performance DVDs with numbers by her and I really liked them, but on this occasion it didn't set the stage alight for me I'm afraid. This highlighted what I feel was a missing element from the show - a traditional oriental solo. Jillina would have been the perfect choice - they definitely need to add one for the next tour.
I have to say that I was stunned by the sheer power of Rachel Brice and the other tribal dancers. As a rule tribal is not something that really appeals to me, but the power and control they demonstrated spoke volumes for the work behind the flexibility. Those movements, done so very slow and precisely - wow! Funnily enough, it didn't matter that they didn't smile quite as much as the other dancers, because they made such good eye contact with the audience. It's also worth noting that Rachel & her colleagues were performing what could be described as 'urban tribal'. This is a hybrid form of the dance and doesn't look much like Fat Chance Belly Dance- style tribal.
Adorè - it's just as well I saw her in numbers where I could appreciate her other skills, because I'm afraid her solo made me wince! I know that some Egyptian dancers from the 'Golden Age' (Naima Akef, for instance) came from an acrobatic background, but back flips, walkovers and such like are not in my opinion belly dancing at all, even when performed with this level of skill and grace. I understand that this number was partly to provide a bit of extra pizzazz/spectacle ~ but it does give people the wrong idea. Petite Jamilla's double veil was incredible to watch and reminded me of movements that I'd long forgotten I knew how to use! I also enjoyed Kaeshi's candle dance - lovely! It's hard to explain, but I did feel that there was something missing in the Bellyqueen Leilat Hob duet, difficult to put my finger on it though.
The show's percussionist, Issam, was excellent. Not only talented, but good stage presence too. British drummers should take note - Issam was wearing smart casual clothes. He did not look like he'd walked off a Glastonbury campsite, as far too many British drummers do. It's called respect, guys!
Other elements worthy of mentioning in their own right - the lighting and the projected backdrops were absolutely stunning. Secondly, the opportunity to meet and chat to the performers after the show was over. They were all wonderful; posing for photographs and answering questions when they had just performed such a high-energy show.
I think congratulations are in order both to Miles Copeland for dreaming up the whole concept and my hat goes off to Jillina, her incredible talent for group choreography and her ability to put together an outstanding show!
It was wonderful to see such a high standard of performance - thank you everyone, you are helping the world to see that there's a bit more to belly dancing than just sequins and wobbly bits! I do hope that the British dancers who go see the show will recognize the effort they need to put into their own productions. I know it was a well-funded professional show, but they are some lessons that could be learned and applied even to the most amateur events. Like make-up for instance - how lovely it was to see performers who actually wore enough make-up.
This is something that many dancers over here seem to have difficulty with, partly down I think to that fact that so many don’t wear much when not performing, which makes stage make-up look totally outrageous by comparison. Another aspect was that of costuming. All the dancers wore well co-ordinated costumes for the group numbers which always looks good even when the costumes are not expensive. Plus not all the soloists were wearing designer costumes either, showing that you can look good without having to spend your hard-earned cash on Madame Ablas to look good.
I do however strongly disagree with people who say that these dancers are streets ahead of the UK in ability – that is simply not true at all. I know of lots of dancers who would make wonderful additions to a UK-equivalent line-up. Part of the problem is that being such a small country there simply aren’t enough of us. That, plus the fact that for such a small country, we work in such isolation from each other. So much so, that many dancers don’t know that there’s a haflah going on just 30/40 miles down the road! My husband spoke to someone recently who was enquiring about Celebrating Dance (my own festival). He was very surprised to find that she had never heard of Mosaic or Taqasim magazines, and certainly not the Bellydance Superstars. She was stunned to hear that there was a well-known teacher called Yasmin Asar who taught classes just 20 miles away from her own! She’s been teaching for 7 years in a complete vacuum, and only heard about Celebrating Dance because a friend of the family came across my website! A good example of the insular little world that many British dancers live in.
Another problem that prevents the raising of UK dance standards, is that far too many dancers simply do not work hard enough to polish and perfect their skills. They are comfortable where they are, and don’t want to push themselves on to the next level of achievement. Their technique is sloppy, and they lack presentation and stage/performance skills. Too many dancers have forgotten that this is first and foremost a performance art. Here in the UK there are only a handful of us who offer workshops at an advanced level for technique and presentation. Unfortunately, we find it hard to make those workshops financially viable, as so few dancers wish to learn at that level. This sounds very harsh, but like any art form you excel by pushing yourself to achieve the very best of your ability. I see many talented dancers at haflahs who could become fabulous performers if only they were prepared to push themselves just a bit harder.
We are pretty much a nation of hobbyist dancers who have no desire or aspirations (& probably never will have) to become a professional performer. That in itself is fine, but if we are to raise the standards of UK dance we need to find ways to encourage the next generation of dancers to understand that with enthusiasm and work, they too could be Bellydance Superstars. They need role models for this – how many dancers are there out there who are truly leaders & role models in the field of professional UK belly dance? Well, there are probably lots of dancers who could be, but until we talk to each other who is going to know? To my knowledge there are only a small number of professional dancers here in the UK, myself included, whose sole business is performing and teaching this dance.
UK dancers shouldn't look at the Bellydance Superstars and feel that this level of dance is beyond their ability. I strongly believe that with a bit of hard work and effort over the next few years we can make leaps and bounds in standards. There is plenty of talent here in the UK it just needs the opportunity to develop and grow to realise it's full potential.
I really enjoyed Friday evening, and like the Beata & Horacio show earlier in the year, it made me see what we *could* achieve, not that which we couldn’t even aspire to. I really hope it provides everyone with a big injection of inspiration to push themselves onto towards that level.
I can’t wait for them to come back next year!
Afra Al-Kahira
For information about the Bellydance Superstars and the European Tour next Spring visit their website at: