This year we were very lucky to have the opportunity not only to take workshops with two of Europe's brightest dance stars, but also to see their new show in the evening.
I joined the advanced workshop on Saturday morning, which was started off by Beata. We worked through a wide range of movements and as she taught each one, Beata outlined where she had learned it and whose style had influenced it. Beata is an excellent teacher with a keen eye for detail. There were a small number of students in the class who really were not at the right level - Beata, although careful not to let them get too far behind, nevertheless did not hold the rest of us back when the less experienced dancers struggled. She was patient, thoughtful and thorough.
At the halfway point Beata bid us a cheery goodbye and went off to take over the general level class. In her place was Horacio, who took the class up a notch and taught part of a lovely choreography. Like Beata, Horacio has the same eye for detail and is a very exacting teacher. However, it was all done with a smile and he was more than happy to explain or demonstrate a movement or sequence more than once. It was nice to work with a teacher who not only taught us a choreography, but also how to finish movements off and to add those extra touches that give a performance polish. Like Beata, Horacio was full of funny anecdotes about his life as a dancer, and he passed on some great tips for posture - it was worth going just for those alone!
During the break in the afternoon (the workshops were only in the morning allowing for rehearsal time for the show), after we had spent far too much time and money on the goodies in Beata's fabulous bazaar, we went off into Cheltenham in search of food. Easier said than done, but in the end we had a nice meal in the biggest Waitrose store I've ever seen! The only down point of the day was the long gap between the end of the workshops and the AGM. We grew very bored and tired wandering around Cheltenham in the car to kill time. It rained quite hard for most of the afternoon, making sightseeing or walking around the town centre less than inviting! It would have been nice if there had been a cafe area where we could have sat whilst we waited for things to get underway. Although I'd probably have spent far too much money on those yummy costumes!
The show was certainly worth waiting for! It's really hard to pick out my favourites as they were all so good! When dancing as a couple Beata & Horacio are almost like two halves of the same person, completely in unison and complimenting each other wonderfully. Beata brings an elegance to her dancing that is perfect for her fabulous oriental numbers, but there's still room for the cheekiness of the Melaya or a spirited drum solo. Horacio uses his masculinity to the full, giving his performances a great sense of power, but he can also bring a charming delicacy to his dancing, which was so obvious in his lovely Persian solo.
The show had one or two unexpected surprises for us. Like Horacio appearing on stage covered from head down to knees in a large latex head, complete with moving eyes to provide the most hilarious finale to Beata's Melaya. Our ears pricked up when we heard the intro to the choreography we had learned with Horacio in the morning. Imagine our surprise when he came on stage balancing a large tray with candles and playing the finger cymbals! To cap that, part way through he descended to the floor using very controlled, fabulous splits and proceeded to shimmy when he got to the floor. Oh my!
Not to be outdone, Beata decided that she would also set the stage alight, although it didn't quite go as intended! Things started well enough, an exciting fusion number first using sparklers and then using two gymnastic ribbon streamers. This was were it all went a trifle wrong. . cue the sparklers! Working with fire always has it's problems, so what do you do when your fire props start to set fire to the scenery? Beata gamely carried on and finished her number, but you could see from her body language that she was worried about what was going on behind her. Me and my husband were both looking around for fire exits and wondering why someone hadn't rushed on with an extinguisher, melting plastic can be very toxic! As Beata took her bow, she looked very relieved as a stagehand rushed on and put the offending blaze out. Professionals to the end, they even made a joke about it later on when addressing the audience!
All in all it was a brilliant show, seamlessly put together and all the more incredible when you remember that there were only two of them doing all the dancing! The costumes were to die for, doubly so when we realised that the very talented Horacio had hand sewn all the crystals on them! I can see why they brought over their own technical team, as the show was beautifully lit and staged, right down to the lovely painted backdrop.
The only criticism I have, and it really is a small one - why didn't the programme carry the details of all the music used in the show? There were one or two numbers for which I would have loved to buy the CD to dance to myself, but sadly the names were missing from the programme.
The only thing that really surprised me was that the theatre wasn't full! Where was everybody? Given the prestige and standing of Beata and Horacio not just in Europe, but worldwide, I was stunned to see that the theatre was not full to bursting. This show should have been sold out. I know I keep saying this, but what is wrong with the UK dance scene? Some people said the tickets were expensive, but tickets to see the Bellydance Superstars were more. Yes I know it's not cheap to travel to these things, but surely it's worth effort? We live in North Devon, nearly an hour's drive from the nearest motorway, but we still managed, and there were a couple of dancers who came from further west than we did. Come on everyone, give these people some support or they won't come back again! We need to see shows like Beata & Horacio's and to study with dancers of their calibre if we are to ever hope of raising standards of dance in this country.
This was Beata & Horacio's first visit to the UK as teachers and performers - I'd like to personally thank the Mosaic team for making this happen. I do hope that if they organise another visit in the future, it will be much better supported. Meanwhile I am saving up my pennies for a trip to Germany!
Afra Al-Kahira
You can find Beata & Horacio's website at: http://www.oriental-fantasy.com/
and the Mosaic Arabic Dance Network (MADN) at: http://www.mosaicdance.org/