Showtime!

(HMC DV 9400) Starring Ava Fleming, Lorinda, Kami Liddle, Aubre, Urban Gypsy, Virginia, Souhaila, DaVid, Zaheea & Jamileh.

This DVD opens with a wonderful 4 silk veil number by Ava Fleming - this really had the wow factor! Next up was Victoriya dancing (according to the listing) Melaya Leff, but nice as it was you could hardly describe it as such when the dancer didn’t use a melaya. Victoriya was followed by Lorinda who performed a very accomplished Flamenco/Bellydance fusion number, with lots of passion. She is another dancer I’d like to see more of!

I also enjoyed Kami Liddle’s Tribal fusion number - I think she is quite enchanting to watch. Following Kami was Aubre, formerly of the Bellydance Superstars. However nice it was to see her as a soloist. She’s a very expressive performer who really danced for the camera in a very engaging manner - lovely! Group Tribal Fusion was represented by Urban Gypsy and I have to say that I was a little disappointed by this number. It’s hard to say exactly why, just that it lacked sparkle. The sparkle was definitely there for Virginia’s interpretation of ‘Haramt Ahebbak’ though. What a fun dancer she is, she always looks like she’s having a wonderful time!

Souhaila’s ‘Bedouin Dance’ was another of those numbers that although very pleasant to watch, was rather mis-named. It certainly wasn’t what could be labelled as ‘Bedouin’ in style and I suspect that either this was done by the production company or she called it that for lack of a better description. Following this was a performance by Norwegian dancer DaVid who is now based in California. He is a very nice fluid dancer, whose musicality shone through, my only complaint was that I’d like to see him smile a little more!

DaVid was followed by Zaheea who opened with a long violin taxim. This seemed to drag on for a bit and I started to look for the remote, then the screen burst into life as the music went up-tempo and I was treated to another really sparkling performance.The trend was continued with Jamileh’s very nice Lebanese style number. Whilst not as exuberant as some of the other performers she has a quality to her dancing that I really enjoyed!

The final number was billed as a Bridal Procession or Zeffa, complete with a dancer wearing a shammadan (candelabra). This for me was the most disappointing element of the entire DVD and its amateur execution really let it down. Many of the accompanying dancers looked ill at ease - judging from their costumes they were all very inexperienced and looked nervous. It seemed a bit of a damp squib after the quality of the rest of the programme - luckily it didn’t last very long!

Again production values on this DVD were high - very nice sets and not too much distracting camera work. However the lighting was sometimes a little annoying, along with the presence of a smoke machine which should have been left at home. That said, I’d still recommend it as it has a nice range of styles and performers to enjoy.

DVD courtesy of Metronome Music where you can buy the DVD - www.classicalmusicstore.co.uk

This review first appeared in Taqasim Magazine.

Afra is a regular review writer for Taqasim and other magazines, and is often approached to review music and DVDs for many publications. If you would like her to review your product either for Taqasim or a speicific publication please email her at afra@afraalkahira.com