Busy weekend
This weekend saw 3 events for Boomshanka. Ages ago we decided on 22nd September for our hafla ( we were all around and there didnt seem to be any other dance events going on....). Then Stannington Carnival was rescheduled to the same day (having been cancelled in July due to godawful weather). Then Nether Edge Famers Market asked us to dance on the Sunday and given that the last two years we have danced at the December one in snow, sleet and freezing rain, we dcided this one might be at least a little bit warmer!
Its been hard work but lots of fun. Stannington carnival had a good crowd and 'Our Cow Molly' ice-cream. Nether Edge had a good crowd and *lots* of nice food - came home with steak, veg, pie, cheesecake.
The hafla went well -
we had a few problems finding a venue - we were looking for somewhere better than the Broomspring centre, but many places were either booked up or simply not suitable due to cost and curfew times. Eventually we were pointed at the Jubilee Sports & Social club - it was small and hidden away down Claywheels lane, but also cheap, came with sound system and lights already in place, also, being a club already, no need to set out tables/chairs (and put away at the end) and no need for an event licence - lots of work and quite a bit of cash saved. They had never had anything like a hafla there before and were a bit surprised by our decorating efforts and how many people actually turned up!
We had a fantastic set of performances - we arranged the show so it started traditional and then went off into fusion-land. Boomshanka kicked off the night with the stick dance, then Konny's group did a nice oriental number - upbeat and cheeky. After that we Pharaohs Flames - subject of a post-hafla rant from me some years ago, you might recall. Well once again they danced to two Lady Gaga tracks - sigh! But at least 'Queen Nefertari' didnt subject us to any solos this time. And in fact, I have to say that their first dance - with fans, to 'Bad Romance' - was fun and lively and went down well. I just think that it would have been nice to have something different for the second one!
Zubaidah did two numbers - a rocky 'Creepy Crawler' and a very cheeky 'I'm sexy & I know it' - both were well choreographed and well performed with plenty of attitude. RockIt danced to 'Papercut' and I thought they were better than at Gothla - making good use of the more lyrical parts of the music and much more together, while keeping the fantastic energy we have seen before.
We had some soloists - Pippa, dancing to a Sarah Brightman track, whom I thought was very good. I am guessing she was relatively inexperienced, as I got the feeling she wasnt projecting out very much (all very 'internal'), but with more confidence she could be excellent. The we had a bit of a tribal fusion fest. Tasmin danced a duet with Louise and then a solo piece - theres no-one quite like her and I have seen her style develope from 'Rachel Brice wannabe' into a strength that is very much her own and she moves fantastically well.
We were also very lucky to have Dawn O'Brien and Alexis Southall perform - thats kind of an honour for a little hafla like ours (almost as much as when diva_c performs for us!). They were amazing to watch. So much so that it made me a little nervous about Boomshanka closing the night with our Gothla piece - Cables and Wires. But people said it made a good finale (you gotta love the light up fingers!), so I guess we got away with it.
There was also quite a bit of general boogying (with me as DJ, so lots of actual bellydance music, none of this playing western pop after the show finishes - I hate it when that happens at haflas!!), Sophie Mei popped in to say 'Hi' and there was a fantastic spread of food.
Roll on the next one, I guess?
Now exhausted, of course. A nice long bath and a G&T are helping though....
Its been hard work but lots of fun. Stannington carnival had a good crowd and 'Our Cow Molly' ice-cream. Nether Edge had a good crowd and *lots* of nice food - came home with steak, veg, pie, cheesecake.
The hafla went well -
we had a few problems finding a venue - we were looking for somewhere better than the Broomspring centre, but many places were either booked up or simply not suitable due to cost and curfew times. Eventually we were pointed at the Jubilee Sports & Social club - it was small and hidden away down Claywheels lane, but also cheap, came with sound system and lights already in place, also, being a club already, no need to set out tables/chairs (and put away at the end) and no need for an event licence - lots of work and quite a bit of cash saved. They had never had anything like a hafla there before and were a bit surprised by our decorating efforts and how many people actually turned up!
We had a fantastic set of performances - we arranged the show so it started traditional and then went off into fusion-land. Boomshanka kicked off the night with the stick dance, then Konny's group did a nice oriental number - upbeat and cheeky. After that we Pharaohs Flames - subject of a post-hafla rant from me some years ago, you might recall. Well once again they danced to two Lady Gaga tracks - sigh! But at least 'Queen Nefertari' didnt subject us to any solos this time. And in fact, I have to say that their first dance - with fans, to 'Bad Romance' - was fun and lively and went down well. I just think that it would have been nice to have something different for the second one!
Zubaidah did two numbers - a rocky 'Creepy Crawler' and a very cheeky 'I'm sexy & I know it' - both were well choreographed and well performed with plenty of attitude. RockIt danced to 'Papercut' and I thought they were better than at Gothla - making good use of the more lyrical parts of the music and much more together, while keeping the fantastic energy we have seen before.
We had some soloists - Pippa, dancing to a Sarah Brightman track, whom I thought was very good. I am guessing she was relatively inexperienced, as I got the feeling she wasnt projecting out very much (all very 'internal'), but with more confidence she could be excellent. The we had a bit of a tribal fusion fest. Tasmin danced a duet with Louise and then a solo piece - theres no-one quite like her and I have seen her style develope from 'Rachel Brice wannabe' into a strength that is very much her own and she moves fantastically well.
We were also very lucky to have Dawn O'Brien and Alexis Southall perform - thats kind of an honour for a little hafla like ours (almost as much as when diva_c performs for us!). They were amazing to watch. So much so that it made me a little nervous about Boomshanka closing the night with our Gothla piece - Cables and Wires. But people said it made a good finale (you gotta love the light up fingers!), so I guess we got away with it.
There was also quite a bit of general boogying (with me as DJ, so lots of actual bellydance music, none of this playing western pop after the show finishes - I hate it when that happens at haflas!!), Sophie Mei popped in to say 'Hi' and there was a fantastic spread of food.
Roll on the next one, I guess?
Now exhausted, of course. A nice long bath and a G&T are helping though....