Workshop Hangover vs. Dance Buzz: Go!
Well, we just got back from Tribal Revolution, and oh is my body ready to sleep for a week! My mind, on the other hand, is racing with all kinds of new ideas from the workshops and the show. It was such a great festival, and Blue Lotus Tribe deserve big kudos for putting it together.
The workshops were all bloody fantastic. I think I want to marry Karim Nagy, or at least take him home and figure out where his internal energy source is. As a musician myself, I really grooved on his approach to teaching dancers about rhythms and finger cymbals, plus we learned some very cool sagat techniques. Blue Lotus's '80s Combos workshop was awesome and fun as we got to channel our inner Paula Abduls, Molly Ringwalds, and Axl Roses. Zafira Dance Company took the cake (in my book) for kicking our butts the hardest, between Bellydance Bootcamp (15 million squat pulses, ow) and Rajasthani Gypsy Spins (spinny spinny WHEEE! *fall down*). Kami Liddle's Bhangra Fusion class on Saturday did a good job on the exhaustion front too... bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy BHANGRA FACE! Her Sunday Sultry Layers workshop stretched us in the opposite direction, slowing down slow moves longer than humanly possible, and then layering things on top of them.
I had a blast dancing in the Saturday show-- despite nerves and uncooperative hair (Molly's mighty head-arranging foo beat everything into submission once again), Dark Side's performance went well. We missed most of the first half of the show, though we did see Blue Lotus's wonderful opening set and the end of Zafira's closing set. We caught almost all of the second half though, and all I can say is wow. All of the performances I saw were stellar, and unique, and varied. Barika delivered a very funky performance with a deeper social message about the sex trade; a dancer (whose name I didn't catch) in a gorgeous orange and turquoise costume did a a lovely candle dance; Hipnotic mesmerized with their sparse, dramatic isolations and smooth hip hop motions; that cute rainbow-haired goth girl who studies with Ruby Jazayre did a very lyrical and expressive solo to a Cure song; and Kami and Sabrina gave a fantastic closing to the night. (I'd been hoping Kami would do some Bhangra, but it was straight tribal fusion-- but I ain't complainin' 'bout that!) I can't wait to get my copy of the DVD to see what I missed and revisit the amazing performances I did see!
Also, after however many years of knowing each other online, I finally got to meet the lovely fastrada! She came to the show, and afterwards she was patient enough not only to put up with the cat-herding that goes on post-performance, but also to take us to a very very yummy Middle Eastern restaurant that was open late. (Good thing, since we hadn't had time to eat between the last workshop and getting ready for the show.) We also did the covert passing of the taffeta. I'm sorry that I was so tired and frazzled that I was probably kind of twitchy and spazzy, but it was still really cool to meet her.
After the end of the festival on Sunday, the Dark Side Caravan took a trip to Chicago's Indian district. We had a mouthwatering lunch in a restaurant where Bollywood videos were playing on the tv (causing us all to bust into Bhangra shoulder shrugs). Then it was off to shop and browse among the sari shops, which was pretty much a fabricgasm for all of us textile whores. I wasn't too interested in buying anything (though I did get a gorgeous bindi), but I was quite enjoying the sensory feast of the fabrics and smells and sounds. It was finally about 6 pm by the time we got on the road to head home, and we rolled into Bloomington at about midnight.
The workshops were all bloody fantastic. I think I want to marry Karim Nagy, or at least take him home and figure out where his internal energy source is. As a musician myself, I really grooved on his approach to teaching dancers about rhythms and finger cymbals, plus we learned some very cool sagat techniques. Blue Lotus's '80s Combos workshop was awesome and fun as we got to channel our inner Paula Abduls, Molly Ringwalds, and Axl Roses. Zafira Dance Company took the cake (in my book) for kicking our butts the hardest, between Bellydance Bootcamp (15 million squat pulses, ow) and Rajasthani Gypsy Spins (spinny spinny WHEEE! *fall down*). Kami Liddle's Bhangra Fusion class on Saturday did a good job on the exhaustion front too... bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy BHANGRA FACE! Her Sunday Sultry Layers workshop stretched us in the opposite direction, slowing down slow moves longer than humanly possible, and then layering things on top of them.
I had a blast dancing in the Saturday show-- despite nerves and uncooperative hair (Molly's mighty head-arranging foo beat everything into submission once again), Dark Side's performance went well. We missed most of the first half of the show, though we did see Blue Lotus's wonderful opening set and the end of Zafira's closing set. We caught almost all of the second half though, and all I can say is wow. All of the performances I saw were stellar, and unique, and varied. Barika delivered a very funky performance with a deeper social message about the sex trade; a dancer (whose name I didn't catch) in a gorgeous orange and turquoise costume did a a lovely candle dance; Hipnotic mesmerized with their sparse, dramatic isolations and smooth hip hop motions; that cute rainbow-haired goth girl who studies with Ruby Jazayre did a very lyrical and expressive solo to a Cure song; and Kami and Sabrina gave a fantastic closing to the night. (I'd been hoping Kami would do some Bhangra, but it was straight tribal fusion-- but I ain't complainin' 'bout that!) I can't wait to get my copy of the DVD to see what I missed and revisit the amazing performances I did see!
Also, after however many years of knowing each other online, I finally got to meet the lovely fastrada! She came to the show, and afterwards she was patient enough not only to put up with the cat-herding that goes on post-performance, but also to take us to a very very yummy Middle Eastern restaurant that was open late. (Good thing, since we hadn't had time to eat between the last workshop and getting ready for the show.) We also did the covert passing of the taffeta. I'm sorry that I was so tired and frazzled that I was probably kind of twitchy and spazzy, but it was still really cool to meet her.
After the end of the festival on Sunday, the Dark Side Caravan took a trip to Chicago's Indian district. We had a mouthwatering lunch in a restaurant where Bollywood videos were playing on the tv (causing us all to bust into Bhangra shoulder shrugs). Then it was off to shop and browse among the sari shops, which was pretty much a fabricgasm for all of us textile whores. I wasn't too interested in buying anything (though I did get a gorgeous bindi), but I was quite enjoying the sensory feast of the fabrics and smells and sounds. It was finally about 6 pm by the time we got on the road to head home, and we rolled into Bloomington at about midnight.