Winter Break Reviews - Tribal LA

Well, much to my surprise, the Tribal LA DVD replacement for the one Bri gave me for Christmas showed up today in the mail. So I watched it while cooking dinner (a single number is between 3 and 5 minutes, perfect for timing things).

All in all this is a better DVD than the Tribal Fusions 2 DVD, though it still has its issues. A lot of the numbers have a sense of sameness about them, which could be just a part and parcel of Tribal Fusion. Everyone seems to focus on sharp locks, small movements and lots of abdominal articulations. Once again I really want to know what the camera men are thinking (or maybe it’s the editors) there is a lot of focusing in on hands when there is obviously other stuff going on that would be more interesting than a pretty hand position (not even a hand motion, just a position!)

Many of the numbers appear to be the same (or at least extremely similar) to those found on the Tribal Fusions 2 DVD, however this is the better of the two as far as performances, audience engagement, and camera work go.  If you want to order your own copy, click here Tribal LA: Live In Los Angeles Bellydance Superstars for a blow by blow of the various performances, keep reading


Urban Tribal – I’ve now seen several of their numbers, and it just isn’t doing it for me – they seem to be a fusion of belly dance and modern dance and use very austere costumes.

Sharon Kihara – I enjoyed her number but after seeing several of them now, I’m starting to feel like they are all the same

Zoe Jakes and Elizabeth Strong Duette – this is the same choreography as is on the Tribal Fusions 2 DVD – at least the photography is better here.

Moira Chappelle – everything I’ve seen her do has been different, so I have no complaints of monotony with this dancer. This number started with a classical song and then morphed into an upbeat poppy version of the song.

Kami Liddle – Overall I enjoyed this number, it seems similar to one of the numbers on the Tribal Fusions 2 DVD, but I couldn’t swear that it was the exact same number. Also, I can’t hold some similarities against her since I’m sure I use some of the same sequences in my own dancing. If you find a sequence you like, you use it.

Fat Chance Belly Dance did a very nice group improvisation number with lots of formation changes and leadership changes. A good example of what ATS is all about

Samantha’s performance was interesting with lots of locks, pops and tic tocks as well as interesting and complicated layers.

Elizabeth Strong’s Sword solo was very nice and easily held the audience’s attention. This may be my favorite performance on the entire DVD.

Zoe Jakes solo was nice to watch, I enjoy her larger movements which are easier to see but no less dramatic than the microscopic moves some dancers use.

Tribal Super Stars was a nice group number with five dancers, I definitely recognized Elizabeth Strong, Samantha, Sharon Kihara, Moira Chappelle, but wasn’t sure who the last dancer was (didn’t get a good enough look, could have been Kami Liddle or Zoe Jakes). I’m not certain but this number seemed very similar to one done by the tribal ladies of the Belly Dance Super Stars on Babelesque, though this involved 5 dancers, and I think Babelesque only uses 4.

Elizabeth Strong’s second solo was nice, but not as good as the sword solo, much more typical of tribal fusion numbers.

Urban Tribals second number was interesting, but if it hadn’t been a part of a belly dance show I never would have pegged it as belly dance. This one included almost no belly dance moves and I would classify it as a modern dance number.

Kami Liddle’s second solo was somewhat similar to the first, full of pops and locks.

Sonia and Colleens Duet may be the same as the one on Tribal Fusions 2 – but again, a better version of it with better videography.

Samantha’s second solo was smoother than the first, but not particularly unique.

Zoe Jakes second number was once again full of the larger moves she uses, making it a very nice break from the other performances. Her facial expressions are enough to make you laugh though, especially since she looks almost afraid while spinning.

Sharon Kihara’s second solo is either the exact same choreography as she uses on Tribal Fusions 2, or so similar as to make no difference.

Fat chance’s second number wasn’t as interesting as their first. This one featured mini solos by each of their dancers, including a long one by Caroleno consisting almost entirely of belly rolls and tummy flutters, almost none of which were visible from any distance or with the camera man focused on her hands.

I am starting to wonder if tribal fusion is all the same. I have not studies the discipline, but all the performances I have seen lately seem to focus on the same small, tight, mechanical movements. I really thought there was more to it than fusing breakdance with bellydance. I'll keep watching tribal fusion pieces as some of the dancers do seem to be able to think outside the box. Here is hoping for more variety in the future!

Winter Break Reviews - Jareeda

Jareeda is a magazine about belly dance that is published every two months. The magazine runs $31 for a years subscription and you can subscribe at http://jareeda.com/index.htm This is the first belly dance related magazine that I started receiving and I have enjoyed every issue I've read.

Jareeda is published on 8 point glossy paper (this is typical magazine paper if you aren't familiar with paper varieties) and includes color photos interspersed throughout the publication. The magazine is published by Mezdulene out of Oregon and is typically around 30 pages long.

Jareeda includes a calendar of events, a teacher directory as well as articles. There are several regular columns including Halima's Hints which usually includes advice of some sort (costuming or behavior or some other topic), Karavan Klips which reviews various shows and workshops and Troupe Talk which deals with issues and challenges troupes might run into among other things. They welcome contributions of both  articles and photographs from their readership.

My only real complaint with Jareeda is they aren't very regular about getting the magazine out. At this point in time (almost the end of December) the last issue I received was the July/August issue, so I'm missing September/October and November/December (which is my favorite issue of the year - contains a bunch of reviews). I've written them and am hoping I will be receiving my issues soon.

Winter Break Reviews - World of Bellydance

The second performance DVD Bri got me was World of Bellydance. This DVD contains 12 performances by various belly dancers from around the world. Though I had not heard of all of them before hand I was quite pleased with the performances presented. The DVD is obviously the filming of a live show featuring cabaret soloists. There is not a single group number of tribal/tribal fusion piece in the collection.

The dancers are all skilled, the costumes beautiful and the most of the music was songs I've considered choreographing myself. The camera angles are almost always focused on the right areas of the dancers, most shots show at least hips through face and many of them are full body.

There is a nice variety of performances including, a couple of single veil routines, a double veil number, a sword dance a two drum solos. I enjoyed the quality, quantity and variety of the performances enough I've looked into what else has come out of the same studio and added a few more performance DVDs to my wishlist, maybe I'll get a couple of them for my birthday next month.

If you are interested in reading more about this DVD or picking up your own copy, you can find it on Amazon here The World of Bellydance

Winter Break Reviews - Tribal Fusions 2

For Christmas Bri gave me several performance DVDs. Since all I had in my library were instructional DVDs, they were quite welcome. One of the DVDs he gave me was Tribal LA, but when I opened the case, the disk was for Tribal Fusions 2. Though disapointed it wasn't the one I wanted, I decided to watch it before we contacted Amazon to get the correct video.

Tribal Fusions 2 is a collection of Tribal performances performed by several different Tribal belly dance performers. The DVD includes two performances by nine different soloists and groups, including Fat Chance Belly Dance, Urban Tribal, Kami Liddle, Zoe Jakes and Sharon Kihara. There were also several performers I had not heard of before.

The performances were all recorded in a studio and not before a live audience. The cameraman used a mixture of full body shots, upper body shots and tight focus on individual areas (abdomen, hips, face or hands). Personally, as a dancer, I prefer wide shots that allow me to see the entire performer or group of performers.

Most of the performances used typical tribal fusion music, costuming and stylization, without much variation between the performances. There were a few performances that were unique, including one vaudvillesque number and one that seemed to be inspired by Turkish Gypsy style.

One performance that I really enjoyed was a duette between Sonia of the Bellydance Superstars and Colleen. It showcased the differences in stylization between tribal fusion style belly dance and cabaret style belly dance.

All in All I wasn't overly impressed. We are returning the Tribal LA case with the Tribal Fusions 2 DVD in it and have requested Amazon send the Tribal LA DVD. I most likely will not be purchasing or requesting Tribal Fusions 2 unless I manage to collect all other performance DVDs out there and just want it to "complete my collection."

If you are interested in getting your own copy you can find it on Amazon here Bellydance Superstars-Tribal Fusions V02 if you have your own copy, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the performances. Since I'm predominately a Cabaret dancer, its possible my views are colored by just not being intune with the Tribal Fusion scene.

Winter Break Reviews - A Time of Peace

I meant to post this yesterday, but one thing led to another (along with a big snow storm) and it just didn't happen.

A Time of Peace is a CD by the Brothers of the Baladi it contains 15 Christmas songs played on middle eastern instruments and with middle eastern rhythms. The really cool part is you can recognize the songs being played, but they have a definite middle easter sound to them. If I ever have an opportunity (and time) to perform around the winter holidays I may just reach for this CD to dance to, my personal favorite of the 15 tracks is Little Drummer Boy. You can purchase a download of this CD from iTunes or you can purchase the CD from Amazon at A Time of Peace

Winter Break Reviews - Pants for the Dance

We are on winter break, and though I wasn't very good about updating my blog regularly, I'm going to try and get back in the habit with the new session starting in January. So to help me get back into the habit of updating my blog regularly, I thought I'd post some mini reviews of books, DVDs, dance websites and music leading up the the new year.

First up is the book "Pants for the Dance" by Dawn Devine Brown. When I read the brief synopsis before ordering this book, I somehow got the impression that it would include various styles of pants worn in belly dance (and would hopefully include flair pants in amongst them). In actuality this is a very well written book on harem pants and many different alterations you can make to them to give them a different look. From adding cuffs at the ankles (or up the shins) to adding a yolk at the top and various levels for the gusset to hit.

The book includes directions for making your own patterns for the various options and sewing instructions for once you have your cloth cut out. Harem pants aren't my favorite look, so I was a bit disappointed that there aren't any other real styles of pants included (I'd love to make me some fluffy rufflys!) but all in all I would say this is an excellent book on making more than just your basic harem pant and I will most likely make use of it to try one or more of the styles out in the future.