Tribal Renaissance Review

Tribal Renaissance includes 12 performances most of them by well known dancers (there were four I didn’t recognize). Most of the songs used are by an artist known as Mosavo. Considering that only four of the songs are by other artists, I feel the DVD should have been limited to songs by Mosavo as a common theme and included other performances and then used the four that don’t use Mosavo songs for a different DVD. In general the cinematography and lighting are good on this DVD though there are sections that seem dark where it is hard to see the dancer and other places where you wonder why the camera man felt it necessary to focus on a body part that didn’t seem to be where the action was. In general I enjoyed all the performances. Below are my thoughts about the individual dancers and their numbers.

Zoe Jakes – Welcome Ceremony by Mosavo from Sensual Goddess- This is one of only a very few tribal fusion performances I have seen where the dancer uses finger cymbals. ATS dancers do it all the time, ITS and cabaret dancers do it some of the time, but tribal fusion dancers seem to not use cymbals much so it was a very nice surprise to have a tribal fusion piece with cymbals.

Susan Frankovich – Across the Bosphorus by Mosavo from Serpent’s Garden – this was an interesting, mostly slow piece that included some of the hand gestures often associated with Turkish Rom dancing.

Frederique – Drum Seduction by Mosava from Serpent’s Garden – While the costume chosen was interesting, it didn’t seem to match the music. The music had a very traditional drum solo sound and the costume looked like it came out of the 1920s gangster movie. I also found many of the dance movements to be so small and subtle as to be almost invisible to the audience. It is possible that is Frederique’s dance style as while I’m familiar with her name I have not seen other performances by her.

Princess Farhana – Lonely Star by the Sea by Mosavo from Serpent’s Garden – I do not normally think of Princess Farhana as a tribal fusion dancer, I usually associate her with cabaret so it was interesting to see her listed. She performed a sword dance to a song I usually consider a veil number and made it work. I will say the most tribal fusion thing about her performance was her costume. Change the costume and put the choreography in a cabaret show and it would fit right in.

Ava Fleming – Uncovered Ecstasy by Mosavo from Sensual Goddess – Ava Fleming is another dancer I usually associate with the cabaret world of belly dance but here she does a lovely tribal fusion number. Her costuming is what I would consider tribaret, mixing sea shells and old coins with glass beads and paillettes.  She uses her amazing torso manipulation skills to give the audience what I consider the classic tribal fusion style of dancing, lots of pops and locks using interesting body lines and half the time you are asking –how the heck did she do that?

Mira Betz – Rumi's Passion by Mosavo from Serpent’s Garden – If you have never seen spinning (dervish) done, I would get this DVD just for this performance alone. I would usually consider this style of number a folkloric piece and not a tribal fusion number. Mira Betz’s spinning is beautiful and amazing to watch.

The Nekyia – Pure Catnip by Drumspyder – The only troupe on this DVD performed in costumes that seemed more appropriate to a burlesque show than a belly dance show. However, most of the dance moves were more tribal fusion than burlesque (I remember two exceptions). This number was interesting in that in addition to the prerecorded music, they also had a live drummer adding tabla sounds to their dance track. An interesting number, but one that taken out of context could be used as fuel by those who claim belly dance is not that different from stripping.

Elizabeth Strong – Istanbul Cingene by Ibrahim Kazo from Istanbul Night – I have seen Elizabeth Strong on other DVDs and usually am less than impressed. I’m pleased to say I really enjoyed her piece this time round. She uses Turkish Rom dance steps and gestures to create a lovely number that was fun to watch.

Sashi – Black Bedouin by Knossos from Dark Light in the Wake of Silence – This number was what I would consider classic tribal fusion. From the music which fused techno beat with classical instruments to the costume which had the “tribal fusion look”. The dancing was also what I would consider classic tribal fusion, a mix of ATS style steps with classic cabaret. This is how I remember tribal fusion before it got mixed with hip hop and break dancing and developed all the sharp, small pops and locks.

Jill Parker – Lamma Bada (Syrian Muwashanat) by Mosavo from Desert Passage – Though the music is something I could see being danced either cabaret or tribal fusion (or ATS slow for that matter) this is another number that I would consider to be classic tribal fusion. The costume is more minimalist than in the number by Sashi and has the more modern look of tribal fusion, but the movements are classic tribal fusion.

Kami Liddle – Drum Roots (Table Rhythm Variation) by Mosavo from Desert Passage – this was a lovely tribal fusion drum solo preceded by a short mizmar taxseem. Very fun to watch

Monica “Dangerpants” Fernandez – Sekmetron by Maduro from Shimmer Sustain – This piece was what I would consider modern tribal fusion from the music to the costume to the dance style.