Well, what a wonderful afternoon of dance, colour, fun and sheer hard work that was!!!
The show was opened with an elegant and balletic performance by Nancy, a romantic pastiche reminiscent of the exotic East as interpreted by a Western Orchestra.
We then began to explore the links between classical Indian and belly dance and so, Rakhi Sood and her dancers gave us a delightful fusion routine which finished with an exciting Kathak version of Riverdance!
We travelled to Spain as Flamenco is said to derive in part, from Indian dance. Juani of Viva Flamenco performed a breath-taking Allegrias and then was joined by Lisa to dance Sevillanas. The beautiful Flamenco shawls, so typically Spanish, draped across the costumes added to the drama of the piece.
The connection between the gypsy genres of Spain and Turkey was next seen in an exciting medley of old Turkish songs engagingly danced by Elisa. This led us to a Romany Gypsy song from Hungary and performed beautifully by Eva with double veils.
Our journey of influences over belly dance continued by combining Spain and the Middle East with a 'Q & A' piece. Nancy and Michelle 'spoke' to each other in dance, whilst Alison on Tabla, used both Flamenco and Middle Eastern rythms. Firmly in the Middle East now, Nafiseh entertained us with her delightful 'Saidi' stick routine from Upper Egypt, whilst Eszter also danced to Hossam Ramzy's music and drum solo in her flowing and interpretive style.
The Improvisation of the Moirai Tribal Troupe in duet, showed us the beauty, intimacy, control and connection of the ATS style of belly dance, which also demonstrated the flamenco and indian influence. Nancy and Michelle brought us to the Gulf for Khaleegy, characterized by the Thobe (caftan) and with much emphasis on the toss of long hair and shoulder shimmies.
We then moved to the Bhangra folk region of India as performed by Kuldip which highlighted how similar the hand and arm gestures are to Khaleegy! Traditionally danced at weddings and family gatherings, the routine captured the party atmosphere. Moirai Tribal once again returned to the stage, to perform an Indian influenced number and drum solo, wowing the audience with it's sheer precision, poise and style.
Raqs Sharqi, the classical form belly dance showed the elegance of this wonderful version of the Egyptian style and performed so engagingly by Eva. Samsara brought us a fun fusion version of the Middle East and India along with the ever popular drum solo style of dance. We then turned to the bewitching Razia, who gracefully presented two classical examples of the artful American Cabaret belly dance, dramatic yet tongue in cheek!
Next, an Egyptian song, sung by a Lebanese singer, danced with saidi sticks, Michelle and Ela, performed a fun and light-hearted routine. To conclude, we had an electrifying and colourful Bollywood medley once again, by the Rakhi Sood dancers.
After taking a final bow - the performers left the stage to much applause for a show well done!
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Thank you to all performers, stage manager and staff at the Polka
Just a few of the comments and written word from the audience:-
"...we really enjoyed the show yesterday - it was fantastic! It takes alot of courage to get up in front of a whole load of people....the costumes were spectaclular....once again, congratulations.." Monty (Ham)
"I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this afternoon's dance showcase. I go to a bellydance class in Croydon and it was great to see such a varied programme with other styles of dance. I hope you will be putting on another show in the near future! Happy shimmying." Joyce (Croydon)
"..I've never been to a show like this and although I didn't know what to expect, I truly enjoyed the entire experience. Well done." Anna (Kingston)
"Just wanted to say congratulations for putting on such a wonderful show yesterday. I know how much hard work must have gone into staging it and I thought it went brilliantly. I loved all the different dance styles" Susanna (Surbiton)
"Dear....Thank you. It was a wonderful show! Talented dancers....." Marianne (London)
"It was great - both of us really enjoyed it - well produced, directed and danced!!.." P Gerrard (SW London)
"Hi...I wanted to tell you that it was a really great show on Saturday! Very well organised, must have been stressful but you seemed SO calm! Also my friends said the program with the different dance styles made it very interesting." Julie (Wimbledon)
"...I have really (sic) enjoyed the show. All the dancers were beautiful, the show was well organized.
So really well done and thank you to to give us the opportunity to see all those type of dance in a same time (sic) ...." Krisztina (Kingston)