BDSS “Raqs Carnivale” Preston Charter Theatre, Tues 6th June 2006

Review by Laura Monteith

The first time I saw the Bellydance Superstars was in October 2004 in London
at the Bloomsbury Theatre, and since then I’ve been a huge fan of the show
and the company as a whole. The show itself may not please all people, all of
the time (what can?) but it is highly entertaining, well executed and very
professional.

Since that first time, I had been lucky to catch the show again in Glasgow in
May 2005. It was very much the same show as I saw in London – a few
different dancers, a couple of revised routines – and mostly the same show as
seen on the DVD “Live in Paris at the Folies Bergere”. So when I heard the
BDSS would be back in the UK in May and June 2006, with a whole new
show, I was delighted, and started looking into tour dates, hoping they would
be coming to Scotland again this time round.

However, they were unable to schedule any Scottish dates on this leg of the
tour, the nearest they would play was Preston – about 3.5 hours drive away.
Not a problem for myself and my boyfriend, both huge fans of the show! We
booked our tickets well in advance – for a very reasonable £15 each – and
were delighted to get front row seats.

We arrived early in Preston – we had left plenty of time to get there and
negotiate our way through Preston to the venue – so grabbed a bite to eat
near the venue before heading back in to wait on the doors opening. It didn’t
seem particularly busy, although we had seen a few people around who
looked as though they were also going to the show – I can spot a fellow
bellydancer at twenty paces!

Once the doors opened we headed into the theatre - and straight to the
merchandise stall! It was quiet enough at that point to have a chat to the
lovely Barbara Copeland, who is in charge of the Merchandise for the tour.
Pretty soon the foyer of the theatre started to fill up and the merchandise stall
started to get busy, so we left Barbara to her work and went to find our seats.
We were further delighted when we were shown to our seats – my boyfriend
Allan was dead centre in the front row, and I was to his left. Perfect! The
stage itself was around 8 feet in front of us, so we were not sitting staring
straight up at the dancers, craning our necks to see them. Whilst waiting for
the show to start, music played in the background, and I recognised many
tracks which were available on the CDs released so far by BDSS. The
theatre slowly started to fill up, however it was maybe only half full for the
show.

Very soon, the lights dimmed and people settled themselves to watch as the
music swelled for “Ancient Ruins”, the new entrance piece for the show. Very
much like the original “Entrance of the Stars”, this piece gradually builds till
the entire company is onstage, tribal and cabaret dancers alike. The music
itself has several changes of pace and feel. Jillina has again choreographed
much of the show, particularly the large ensemble pieces, and this number
included a lot of very visually interesting, exciting formation changes, and
certainly made full use of the tribal fusion contingent – much to my delight!

Unlike the last show, where “Entrance of the Stars” had all the dancers in
toning shades of pinks and purples, this one is a riot of colour. The Roses are
unified in identical dark royal blue costumes, but the remainder of the
company sport a rainbow of colours – adding to the theme of “Raqs
Carnivale”.

From there we moved very smoothly onto the next number, which started with
the Desert Roses being joined by a new dancer – Sabah. The new show’s
name “Raqs Carnivale” definitely reflects the more varied nature of the
dances we are shown – the first example of this being Sabah’s performance.

She entered en pointe – Sabah has worked with several professional ballet
companies, and has fused belly and ballet dance. The segment itself was
brief and exciting, the Desert Roses providing backup to Sabah’s ballet-belly
fusion. As the Desert Roses exited and Sabah pirouetted off stage, Bozenka
entered with Isis Wings. I had never seen Bozenka dance live, only on DVD
and internet clips, but I was mesmerised by her. Her Isis Wings performance
was beautiful, one wing of silver and one of turquoise, merging into a beautiful
whirl of silver and turquoise as she spun.

The show is much more fluid in its transitions, there are fewer segments
where the dancers hold a pose as the stage lights are dimmed and then
brought up on the next performance. This makes the show feel faster and
builds the excitement of the audience. I must admit that I felt the Preston
crowd were a little quiet at first, however I hope I helped make up for that by
zaghareeting as loudly as possible to give some energy and feedback to the
dancers! I was pleased to hear from those dancers in the ‘meet and greet’
after the show that they had seen and heard my appreciation from the front
row, and were thankful for it. It’s been a long gruelling tour for them again, yet
despite this they put on a fantastic show.

We were then treated to a tribal number with 4 dancers – the full contingent
on this stage of the tour – Sharon Kihara, Mardi Love, Kami Liddle and Moria.
This one was a definite nod to the more traditional ATS style, although it was
choreographed and not improvised, the choreography by Sharon Kihara
(handily listed in the programme). The tribal dancers were regal and
beautiful, precise and crisp in their execution. And all with zils!

There’s a much bigger use of zils throughout this show, which really adds to
the live experience. So although the music is taped rather than live (drum
solos the only exception) we do at least get an element of live music in the
form of zils. I must say as well that not only was the dancing highly polished
and rehearsed, but the zilling was equally polished for all of the company.

Sonia and Issam then reprised the Art of the Drum Solo section, although the
drumming and dancing are slightly different to the previous incarnation in the
last show and on DVD. Sonia’s dancing is poised, exquisite and from the
front row her personality is serene and graceful. Like the version seen in on
the last tour, Issam does a little audience participation at the start, asking the
audience to clap out on the last 2 counts of a drum phrase, changing the
phrase to gradually more complex rhythms. Issam’s personality beams
across, he is a demon drummer, and all the while with a huge smile on his
face and a giggle every time the audience trip up on when to clap.

I must admit I’m not too sure of the exact order of the show – I had intended
taking copious notes during the show, but was simply enjoying it too much!
Apologies to BDSS if I get the sequence of performances muddled!

We had a tribal duet from Kami Liddle and Moria, performed in close proximity
to one another and again, crisp precise and exciting. The lighting for the
show was excellent, again using the same principle of painted backdrop and
projected effects, and for this piece, the lighting was dark and dramatic, in
fitting with the piece.

The original “Egyptian Nights” piece from the last show was the only piece
which was not entirely new in this show, although it had been reworked with
different costumes and dancers, and renamed to “Oriental Nights”. Again the
Desert Roses provided a backdrop to three soloists – this time Bozenka,
Sonia and Adore.

Another new piece in the show is “Ya Raitone”, a fusion piece with Jillina,
Sonia and Bozenka, combining bellydance, hip-hop and modern dance moves
very effectively. It has a real sense of humour and lightness to it.

Petite Jamilla reprises her role in the show of double veil, this time joined by
two of the Desert Roses (Colleen and Hannah Nour) as tannouras spinning at
the back. I had read reviews of this and had thought it would be distracting
from Petite Jamilla; however this was totally not the case! If you thought
Petite Jamilla’s double veil was impressive on the last tour and DVD, you ain’t
seen nothin’ yet!

She is much faster this time round, a veritable tornado, whirling with green
and yellow hued veils. Then, they are joined by Sabah, who spins onto the
stage, a pair of purple veils at wound round her. This is the infamous
quadruple veil routine I had read so much about! Sabah, spinning in the
opposite direction to Petite Jamilla, holds one veil outstretched as she
gradually spins closer and closer to the ever-spinning tornado that is Petite
Jamilla… who has her hands outstretched, one finger crooked to snatch the
purple veil from Sabah’s hand! No sooner has Petite Jamilla grasped that 3rd
veil than both she and Sabah change direction, whirling up to speed again as
Sabah extends her 2nd purple veil to Petite Jamilla. Again they edge closer
and closer together and Petite Jamilla captures the 4th veil. Breathtaking!

There is a real element of “will she, won’t she?”; real suspense as the two
whirling dancers edge closer and closer together. Petite Jamilla finishes off
whirling with the four veils, using barrel turns to show off the spectacular
colour contrast.
Jillina now takes to the stage, performing a beautiful classic Oriental piece to
“Laylet Hob”. She shines as ever, the piece is beautiful and emotional; Jillina
is graceful yet powerful, showing real emotion, depth and understanding of an
Egyptian classic.

Next we have the “Party Drum” segment, which gives some of the Desert
Roses a chance to shine. I don’t envy their part in the show, as they seem to
have the most costume changes and choreography to learn! They obviously
work exceptionally hard as they are polished and poised at all times.

Petite Jamilla takes the role of zils in the “Party Drum” segment, which was
previously performed by Ansuya during the original incarnation of the show.
Her zilling and dancing is fabulous, and you really get to see her personality
shine in this! Nice touches of humour as well, and it’s good to see the dance
personalities of the Roses shine through.

As I mentioned before, the “Raqs Carnivale” name is definitely reflected in the

variety of styles we see, and we see this as we are treated to the “Baila”
section of the show. First up we have Mardi Love, Kami Liddle and Moria
performing a flamenco tribal fusion, in hitched up gypsy skirts and gorgeous
ankle boots. It’s unusual to see the tribal dancers out of either Melodia or
harem pants and is a welcome change. The choreography for this one again
is from Sharon Kihara, and exudes strength and grace, the tribal fusion
posture combining beautifully with strong flamenco arms, and fuses flamenco
inspired kicks and stamps with their usual precise, crisp and totally
synchronised tribal movements.

The Latin theme continues with the next segment “Baila Belly”, which starts
with the Desert Roses in full skirts, tops with ruffled sleeves and fans. The
fans are not merely decorative; they do actually manipulate them, and very
well. They are then joined by Sonia (wearing a very slinky dress with ruffled
hem, her hair tied back in a bun with a rose in it). The Roses join Sonia in a
very Latin piece, Sonia then exits and Bozenka joins the Roses, to continue
the Latin flavoured segment. We then head further south to Brazil and here
the “Carnivale” flavour becomes much stronger. The Roses, Sonia and
Bozenka are joined by Adore and Jillina, both clad in samba/carnival inspired
outfits, and both sporting huge feathered headdresses! The rhythm changes
to a fast paced samba and the whole ensemble join in. A fantastic finish to
the first act, full of energy.

After a short break the second act begins with “Yella Saidii”, a Saidii stick
number with Jillina, Bozenka and Sonia. At the start of this segment, these
three dancers are joined by other members of the troupe, zilling and
drumming the dancers onstage, before fading offstage as Jillina, Bozenka and
Sonia continue their routine. All three dancers take a turn with different tricks
with the stick – and note, they’re using the heavy, straight versions of the
stick, rather than the lightweight crooked one more commonly used – which
culminates with Jillina doing an impressive double stick section, before all
three finishing the routine together. Good to see some folkloric inspired
segments in the show!

Next we had another tribal group piece, “Creature Comfort”. This was a very
dynamic piece; the staging of the dancers was very unusual. As the intro
began, three dancers – Mardi Love, Kami Liddle and Moria – emerged slowly
from one side of the stage, their movements fitted to the same rhythmic
pattern as the music, before holding poses as the music began in earnest.
From the other side of the stage, Sharon Kihara emerged and did a short
mini-solo within the group, and then the four dancers joined ranks to complete
the rest of the piece. It was breathtakingly fast, with series of complex locks
and slides punctuating the music. As ever, the dancers were perfectly
synchronised, powerful, graceful and mesmerising.

The previous version of the show contained a Polynesian segment, this one
does too; “Escape to the Pacific” is again led by Sonia, joined by 4 of the
Roses. The Roses this time round are more active – in the last show, they
reclined gracefully as Sonia danced the bulk of the Polynesian routine. This
time they participated fully. It’s not my favourite part of the show to be totally
honest, but it is well polished, well costumed and I’m sure is authentic to the
style. I can see why it’s included as I’m sure it’s a much welcomed break from
bellydance for the non-bellydancers in the audience!

In this show, as in the last, Jillina dances a drum solo accompanied by Issam
and several dancers on additional percussion. This show also has a similar
segment; this time entitled “Dancing Drum”. It is Jillina at her best; playful,
powerful, perfectly timed, again including a short floor work section. At one
point, Sharon Kihara relinquishes the tabla she has just been playing to Kami
Liddle (Kami was accompanying on zils), and Kami places the tabla to
Issam’s right, near the front of the stage. The tension mounts as Jillina steps
lightly up onto the drum and continues her drum solo on it, then with a deft
twist of her hips, turns the tabla a quarter turn with each twist, completing a
full circle to face the audience again – very impressive, skilfully demonstrating
her balance and control. As ever, Jillina’s comic timing is apparent, as is her
bond with Issam and the accompanying dancers as they share a joke
together, inviting the audience into their small group to share it with them.
This segment finishes with the Roses joining the group already onstage,
dressed in costumes with a Turkish Rom feel.

Listed next in the program was “Tribal Solo” – but without any details of who
will dance it… so I was excited when I saw it was Kami Liddle who had taken
to the stage. Kami’s solo was hypnotic and powerful, a fusion of tribal and
Bhangra. Lightning fast, precise, and crisp movements in perfect
synchronisation with the music – I was particularly pleased to see this as I had
never seen Kami dance before, and I was already booked on her workshop at
the BDSS Raqs Britannia event in Manchester the following weekend.

The show was drawing to a close now, and the finale began. Again, like the
first segment of the show, this was an ensemble piece, with groups of dancers
coming to the forefront as the music changed. I was pleased to see Adore
take the lead in one of these groups, she had not been seen much during the
show, but I believe she was recovering from an injury at the time. Adore’s
dancing and personality shone out much more so than in her gymnastic and
belly dance routine in the original show, her huge smile was infectious.

It was also interesting to see the tribal segment of the finale, as instead of the
rest of the company leaving the stage, they remained onstage at the back –
their movements echoing those of the tribal dancers.

The finale also included the much-discussed Isis Wings on stilts – on the last
tour it was Stevie who performed this, the stilt walking duties this time falling
to Georgianne. It works well, has huge visual impact, and reinforces the
“Raqs Carnivale” theme of the entire show.

As before the show finished with Jillina introducing each dancer in turn, who
would then come forward to perform a mini-solo to Issam’s accompaniment.
Jillina of course was the final dancer in the line up, taking a bow before her
mini-solo, and finishing with her trademark kiss thrown to the audience.

As the audience were much more warmed up and vocal by this point in the
evening, the company danced off to rapturous applause and much
zaghareeting, to file back on and take a second bow. Issam, accompanied by
Sharon Kihara and Mardi Love, continued to drum to finish the show with a
crescendo, the audience by now clapping along.

By now our hands were sore from clapping and my throat was complaining
from all the zaghareeting. We waited till most of the audience had filed out of
the theatre before making our way out ourselves.

In the foyer, we were lucky enough to meet Jillina, Mardi Love and Kami
Liddle, who had all come out to meet and greet with the audience. All three
dancers were lovely; warm, friendly and appreciative of our appreciation of the
show! They were all very gracious, taking time to pose for photographs and
sign programs. They all spent as long as they possibly could talking to fans,
before going backstage again to finish packing up and load themselves back
onto the ‘BellyBus’ to travel to the next venue.

Given that they had just performed for around two hours, after a technical
rehearsal probably lasting at least as long as that, and not to mention the
gruelling tour schedule, their dedication to the company and their fans is
apparent in the amount of time they spend with the fans. All of the dancers I
have met at the three shows I have seen, and in workshops with other
company members are approachable and definitely do not have ‘superstar’
egos. They are all very humble, generous with their time, and supportive of
the dance community as a whole.

The UK tour is now finished, after the Raqs Britannia weekend in Manchester
there were a few other dates in England and one in Dublin as well. I believe
most of the company are now recharging their batteries at home (and quite
rightly so!) and preparing for the next leg of the tour. My understanding is the
intention is to return to Europe later in the year, with shows potentially in
France and Belgium. I have my fingers crossed that they make it over to the
UK again – and hopefully to Scotland – sometime soon… otherwise my
boyfriend and I will be making a trip across the Channel!