Tales from the Caravan...
Show: Israeli Day Dance at the Evans, GA Jewish Community Center, May 15, 2005
|
This was a performance we did in conjunction with some of the members of the
Savannah Winds Middle Eastern Dance (SWMED) group. It was a sort of last
minute performance, but it was tons of fun. Other than our dancing, there
was traditional music and singing going on as well as traditional foods and
crafts. I had my first falafel sandwich. Yummy! We started the evening with
an Ancient Egyptian group dance of thanks done in conjunction with SWMED.
This was done in full caftan cover-ups, very different from what we usually
do. The song was called Hast Amenti, I believe. Candi and a member of my
Tribal class performed our Tambourine number as a duet. Myself and Tasma
performed a cane duet. Alchemy performed group improv. Jeannie and myself
performed a skirt number to Gabe's Cat. Myself, Tasma, and Akantha performed
a platter/cane/sword trio. All in all, it was a great show. They are
planning on doing this once a year and want us back again next year. My
mouths already watering for that falafel. :D
~Mari
|
Wow! What a wonderful experience for us! We were
invited through Savannah Winds to dance at this
festival celebrating Jewish history, faith, and
culture. Because this was in conjunction with Savannah
Winds, Alchemy didn't have to fill the whole show
ourselves, which meant we got to watch some great
dancing ourselves AND enjoy some of the festivities,
including crafts, delicious food, informational
displays, folk dancing, and singing. It really was a
great time.
We opened the show with a ritualistic dance of
thanksgiving to a song sung in an ancient Egyptian
dialect, Hast Amhenti. The stiff, pharonic movements
always make me think of heiroglyphics come to life.
This piece is particularly interesting because we not
only dance, we SING!! It's a nice slow number, and it
works well to ease the audience into the livelier
numbers.
From there, Alchemy along with the Tribal students,
performed a group improv number. Candi danced with us
here, and her poise lead us to invite her to become an
apprentice with Alchemy. Candi also performed the
tambourine piece with another Tribal student, and they
did a fantastic job! I know Mari is proud of how far
her students progress from the beginner class through
Tribal.
Mari and I did Gabe's Cat, a fun skirt number with a
melody that sticks in your head for days. Finally Mari
performed as part of a trio with two dancers from
Savannah Winds in a fantastic prop dance that features
canes, platters, and a sword! It's always a wonder to
see all those props flying around along with hips,
coins, and tassels!
We even debuted the Alchemy drummers here, with a
short improv dance to live drumming. All the dancers
played zills and danced on stage while the drummers
showed their stuff! They were GREAT!!!! I'm so glad we
have The Sultan and Kelly to add an extra dimension to
our shows. Thanks, guys, you are awesome!
This was an interesting show because the audience was
so QUIET while we were dancing! With Savannah Winds
being a student troupe, the other dancers are usually
quiet, too, being shy with performing on stage, let
alone off. So, when we weren't dancing, Alchemy worked
hard between costume changes to encourage our fellow
dancers and try to get the audience clapping and
whoopin' it up. We wondered while dancing if they were
enjoying themselves, but they quickly set our minds to
ease afterwards by lavishing us with excited
compliments. Whew! We thought we blew it there for a
minute! :)
We had a really good time. We learned alot, found out
about folks dance classes at the Center, and met some
wonderful people. Plus we got to dance and have fun!
What more could you ask for?
~Jeannie
|
|
Alchemy: Transforming the ordinary into the sublime
|
|
