Tribal Fusions: Exotic Art of Tribal Bellydance
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Movie Reviews of Tribal Fusions: Exotic Art of Tribal Bellydance
Movie Review: My favorite tribal bellydance performance DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
I really liked all the performances on this DVD, especially Rachel, Sharon, Zoe and Samantha. Rachel's 2 routines are *awesome* and I especially love the drum solo. It has really inspired me to work on my layering. I love Mardi but her routines are a bit sleepy. Kami Liddle is one of my favorite bellydancers, but I didn't love her performances. The Thai inspired one was interesting artistically, but there was only 1 short combo I wanted to learn myself, whereas I have learned the entire Rachel drum solo routine (still working on layering!). I loved Kami in Bellydance Underworld - if you like her you should check that out! There is also a video of her from tribal fest 8 on youtube which is just amazing. All in all, this is a must have for any tribal bellydancer! Also - there was a review complaining about the video quality, but mine looks fine...Movie Review: This is getting old...
Summary: 1 Stars
I can't really love anything about this video. Production issues aside, I found the dancing extremely uninspired and boring. I think I only made it through Rachel's performances, I kept skipping through the other performances as they were very one-dimensional. They all wear similar gothy belly dance costumes and do the robot to bad, monotonous industrial music. There's virtually no emotion or feeling expressed in their dancing, they're more concerned with technique, being cool and showing off what their bodies can do. I firmly believe that technique is essential to dance, but please balance it with some joy--or any kind of emotion for that matter--and musicality! I don't get any real sense of the expression of music or interest in expressing music. Maybe they choose this ultra catatonic/ industrial music so they can randomly snake or robot around as they like, then occasionally hit the superficial beats so it looks like they're still on. Doesn't take much musical understanding. At one point my mom came in and said all the twiching and darkness made the dancers look like they were going through heroine withdrawl.
I also take issue with the cover description. It calls this tribal, which it is not, and says that it incorporates "gypsy, flamenco and other folk dances into belly dance to result in a darker alter ego." This is tribal fusion which, to my knowledge, was pretty much developed by the Rachel B/Indigo and it draws primarily on modern dance and popping and locking. Furthermore, there is nothing inherently dark about tribal belly dance, just go watch Gypsy Caravan or Fat Chance, they smile and have fun.
Anyway, this is really not my cup of tea. I respect dancers like Rachel and Zoe, they are talented dancers with amazing technique, but I feel like they need to expand their repetoire and actually try something new...they've been doing this for a while, it's getting old.
Movie Review: Great tribal DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
Loved some of the coreographies, of course Rachel Brice and Sharon Kihara are amazing. I also enjoyed the Kami Liddle performance. Really good for tribal dances.Movie Review: Disappointing.
Summary: 2 Stars
On a good note, I bought the Beats Antique CD based upon the CD included with the DVD, but the CD is only 5 songs long, and 2 of them older Pentaphobe songs so it's not worth the cost of the DVD alone.
Before reading on, I am not Indigo bashing. I am a huge fan of the LSR work and the individual dancers themselves. Just not here.
As for the DVD itself, I am less than enthused. I adore Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, and Zoe Jakes' dances. However, on this (fuzzy) DVD, they seem tired, unenthused. Brice, who is a stunning dancer, executes what has become almost a prerequesite arm extended drop, isolations, and her amazing belly rolls. However, this is very close to her first performance on the BDSS review. Mardi Love has a repeated "hand behind the head, slowly pull out" that is executed no less than four times. Again, I love these dancers, but this DVD seems like it was filmed at the end of a long day. Zoe fails to have captured on film her "naughtiness" of the looks she shoots the camera on other DVDs.
Moriah's makeup is so heavily done, the lighting so dark, that she registers on my screen like a pretty bride of Dracula from the Coppola film, but seems personality-devoid. Her dancing also seems like a merge of Brice, Kihara, and Love, so also misses a personal style.
I am less than impressed with Samantha and Dusty, and Urban Tribal. Dusty's robotic locks and pops contradict the fast, sloppy hands waving about. Samantha is a spring-off of the Indigo style and seems lackluster in comparison to them. Urban Tribal--how many times can we see the line, the two girls doing a layback? Again, like the amazing Indigo dancers, they seem to repeat old material, uninspired.
I wish I could say there was a performance that stands out, that there is something that saves this DVD, but nothing saves it. I bought this used, and am glad I did, and if I did not like some of the dancers so much this would have been resold.
Movie Review: One Question...
Summary: 2 Stars
...How is it that 6 Indigo troupe members were present at this shoot and there wasnt a single group performance from them on the entire dvd?
I've seen and met some of the bellydance superstars as well as the Indigo, and anyone who can say the same cant help but love these people for what they do... BUT, this dvd is a disappointment.
Why?
Well, as a performer I believe dance is a form of expression best experienced when the performer invites the audience's participation- be that on a physical, mental, or emotional level. Since this is a dvd you really cant participate physically, but that isnt the problem with "Tribal Fusions".
The "Follies Berger" and "Monte Carlo" dvd performances prompt the audience's engagement mentally and emotionally. On those Dvds there are formation changes, difficult layering of techniques, use of props, a strong sense of musicality (wikipeida this term if you're unfamiliar with it), and yes, great costuming. These are components I not only enjoy (emotionally) but I also think about, deconstruct, and analyse to further enjoy the performance. It just makes a piece richer.
The "Tribal Fusion "dvd really delivers in only one or two of these areas; In my honest opinion, "costuming" and "layering of difficult techniques" when you take into account SOME of the dancer's skills.
The low degree of musicality with the majority of the dancers is a problem. I wont name names specifically, but if your whole performance relies HEAVILY on isolations, they better be in synch with your music. I'm a HUGE fan of isolations, but they dont make a performance worth watching alone.
Also, I get that alot of the performers are goth inspired, but I do think most would (and have) claimed to be inspired by vaudville and burlesque. You wouldnt know that from their lack of facial expressions. Anyone who has seen good burlesque knows the facial reportiore of the performers contains a lot more than the "intense pseudo-seductive stare." That gets SO stale SO quickly unless you are really layering your dance with difficult or interesting techniques. Snake arms and shimmies arent enough to keep an audience member's attention especially if they arent accompanied by some kind of portrayal of enthusiasm.
My chief complaint is the lack of an indigo performance. The only way we can see you girls together is either in person or on pirated, unauthorized videos on the web! This was the perfect opportunity for people to become more familiar with the troupe. It almost seems as if this dvd's purpose was to showcase the "stage personas" of the individual dancers. There's HEAVY emphasis on stunts, so-called styles or stage presence, and costuming that the girls are already well-known for individually. As a result, most people find this video to be lack-luster and predictable.
This dvd could have REALLY shined had the performers come together and showcased their combined strengths. Instead it kind of forced the audience to compare those strengths and subsequently it highlighted their weaknesses.