Review of GothlaUK 2008
With many thanks to Kat Garcia of Leeds, for permission to reproduce her review of GothlaUK 2008.
18th July 2008, Gothla UK
Good Evening, Gentles:
First, I must say that I just witnessed the most incredible array of bellydance performers that I could possibly imagine (and I have a good imagination).
Khalgani: Devils of Fusion (B'ham, UK): Spooky skeletons with UV details. This was outright hilarious. And it's very interesting to see what a camel looks like on one's skeleton. Fun!
Fulya (Rugby/Northamton, UK): A burlesque-inspired piece with feather fans toDepeche Mode's It's No Good. I beg to differ --- it's very, very good indeed.
Weird Sisters (Wrexham, UK): Troupe of three dancing to La Ultima HorabyBreed 77. Love the music -- Spanish industrial gothic. All three 'covenmates' had tiered skirts swirling about them like bat's wings. Lovely.
Aarachna (Leicester, UK): Dance to aDoctor Whothemed piece calledExterminate, Annihilate, Destroy. She has amazingly fluid arm and hand movements, and cunningly concealed blue lights in her hands, which she utilizes to accent certain beats. Nice.
Her Royal Hellness Mistress Lucretia (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK): A beautiful dance with iridescent blue/purple/black Isis Wings toBela Lugosi's Dead. Atmospheric and well executed.
The BrideofDraculaCast (Kent, UK): A dance from the full-length musical bellydance show “The Bride of Dracula,” this piece featured four incredibly fit women feeding on each other, snogging, bellydancing ..... I don't imagine any straight woman could emerge from seeing this without questioning her orientation. Hot!
Morgana(Madrid, Spain): Morgana can have me. Any time. Set to several bits from epic Chinese movie soundtracks mixed together, and telling the story of Chinese sword martial artists who had to practice their art in secret, as women weren't allowed to practice, this was the sexiest, most technically amazing, most beautiful performance I've ever seen in my life. Morgana is astoundinglygood-looking and has such presence that if she was standing still posing on stageshe’d still be stunning.If I came all the way to Leicester and the whole weekend all I saw was this performance it would be completely worth it. And did I mention she'sSpanish? I have a new dance crush.
Raqs Macabre (northeast England): Three heavy metal bellydancers, the lead with a giant codpiece, dancing with their 'axes,' literally. RM is always a joy to watch, and they have vast quantities of humour woven into their performances.
Akasha (Southampton, UK): A medieval fusion dance with finger veils. I wanted every single one of my medievalists friends to see this utterly lovely performance. Flowing, beautiful.
Tempest (Philadelphia, USA): Dancing in her self-invented 1920's bellydance (Art Nuveau) style, Tempest was flirty, seductive, smooth, technically brilliant and a lot of fun to watch.
Dawn O’Brien (B'ham, UK): Dancing toSmall Town Witchby The Sneaker Pimps, Dawn performed her signature, amazingly precise pops and locks with panache.
Deva Matisa (Germany): Deva invented her own style of German TribalGothic bellydance and set it to a Wumpscut song. She is a gorgeous woman, and her style is very strong, almost aggressive, and utterly captivating. You wouldn't want to run into her in a dark alley --- well, actually, I wouldn't mind....
Sashi of AscendTribal Dance(California, USA): From the neighbourhood that brought usRachel Briceand Ariellah, Sashi has the body of a yoga master and the presence of a master storyteller. She's gorgeous, but this is not surprising --- she danced to a lovely and ambient, largely piano-driven piece with heart-breaking sadness coupled with stunning, almost surreal lovliness.
Ariellah (California, USA): One of my home practice DVD's is Ariellah's, so I've been excited to see her dance for months. I was expecting a stunning performance with technical perfection made all the more spellbinding by the carriage and grace of a classically trained dancer and the sexiness of Ariellah's Moroccan heritage. I was not disappointed in the least.
I'm certain that after the weekend many of the performances (except Deva Matisa, who expressly forbid videotaping of her dance) will appear on either the Gothla UK website and/orYouTube. It won't be as amazing as the live experience, but I know I'll be checking them out.
It was good timing to put the hafla at the start of the conference, as I am feeling completely inspired. I have a class with Ariellah tomorrow, during which my arms may fall off (two hours of arm work --- eeeee) and a class with Tempeston Sunday(Dancing on the Right Side of the Brain), during which I hope to gain the inspiration and confidence to improvise better and more creatively.
Good night!
Kat Garcia, Leeds, UK
