The year end showcase by Dancers in the Desert was wonderful. I can’t imagine the work that goes into choreographing so many dancers together at all levels of experience. It’s very impressive! I have to say that sometimes the beginners were the most entertaining part of the show, they’d try to put them in the back so that was sometimes the best place to watch! There’s always the odd mishap of a scarf getting stuck over someone’s head but the few times that happened they recovered very professionally, (a sign of a good teacher) and the show went on without a glitch.
Cherri, (dancer on the left in the candelabra photo)who I perform with quite often was just phenomenal! I knew she was good but you never really get to see how good someone is till they perform a solo on stage. That’s when they can really show their stuff. No people in a restaurant to avoid whacking with your sword or burning with your fire sticks or trapping in your veil. 🙂 She has perfect posture and makes everything look graceful and easy.
Thelma (dancer in front centre of the sword pic) did a brilliant drum solo which had the audience cheering all the way through. She’s a great performer. I believe there’s a difference between a good dancer and a good performer. To be a good performer you can’t skip out on the skills that the good dancer has but you have to add something to it, something that makes the audience wake up and notice you, connect with you and remember you. That was Thelma. She was funny, relaxed, looked like she enjoyed it completely and was very good!
I didn’t get a good picture of him but their show was narrated by a British chap named Mark who was hillarious. He told the story of Pandora’s box inbetween their sets and would add script comments into his speech such as…”Intriguing facial expression” and pose. He was so good and tied the whole show together.
My favorite group performance was when they combined silk fans with Isis Wings to a techno song it was mesmerizing! Donelle did an amazing job and I look forward to more from them.
