Desert Lotus of California (really enjoyed this one, haven’t seen these ladies before)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vSE-jxjfUI

Plaza de Anaya students of Arizona (great job, ladies! I love student performances)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig25BMnC5_E

Tamarind Tribal (more of this performance here, and by the way, subscribe to them!)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb-1mPp5OhE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_DXcW3H7Gk

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW_w5vmVPw0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngz67cNJ1EU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbiPelxvMWs

This is going to be a bit of a challenge, as I don’t know the names of all the Devyani dancers, but it’s a short one, so we’ll just go with it. Since it is so short, there will be more commentary with the play-by-play than usual.

0.00 Carolena leads the way into a circle for their entrance. Good Lord, that’s a lot of dancers! Looks very fun. Loving Wendy’s choli and skirt -- I’ve seen photos of that outfit and it may be my favorite ATS ensemble ever.

0.30 Kristine (white underskirt, blue pantaloons), Anita (mustard choli, purple overskirt), and two Devyani dancers (I believe the one in the red choli is named Wendi, so I’m going to call her that, forgive me if I’m mistaken. The second Devyani dancer, in the black choli and rockin’ hip scarf, I think she may be Marci. If you know her name, or any of the other Devyani girls, please do tell me!) break away from the circle for a quartet, Kristine in the lead. After turning once to check position of the formation, Kristine jumps straight into the fast section of the music with an Egyptian Half-Turn.

0.46 Arabic Shimmy -- isn’t Kristine’s lovely? -- and as they zoom a bit closer, I’m pretty sure that is Wendi of Devyani in the red choli. Ahem. Back to play-by-play. Kristine cues an Arabic Hip Twist, then with a Flourish, which Anita misses the first time (nothing against her, I always point out a dropped cue to illustrate that EVERYONE DOES IT. It happens to us all! It’s nothing to panic over, just keep dancing! I bet you didn’t even notice it until I pointed it out, either -- I didn’t notice it the first time I watched this video) and then picks up seamlessly. Kristine moves the Hip Twist Flourish into a circle, one of my favorite moves to circle with, and Anita takes the lead.

1.11 Anita, after a brief Arabic Basic, cues the Arabic 1-2-3, a move I almost always forget onstage and need to get in my head better so I can remember to bust it out now and then. After turning the 1-2-3, Anita cues a Reach and Sit with a great deal of panache (love her!). You can now see she’s wearing pantaloons to match her choli. She then does a very cool transition (seriously, I love how she did that, how awesome is Anita?) into a Double Bump, which she then turns to check her formation before changing to a Single Bump. Can you feel the Single Bump Half Turn coming? Yep, there it is. Anita then breaks up their quartet and they move back into the chorus in a Shoulder Shimmy. Excellent timing, as it’s nearly exactly halfway through the song.

1.50 Ack, several Devyani dancers. I feel so bad that I can’t identify them on sight the way I can the FCBD dancers. Okay, green pantaloons is Liz, purple choli/orange skirt shall be Devyani 1 because I don’t know her name, black choli/black skirt/red fringe I think is named Michelle, and then Megha in burgundy all around. Megha takes the lead and cues an Arabic Shimmy, turning to check formation, then cues a Turkish Shimmy in quarter-turns in a fade (nice!). Returning to the Arabic Shimmy for a minute for some nice symmetry, she then does the Maya Shimmy (as it’s called on volume 4, but I think nowadays a lot of people just call it half-time hip bumps in a level change down with a shimmy back up) and back into a Turkish with a half-turn. Megha cues a circle, and Michelle (I really hope I have her name right) takes the lead.

2.52 Michelle returns to the previously-seen-in-the-first-quartet Arabic Hip Twist (please note the pleasing element of returning to an earlier move. It really is better to have some repeats than to just throw in every move you know) and then with the Flourish. She then cues an ASWAT -- Arabic Shimmy With Arms and Turn -- always a fun move. And I keep getting distracted by Liz’s gorgeous lime green pantaloons. I think I need a pair in that color. Michelle takes the ASWAT into a fade, and then a lovely spinning (sort of) finale.

So there you go! Short but sweet, and I hope you enjoyed. And if I have misidentified a Devyani dancer, please comment or email me and let me know (also if you know the names of the dancers I didn’t know). Thanks!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=waB5YPZrBZY

Gorgeous as always, and I’m so jealous they all got to jet out to Paris for BellyFusions! Mimi is one of the master teachers of ATS (at least, in my head she is) with whom I would truly love to spend a few months/years studying, right up there with Carolena and Megha.

http://www.fcbd.com/tribal/tribalStarGalactica.php

Carolena has billed this as “your world-wide source for all things Tribal* Hitch a ride on the MotherShip at FatChanceBellyDance”, and there is simply not a better description of it. Go look around, have fun!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUrZnMINFhI

These ladies belong to a FCBD sister studio in Staten Island, and are a lovely group of dancers. Haven’t seen them on YouTube before, so this video is a serendipitous discovery.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTb6UINLaRY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTU_avSpSCY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy0koyM6fGI

Tribal Top Directions

I don’t generally do a cross-back strap, so I normally attach the halter ties at the neck directly to the bra cuffs rather than using a D-ring as shown, and I make the sides long enough to tie in a knot at the back.