Wow - that was an amazing night!!! I am still smiling over it. Where to begin??
The evening began with the fiery and passionate music and dance of Mojacar Flamenco. Dancer Katerina Tomas and Guitarist Stephen Dick brought a whole new element to the stage at the Forbidden City. As Katerina stomped out every footnote, Stephen expertly guided her along with his melodic accompaniment. Her arms told the story as much as her face, feet and skirts. They completely mystified and entranced everyone in the audience with their finely tuned performance. As a Flamenco neophyte, I truly enjoy all of the nuances and subtleties that the dance offers. I am sure that as you learn more and see more performances those nuances make themselves more clear to you - I can't wait! Katerina really impressed me with her simple (seemingly) yet strong performance style. Just like Bellydance, a great Flamenco dancer makes it look effortless, and she did. Her face never once let show the strain and effort that Im sure she was dealing with. Her footwork was flawless, her skirtwork devine. Together with her guitarist - well - they were just perfection. Mojacar Flamenco really wowed everyone!!!
After a short intermission, in which I downed a delicious Bellytini - YUM we were ready to continue with our all star lineup.
Turbo Tabla by Karim Nagi came up next and what followed was 10 minutes of the funkiest drumming and dancing I've seen in a while. Karim plays drums with the energy and ease of someone born with a drum in his hand. He created a vision of drum and dance on that stage - and stomped and danced until I thought the stage would give out! His style is powerful and real and raw and fun. He was every bit the professional I had come to expect, and by the time he got off stage, everyone was jumping and jiving along with him. His energy was infectious, his smile radiant. We were SO lucky to have seen him live on his 2008 West Coast Tour!!!
The wonderful Princess Farhana took the stage after Karim. The previous day she had called to ask me for Tamra Henna's phone # just so the two of them could go over costume colors so they wouldn't wear the same color. They talked and found out that they were both planning on wearing the same 2 colors - tragedy averted luckily. But they didn't discuss music - oh no! When the Princess was up on stage I went to talk to Tamra-Henna to make sure she was ready - when she tells me - "Surprise - Im dancing to this very same song!" Great minds I guess : )
If you know these two dancers though, you will know that there is no way that these two dances were going to be even slightly similar and they weren't.
Princess Farhana's dance was beautiful, fun, flirty and filled with her signature moves and style. Not to mention her costume - a gorgeous red and turquoise number - was SO uniquely Princess that there was no doubt that these two women were very different. She worked the stage expertly, her smile lit up the entire room. Her spirit and soul were infused in every single drop, roll and shimmy, she was spectacular in every sense of the word.
Tamra-Henna was next, and after debating changing her song, I am so glad that she went ahead and danced to the same music. Tamra - Hennas style is so different, that even though the song was the same, it was a totally different rendition. Even Mandolin said that watching them back to back he could not tell that it was the same music. He was convinced that it wasnt. That's because those two ladies KNOW their stuff. Tamra's rendition was oh so classic, so soft yet powerful, so uniquely Tamra! She was magnificent. Her subtle cues, her lovely hands and smile - everything came together to show just how lovely she really is. I am in awe of both of these amazing women.
As the dancing ended, I was left with a feeling of joy. Seeing loved ones in the audience always helps - thanks to all of you that came out to support this very unique and special show in our community. I doubt that you could've found a better line up this whole month anywhere!!! I Thank each and everyone of these performers from the bottom of my heart. The amount of professionalism and talent they display serves not only to make my job easier as a promoter, but also as a lesson in humility and appreciation. Each of these performers are world renowned. Superstars in their own right, and I am so happy to have hosted them for the Mothers day show. Thank you LA - for making Saturday night yet another night to remember!!!