Product Description

"The Bellydance Superstars have, in the space of four years, performed more than 480 concerts in 18 countries to over 1 million people and more than 60 television shows to over 100 million viewers. Their DVDs and CDs are bestsellers and workshops are typically sellouts and in high demand. All in all, things are good for the world s only full time, professional Bellydance troupe. The Bellydance Superstars line of DVD s have consistently delivered top quality product to the growing dance forms audience. Bellydance is a dance where passions run high as do opinions as to what bellydance is and isn t. There are the traditionalists who worship all things Egyptian. The Egyptian influence remains strong even in the variations now loosely termed cabaret bellydance. Learned bloggers offer dissertations across the internet as to the differences between Turkish style or Lebanese style but to the average person they all remain within the loose definition of cabaret. Meanwhile a whole new strain and indeed division of the dance is represented by the Tribal style. Originating in San Francisco it incorporates gypsy, flamenco and other folk dances into the bellydance arena to result in a darker alter ego. Heavy tribal jewelry be rift of any sparkle, tattoos, dark course fabric in complete contrast to the sparkle and femininity of the cabaret style. Tribal itself now has many offshoots and practitioners often feel compelled to describe themselves as Tribal Fusion . As this underground phenomenon continues to grow in popularity, the Bellydance Superstars are pleased to release Tribal Fusions.
"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15301 in DVD
• Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC VIDEO DIST.
• Released on: 2007-09-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 64 minutes

Features

• The Bellydance Superstars present some demonstrations of the art of Tribal Bellydance with this program. Tribal Bellydance originated in San Francisco and is executed in a style that is much darker than the more typical upbeat bellydance routines. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MISCELLANEOUS Rating: NR Age: 894169002704 UPC: 894169002704 Manufacturer No: 9416900270

Customer Reviews

Disappointed
Like some of the other reviewers, I am a huge Tribal Fusion fan and a dancer myself. I support several of these dancers by purchasing tickets to their live shows, buying their instructional DVD's and attending their workshops. I was looking forward to this performance DVD with great anticipation!

The final product, in this case, did not meet my expectations- nor did it rise to the level of performance I have seen in live shows and other DVD's.

The "sameness" is a problem for me on this DVD. The stage environment was nearly identical for all performances. The costumes were also very similar in most cases. There was not much done with the lights or the background to enhance the mood of each dance. In fact, most of the dancers wore black and the background was fairly dark. This made watching the DVD somewhat hard on the eyes as I tried to follow the dancers' movement while the dark costumes competed with the dark background. Perhaps this was intentional, to put the focus solely on the dancers- but I think it made the DVD visually monotonous.

My favorite dancer on the DVD is Zoe Jakes. I really like her style and found her choreography to be an excellent match to the music she used. Rachel Brice and Sharon Kihara were also excellent, as usual. I thought that most of the dances were plagued with "sameness," like the set and costumes. I have seen many of the same dancers give better performances on other DVD's. For example, Urban Tribal was wonderful on the Evolution DVD, but I did not care for either of their performances on Tribal Fusions. Too much avant garde modern dance, not enough bellydance for my taste. I liked Kami Liddle on this DVD, but I prefer her performances on Peko Records DVD's. As for the rest of the dancers, I think their technique was good.....but the costumes and dance styles were all very similar.

I would really hate to see Tribal Fusion becoming a plain vanilla, cookie-cutter dance style. I had hoped to see some fresh new material, perhaps unlike anything we have seen so far. I wanted to see a variety of costumes, music and choreography. But there was very little variety- hence my disappointment. Other Tribal Fusion dancers look to the professional dancers who are featured on this DVD for inspiration and to lead us in pushing the envelope as we develop this dance style. This DVD is seemed like more of the same thing we've already seen over and over.

Overall, if you like the standard Tribal Fusion look and style, you will probably like most of this DVD. But, for me, this is not a DVD I will watch over and over again like some of the other performance DVD's by BDSS and Peko. It's worth checking out if you have the money to spend, but I wouldn't save up for it. Watch it with an open mind, leave your expectations at the door, and you may enjoy it.

One Question...
...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.

Deliciously rough.
I have been waiting for a high quality all-tribal fusion performance DVD for a couple years now. When I heard this was coming out I was really excited and expected the level of quality I found in the Solos from Monte Carlo DVD. I was left a bit disappointed:
-low picture quality (blurry even)
-poor camera work for the dancer's cut
-somewhat dull sets

That said there are some very redeeming qualities about the DVD: the roughness of it is growing on me rapidly. I was expecting the polished shine of Solos from Monte Carlo, so at first I was really disappointed, but I appreciate the unmanufactured, raw feel to the cinema. Over-production has it's pitfalls as well.

Zoe Jakes and Rachel Brice are breathtaking. Mardi Love, Cami Liddle, Sharon Kihara and Moria are phenomenal. I liked Dusty Palk's fluid walk, break dance-inspired piece, tho it is not the caliber of the aforementioned. Urban Tribal is modern dance meets bellydance. Not my cup of tea personally.

Overall, I definitely recommend it. Enjoy!