News

July 2007
Hipnosis featured in the Bucks County Courier Times
Congratulations to Hipnosis, who were featured in a great article in the Bucks County Courier Times! Click here to view the article and accompanying slide show with some awesome photos!

May 2007
Review of Lurainya's Belly Dance Show
Review of Lurainya's Bellydance Show - Student Recital, Hafla, and AMRITA CANDRA Preview!
By Fatima, Philly Raqs webmaster
Saturday, April 28th
Warminster, PA

I had a wonderful evening at Lurainya's Bellydance Show - it was truly one of the most well-put together and well orchestrated shows that I have attended in some time.

Facility
Held in Warminster, it took place in the Warminster Recreation Center, which was a perfect place for the event. The rec center had a spacious room set up with a stage, lighting, sound, and plenty of room for seats, vendors, and food. There were several vendors there, with a wide range of services and products, and the refreshment table included lots of delicious Middle Eastern food. It was very popular, with long lines whenever it was open.

Schedule/Audience
First, I would like to commend Lurianya and those assisting her for keeping very close to their proposed time schedule - the event began promptly and, even though it ended a bit later than planned, it still ended at a reasonable time. I really appreciate this - I've been at a lot of dance events lately where they have begun hours (literally) late and ended late into the night. For a show that has a family audience and many children in attendance (like this one), I could tell that everyone appreciated the schedule.

The audience was filled with lots children and adults who were experiencing belly dance for the first time. Everyone had a lot of fun and it was so great to see audience members entranced by the performers. The audience was a bit quiet, which is pretty usual for first time audiences, and I think it would have been very helpful to have an introduction to the show. Perhaps a quick welcome from someone close to the event and an explanation about audience participation (We like it when you clap in time to the music! Hoot and holler when you feel like it! Hiss or say "Aiwa!") might have put a few audience members at ease. The gentleman a few seats away from me almost fell off his when I let out my first loud zaghareet!

Performances - Part One
The first part of the show was performed by Lurainya's students, from beginners to advanced. I really enjoyed the wide range of performances - there was a veil number, a sword duet to U2's "Mysterious Ways," a drum solo, a sharqi duet, a fusion piece, a solo with veil, and a nontraditional numer to AC/DC's "Back in Black." Lurainya closed the first part of the show with a fusion veil and drum solo.

I was very impressed with Lurainya's students, especially when reading the comprehensive program that included their bios and how long they have been taking lessons. Many of Lurainya's beginners had taken 2 - 4 eight-week sessions or less, and they were on stage, in costume, performing! And they were excellent! I also really enjoyed their costuming - costuming for beginners and first shows can be very tough and everyone looked great, well put together, and comfortable.

Lurianya's intermediate and advanced students were wonderful as well during their solos. The energy was very upbeat and positive for the first part of the show. A lovely touch came at the end of the first half, where Lurainya brought her students back onto the stage and presented each with a rose as thanks for their hard work.

Performances - Part Two
The second half of the evening was dedicated to professional dancers from the area. Performers included Hayet, doing traditional raqs sharqi; Alexia performing Turkish Rom; Hipnosis doing American Tribal; Shaily Dadiala performing Bharata Natyam (classical Indian dance); and Flamenco performed by Pasion y Arte.

Every performer listed above is a master of her dance genre, so it was very exciting to see such a collection of talent on one stage. It was also a nice juxtaposition of different dance styles, and one could easily see the influence each dance has on belly dance. In my opinion, including professional dancers in a variety of dance styles really elevated this show above a typical hafla or student recital - it was truly a SHOW, bringing together all levels of dancers with a variety of dance backgrounds.

By breaking the show into two parts and by presenting a variety of performances and dance styles, the night seemed to fly by and it helped keep the audience engaged and excited.

Amrita Candra Preview
The night ended with a preview of Lurainya's latest project, and quite the labor of love - Amrita Candra (Nectar of the Moon). Amrita Candra is the title for Lurainya's dance-theater production about women and world dance which is currently tentatively scheduled to premier in Spring 2008.

The short piece was riveting. Definitely more modern dance/world dance than straight belly dance, it was entrancing and original. The piece was very powerful and it had an aura of Cirque du Soleil type characterization, with gothic undertones and impressive athleticism (such as the coordinated handsprings). I'm not the best at describing dance performances, and would not do the performance justice by trying to describe it, but I can say that this preview was wholy original and I look forward to seeing Lurainya's vision unfold in the complete production.

Overall, I had a wonderful evening - I am still processing the music and the performances, mulling them over and incorporating them into my dance knowledge - which is a great sign that I enjoyed the show. I felt that the show appealed to every level of audience member - it gave me, a more experienced dancer, a lot to think about and take away. It was entertaining for family and friends of the performers, and it gave Lurainya's students, as well as the professional performers, much to absorb as well.

Congratulations and thank you to Lurainya, her volunteers, her students, the vendors, and the professional performers for a memorable night!

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