2000: Rave Reviews?

by Ruth

2000 was the year that the festival received write-ups in two major daily broadsheets.

Respected Sydney Morning Herald dance critic Jill Sykes reviewed the 2000 Rhythms concert, and Emma Tom of The Australian built one of her girlie giggle columns around Maria Masselos' Curvaceous and Voluptuous: Belly Dance for Big Girls workshop.

Jill described the flavour of the evening as:

"an enthusiastic plunge into longheld belly-dancing concepts of plump women swivelling hips and shaking upholstered breasts swathed in sequins and fringes of many colours."

Jill's carefully-worded review focussed on diversity - as she put it,

"not only in style and approach but quality of performance and presentation: the best and the worst of dancing, sparks of originality and unbelievable cliches."

Keti Sharif, formerly of Perth, "in a strikingly sophisticated costume that reflects her approach", nearly met with Jill's approval:

"Admittedly, her usual audience is probably eating, which allows her to get away with a very slow build-up, but when she finally gets going she is certainly worth watching."

We can only guess that Jill wasn't all that enamoured of Keti's performance of Samira Said's Kedda, but she liked the hot drum solo culminating in the Turkish drop. This comment reveals more about Jill than it does about Keti's dancing - specifically, that a bit of education about middle eastern dance wouldn't go astray: it's called interpreting a song, Jill.

Shortly afterwards, Keti jetted off to her successful international career. We hope Keti will make it back to another Sydney festival soon.

Knowing as we now do that Jill has little patience for the meaningful interpreting of lyrics, it is perhaps not surprising that she was lukewarm on the performance of Melbourne's Melissa Cristina. Melissa brought the house down - and the hankies out - with her moving and technically brilliant interpretation of Om Koulsum's Inte Omri. Jill remained unmoved. Her comment:

"Melissa Cristina looks and performs like a young eisteddfod entrant in a grown-up costume with a hairpiece borrowed from a shampoo commercial, but her dancing is already good in a well-rehearsed format that could develop well."

But we agreed with Jill's assessment of the performance by the Belyssa family dynasty, (!) which she named a highlight for "the quality of movement, graceful use of costumes and clever meshing of authentic and theatrical". Despite living in different states, and after negligible rehearsal time together when they met up in Sydney, mother and son Belyssa and Gintaras, joined by Lisa-Layal, pulled off a fabulous performance including Persian and Bedouin styles and precise zill playing.

Emma's article bemoaned the demise of the belly:

"I can't count the number of times I've been reduced to outraged falafel-hurling in Lebanese restaurants simply because the entertainment is an ill-furnished stick insect whose idea of a belly roll is a disinterested hump in the direction of the tabouli."

Emma interviews Amera who explains that the trend everywhere is for skinny dancers, even in Egypt. But Emma takes comfort from the discovery that the dance community in this country has plenty of room for dancers of all sizes, and delights to learn that Amera can easily meet demands for size twenty cossies and E-cup bras.

I saw Emma wandering around the Festival the day of the Big Girls workshop. I'd put her at size 12, max.

The Slaves to the Rhythm dinner dance featured shows from Jrisi, who kicked off the night with a dynamic and vibrant stick dance, Shamira, Paivi, Dalia, Michelle and some impromptu whirling from Gintaras.

2000 was the year that the festival hit cyberspace with our first, very rudimentary website housed at a freebie server that put ads beyond our control on every page! 2000 was also the year that we forgot to leave room on the workshop tickets for your name.

Above from left (click to enlarge): 2000 Rhythms concert - Belyssa and Gintaras, background, with Lisa-Layal, foreground, in the Persian part of their performance, Turkish Delights backstage. Slaves to the Rhythm dinner dance - Dalia, Michelle.