TribalFest Number Nine, Number Nine (3x3)

So, I spent the weekend in Sebastopol, CA, for TribalFest 9, only just about the coolest belly dance festival on the West Coast. It was a brilliant (if not without its drawbacks--it was over a hundred degrees in that community center) show full of once-in-a-lifetime performances by big names--Princess Farhana, Ashara, Unmata, Suhaila Salimpour, and Solstice Dance Ensemble were all crowd-pleasers. I particularly enjoyed Zafira Dance Company, Colleena Shakti, and, of course, the always lovely Indigo. They provided the festival's closing performance, along with live bands the Gallus Brothers and the Crow Quill Night Owls, who truly turned the show into a 1920's, ragtime, vaudevillian act. It was truly the most astounding, most amusing, best-spent hour of my year. Here are some pictures of the whole number:

This is the combined bands and their motley--and ultra-cool--assortment of instruments. They participated a ton in the show: the Gallus Brothers with their serious banjo-and-juggling skills, and the Crow Quill Night Owls with their hilarious additions to the girls' dances.









The beautiful, talented, and awesome Rachel Brice. She performed a drop like I've never seen before during this solo.
















The clown of the group, Zoe Jakes, during a hilarious Flamenco-inspired dance-skit in which the "expressiveness" of her dancing increased proportionately with the amount of wine she played to consume.




























The phenomenally talented Mardi Love, in her delicious Flapper ensemble. And finally--















The three of them, as the Indigo, in the finale dance of the evening.

This show was a truly magical experience. These beautiful, talented women have positively stolen my hearts with their incredible dance skills.