A Past BDUC Event, Review:

THE SEMINAR: The Kismet Dancers of Miami's annual Gala Show and weekend seminar starring the dynamic dance duo, Tonya & Atlantis of California, was a great success. Thanks to Patricia Mahomond's terrific article on the "Belly Dance Gala" as a "natural, feminine art" in the Miami Herald, the entertainers played to a standing room only crowd (an estimated three hundred people in attendance).

On Saturday and Sunday, Tonya and Atlantis offered seminar participants a wonderful opportunity to learn to present belly dance in a professional manner. Tonya & Atlantis taught as a team. They alternated between teaching the class and demonstrating the movements, a technique that enhanced the participants' learning experience. Despite the large class, Tonya  and Atlantis provided individualized attention, offering suggestions and encouragement to students.

In teaching, using various rhythms, Tonya & Atlantis illustrated movements that expressed and interpreted the music. They taught students to begin with a basic movement, such as a strong shimmy, then to add interesting arm and upper body movements. They performed these demonstrations, visual examples of "layering," so vital to the dance, with exquisite taste and sensitivity. It was particularly interesting to see their method of teaching the shimmy -- teaching the movement at increased rates of tempo -- which increased the understanding of the movement. In addition, Tonya's beautiful strong belly roll lesson is an absolute necessity for students of the dance. WOW!

Now add some fantastic zils to your dance and Voila!, now you have something!  By the way, did you know you must have your zils matched properly?  Tonya demonstrated how to test zils for that illusive perfect tonal match. Tonya opted to work with advanced zil patterns, while Atlantis taught basic zil patterns to less experienced zil players. This arrangement worked extremely well, enabling participants to benefit from their knowledge without distraction or embarrassment. Tonya & Atlantis, excellent teachers and exciting performers, are generous with their time and talent. Kahreen and Kira received many requests to invite them back to Miami.

GALA EVENING SHOW: The audience eagerly awaited the opening act of the second half of the show, Tonya and Atlantis' duet. Instead of the expected dance, this multifaceted duo amazed the audience with a vocal rendition of "Colors of the Wind," a song from the movie, "Pocahontas." Singing in perfect harmony with strong and clear voices, they created a powerful effect. One could see the audience members turning to each other in amazement that these talented dancers could sing so beautifully. But those who came to see Tonya and Atlantis dance were in for a thrill. Their routine was performed in perfect unison.