I wanted to share my review of this fantastic show.

Its taken me a few days to digest the show that we had in Redlands, on Sunday night. But I think I have cooked down my experience to something coherent.

It all began with workshops by Elizabeth Strong and Tobias Roberson. During these I was able to meet "The Toids" and become reaquainted with Rachel and Mardi. I can't recall there being so much love a positive influence in one room. At a time when I had been focusing quite a bit on the negative, they were a breath of fresh air. Many thanks to the beautiful and thoughtful Rachel and Mardi for listening and being living examples of just "being" for a day.

But what you really want to know is about the show, right. Well, the from the first strains of the sound check I suddenly realized that this show was not going to be the average live music with bellydancers. Once the show actually began, I stood at the back of the room with my jaw on the floor. The first piece was an instrumental by The Toids. The song was rich and warm, with the complexity of todays best alternative bands (for some reason Tool comes to mind, but without the hard edge), and a subtlety of arrangement that you would not expect from such young men, all filtered through the lens of an "old world' sound thank makes you feel at home and in an exotic locale all at the same time. The first piece was so good it was ridiculous, but then became insanity when Tobias busted out a phat, super mellow hip-hop beat on the doumbek right in the middle of the song. Genius.

Next came the dancers Rachel Brice, Mardi Love and Elizabeth Strong. Their look was perfectly suited to the music, making you see the "old world" and new world rolled up, until you could not distinguish one from the other. The choreography was a brillinant mix of movements with interesting and regular formation changes that blended so well you didn't realize they were moving until it was done.

There were a few great musical moments sans dancers, in which the exchange between Dan and Ryan was as interesting as any dancing to watch. And there were several solo pieces by each dancer, clearly showing the style of each of them in their individual grace and beauty. I absolutely loved Elizabeth Strongs first solo piece wherein she displayed her legendary (if only in my mind) command of the Turkish dance vocabulary she has gleened from her trips to Turkey. Her easy style and relaxed demeanor make you smile. Rachel Brice did a show stopping drum solo with her long-time drum partner Tobias Roberson. As always the two of them read each other so well that you wonder if they aren't psychically connected. And Mardi, oh Mardi.... She did an amazingly slow solo to a song in which Dan played a saw. (Yes, the kind that you use to cut wood) The piece was gorgeously mornful, and soulfully beautiful at the same time. I can still hear the saw's cry in my mind, and see Mardi's gaze...Absolutely breathtaking!

I have never been to a show that was so moving. In fact, as read what I've written about it it doesn't even come close to describing what the experience was really like. Don't miss this show when it comes to San Fran. Don't see it because everyone else is going, because Rachel Brice is in it, or because you want to steal some costume ideas. Go see this show because your life will be the richer for the experience.