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Of all the venues where we perform, the art festivals associated with the Burning Man community mean the most to me, and yet, it's a rare occurrence for us to bring our show to one of those festivals. It's always far more work than other venues, usually involving driving to a remote location, bringing everything we need with us, and camping without any of the luxuries a belly dancer might need to get ready for a show, like running water. Something always goes wrong, and performers usually have to fend for themselves. After a few rough experiences, I found it easier to leave the coins and beads at home and just enjoy watching others' performances instead. Yet I yearned to bring our show to this community which has been such a large part of my life. So when we were invited to perform at Alma Paradiso, a full-moon beach party organized by my friend Blue, I persuaded my troupe that it would be worth the experience.
It seemed like an ill-fated show. On Friday afternoon, we drove down to the site of the festival on the beach of La Salina, Mexico, the van laden with a stage and hundreds of square feet of faux Persian carpets. Blue had been plagued with last-minute cancellations and a back injury which kept him on the sidelines, and when we arrived, there was mass confusion as no one seemed to know where we were to set up. Eventually we were directed to the site of the Paradise Lounge, far down the beach. We started driving on the beach, and promptly got stuck in the sand. We borrowed plywood and a shovel and managed to get the van moving, but got stuck a few feet later. Soon a crowd had gathered. We slowly made our way across the beach that way, driving a few feet then getting stuck, and when we finally arrived at the soon-to-be Lounge, we unloaded the stage and the carpets and had the van towed off the beach.
Fortunately for me, we weren't camping on the beach like most of the festival's participants. We'd been provided a beach cottage for the weekend, which meant running water and electricity and a real bathroom. I took it easy Friday night, getting to bed early while the party raged on, and I rested as much as I was able on Saturday before our show. That didn't come easy, because there were so many friends and fellow artists to see, but the success of the show was foremost in my mind. Finally in the afternoon we retreated back to the cottage to prepare and transform ourselves from beachgoers into glamorous belly dancers.
In the end, it was all worth it. When we arrived at the Paradise Lounge, it was already packed to capacity, with more people crowding around outside the Lounge. The musician Dan Rockett preceded us, and I enjoyed his show so much that I forgot to be nervous about my own. Then it was our turn. We'd planned an hour-long show, with musical interludes, some &ldqup;cultural education” thanks to Matt of Jinni Al Hawa, and solo performances by Laura and myself. As soon as we took the stage, everything fell into place. The audience, many unfamiliar with Middle Eastern music and dance, displayed their enthusiasm with applause and wide eyes. This was the community I wanted to share my art with. The hour was filled with magical moments, including my favorite when I invited Sarah to take the stage with me during her violin solo. I allowed her music to lead me, as she in turn matched her notes to my movements.
The following day it was back to hard labor. We rolled up the carpets and loaded the stage back in the van, getting ourselves covered in sand and sweat in the meantime. A far cry from the glittery makeup and elegant costumes of the night before, and yet I was met by many of the audience members from the night before, who thanked me and raved about the performance. One actually said she felt “star struck” to meet me. I'll treasure that comment for a long time.
For more photos from Alma Paradiso, check out our performance gallery.