Zoe Jakes!!!

[emtink]

i saw her last night in santa cruz. she rocked my socks! i lover her soooo much even though i am not tribal or fusion. she danced to minnie the moocher and another song i didn't know. also, she danced a drum solo with uncle mafufo. i love that she shows her personality while dancing, isn't afraid to be a little silly, but has some serious skills. also, i would like to steal her belly flutters!

[zamora]

who was the sponcer ?
i have a dancer in chicago who has spoken of her.what was the venue?
i teach there, santa cruz once a year, any new places for shows ?
z

[WildAnmar96]

man I would love to see her interpretation of Minnie the moocher.Love Cab Calloway.
You know that she will be releasing a drum solo dvd?

[emtink]

who was the sponcer ?
i have a dancer in chicago who has spoken of her.what was the venue?
i teach there, santa cruz once a year, any new places for shows ?
z

the show was at i love sushi (previously club caution) on front st in downtown santa cruz. i'm on janelle's email list (she also danced last night, lovely as always) and i think she sent out an announcement, though she was not the sponsor. i'm sure janelle has better details than me!

[emtink]

man I would love to see her interpretation of Minnie the moocher.Love Cab Calloway.
You know that she will be releasing a drum solo dvd?

it was bad ass! she used those giant ostrich feather fans, totally fun and funny! i love her sense of humor...

i hadn't heard about her dvd, i'll have to keep an eye out for that one. do you who's putting it out? bdss? hollywood music?

[zamora]

cool, janelle is my sponcer, cute..i was her first teacher! her mother stioll studies with me.
she has and gives great respect!
z

[SidoniaOfNashville]

i <3 Zoe too!!! Her turns are wicked, and her style really stands out. She's definitely one of my inspirations and I don't do tribal... an occasional fusion piece, but usually oriental. A good dancer is a good dancer, and Zoe is fantastic!

[emtink]

Her turns are wicked

YES! that was the first thing that really caught my attention in her dancing. how does she stop that fast? and i agree, her style is totally unique!

[unilaye]

I ADORE Zoe! She's definitely my main inspiration right now. I get to see her live next month *is giddy* ..l;,

[Sitara9]

Ack, you're so lucky--I would love to see Zoe perform live.

[midnight_star56]

Zoe is a great innovator. Although she dances with the Indigo, she is one on the few tribal fusion stars that break from the Rachel Brice mold.

[david]

Just saw Zoe do a solo with the BDSS on Sunday - I loooved it. She's really fast, strong and her pops/locks are really tight. Me a fan...:)

[Devora]

I haven't watched enough ATS/fusion (if that is the correct genre) to know what sets Zoe's style apart from Rachel Brice. Could anyone be more specific on this? It's not the style of dance I'm most interested in, however, I don't want to be ignorant about it.

I looked up a few youtube clips but couldn't really tell whether I was getting a good sampling of their respective dance repertoires, so I am going to cheat and just ask those fans who are well acquainted with both - what it about Zoe's dance that sets her apart from the talented Rachel Brice (or those copying Rachel)?

(Perhaps my inability to readily detect the nuances in their respective styles might be compared to someone who, for example, is only minimally acquainted with Egyptian raqs, and unable to appreciate its subtleties. Again, I am cheating by asking, but on the other hand, here is a chance for fans to comment.)

-Devora

[Daniela2006]

I'd say what sets Zoe apart from Rachel from a dance standpoint is her use of popping & locking and her very quick spins. She can be very slow and sinewy and then she'll have these moments of tense hits. She can also spin super fast with no momentum and often very off balance. It's crazy to watch.

There are a lot of intangibles that really set them apart. I'd say that Zoe is more of the showman than Rachel. She can be extremely intense, but then she also adds a lot of humor. Her personality is pretty wild, and it shows when she dances.

[unilaye]

Zoe is definitely diffferent from Rachel ... she emphasizes quick, tight spins and pop/locks mixed with the whole "slow and strange" bits. She's FAB! I would agree too that she is more of a showman. She's hilarious to boot!

[midnight_star56]

Daniela and unilaye said it best. The quick turns and jazzy stylization set her apart from most tribal fusion dancers. I think she comes from a more vaudeville background so she is very showy. Also I believe she trained with Suhaila and was in her dance company for awhile which I imagine influnces her style as well.
Even if you dont intend on studying tribal fusion/ ATS style I would still recommend taking one of her workshops if you got the opportunity, she is an amazing technician and her drills are incredible (as well as her personality!).

[Indubelly]

I'm aching for her to come to teach in the UK!!! She's my favourite tribal fusion dancer for sure. LOVE the humour as well.

[Asim]

Having seen Zoe last night at BDSS, and having met her a couple of times, I'd like to add to what makes her stand out, in my opinion.

She loves music; it's notable her guy is in a band, Beats Antique, that she tours with, helping to create the music she dances to. And it shows in her solo work, with their music or otherwise. The pops and locks are only part of what she does, in part because she's hearing the music, and doing what I think is a great job of using her skills and talent to express not just the rhythm or the melody, but all aspects of it.

It's not quite like what we admire in, say, the top-flight Raqs Sharqi artists; the music's not the same, and the more "percussive" style of Tribal Fusion can, if not managed well, overpower a softer piece of music in interesting ways. You can see what I consider to be an example of her balancing that in the first part of this video:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDoezMQKjTk"]YouTube - Zoe Cosmik casbah[/ame]

[zorba]

I had the honor of sharing a stage with Zoe a few months ago - what an incredible dancer!

[Sitara9]

She had such an inspiring drum solo at the BDSS show! Overall, she was one my absolute favorites of the night (my troupe felt the same way too).

Beats Antique=awesome.

Indubelly, is she going to be with the BDSS at Raqs Britannia?

[rebekahlynn816]

She is really funny in her dances. You guys should watch their tribal fest 08 bit on youtube. It's hilarious the throw cupcake at each other!

Oh and her dvd is out now. It's called Tribal Drum Solo with Zoe Jakes and Issam, or it's called something similiar to that at least.