Thread: Arabesque Belly Dance Competition, San Diego - Update

OK, so the Gypsy Fusion class I wanted to take with Alexandra King got cancelled, so I arranged to take a private (1 1/2 hrs) with her. Well, that didn't happen, because the organizer didn't make any arrangements for it. It was poorly organized, not advertised well, and very disorganized. There were no programs, so no one knew who was going to dance in advance. I'm guessing that the highest attendance for today was about 60 people, everything was running over an hour behind schedule.

Alexandra also told me that the organizer tried to cancel her, as some of the other teachers were cancelled.

I find this interesting. Another update on Sunday.

Hi Hi, I am one of th ejdges at the SD competition, yes, its a bit confusing but I have to say that the competitors are really doing a great job and are first rate in efforts, costuming and presenting their best.
The promoter is new at events such as this and yes, he has decided to not have workshops next year based on the small sign ups this year.
SD can be notorious for flakey workshop attendence, you just never know how it will go.
I have to say that I am pleased to see how well the chaos has come together and it was a pretty good day yesterday.
Its a nice facility, good sound, lites, all that.
Yes, things could have been smoother. As far as cancelling a workshop goes, hey, it happens and it depends on what has been contracted with the artist as far as cancel or show up and get paid anyway for an empty room.
I dont know the details of Alex's contract, I DO wish the SD dance scene would have taken the opportunity to take a class with her, she is fabulous.
So, lets see what happens today!

Oh, that's too bad for the workshops. I took Sabrina Fox's layering drills (it was my first tribal, and as a cabaret dancer, it definitely gave my brain a good work out as well). I was going to take Alexandra King's veil class before that, but I was running late, I wouldn't have made it on time.
I didn't do anything else, because I had to go, but based on the number of cars in the parking lot, there weren't too many inside.
But it was a nice effort, and the workshop was great.

I was told that Michelle Joyce and Mariela were also cancelled, due to no signups at all.

I actually took Alexandra's veil workshop. It was beautiful. She is so graceful, elegant, but also so fury, hot, and passionate. I love her matador and reverse matador moves. I always use them but the combos she thought was great. I was disappointed that Michelle Joyce could not make it, and when I saw Mira Betz performance, I wowed, I should have taken her workshop. Oh well, next time. It was very fun overall though.

Congrats to Dilek and Sabrina on Bhuz! Yu ladies were awesome.
Attendance could have been better but it did pick up in the late afternoon and evening. What a great weekend of dance!
There were some REALLY talented performers on stage.
I think the promoter is planning ahead for a better event next year and Im pretty sure he DID award the winners their prizes...yes??
Before I agreed to judge the event, I talked with him on how he intended to cover the prizes offered in case attendance was low and workshops didnt fill as planned. He assured me he had it covered. Im hoping it worked out well for the contestants.

Alexandra King's performance in the showcase on Saturday was really lovely and wonderful. I'd never seen her perform.
And Tiffany and Kendra tore up the stage, they were GREAT!

Alexandra is extremely talented, need I say more?

What we do need is... a better MC. Paul means well, but he gets so into his act that it shows a lack of professionalism that was needed for this event. I could have done better myself.

Yeah Patrisha, in case you don't recognize my handle, it's me - who helped carry in and setup your lights and did a short turn as DJ/CD handler (and also had to leave to go do some work for my day job as well!)

Also, could somebody post the full list of award winners?

I hope there's no backlash on this, but did anyone notice that the majority of winners (in fact, practically all) were San Diego area locals?

And the winners are.......

Cabaret Solo
1st Place - Sabrina
2nd Place - Dilek
3rd Place - Denean

Cabaret Troupe
1st Place - S. Korean Troupe (didn't get their name)
2nd Place - Rashanda
3rd Place - Yasmina Zarod & the Sahara Stars

Drum Solo
1st Place - Kenya
2nd Place - Pakita
3rd Place - Estrella

Up & Coming
1st Place - Maryam
2nd Place - Paloma (student of Yasmina Zarod)
3rd Place Natika

Veil Solo
1st Place - Dilek
2nd Place - Estrella
3rd Place - Marissa

Tribal
1st Place - Steven
2nd Place - Heather
3rd Place - Tara

I hope if he does decide to have another competition, he starts working on it more than three months in advance, and takes classes in organizational skills.........

The drum solo winner is amazing Kenya is from Long Island. I met her in Vegas, she is amazing. She is famous Yousry Sharif (Nourhan Sharif's husband) teacher in NY city, second girl Pakita is from Orange County.

opps...need some more coffee...
I meant she is Yousry Sharif's student

I think that Paul did a good job to the best of his ability for not knowing what was going on. He was called a week in advance to be the MC, plus he was given several different times to be there. When he didn't hear anything by Saturday, he called and was given another totally different time to be there.

Originally Posted by humdinger70

I hope there's no backlash on this, but did anyone notice that the majority of winners (in fact, practically all) were San Diego area locals?

It wouldn't surprise me if this were true. Many dancers traveled to the IBDC in Vegas. I speculate that many did not have the funds to travel to San Diego. If the majority of the competitors are from that area then it wouldn't be odd that they are also among the many winners. This event is new and many tend to sit back and watch from a distance before committing to compete. Attendance is down for many competitions and our largest one the Double Crown in Portland is also suffering from low numbers... several categories have been cancelled and that is odd since last year they broke attendance levels. There are only so many competitions a dancer is able to compete in. The closer to home the better and the larger the turn out from local competitors.

you are so right Lucinia. I hope to go to Double Crown next year. I travelled to Las Vegas, it was not a vacation for me, but it was a mini vacation/gateway for my hubby. I took a lot of workshops, spent bunch of money. I assumed instead of going to Egypt (I know it is not the same), I rather go to Vegas and take advantage. First time competitions always a question, but I think for first time, attendance level was high. I competed in Vegas against 26 people in my category, here there were 21, that is still a lot.

I hope they do try again next year. I wanted to try my hand at competing in a small venue but didn't get my act (or confidence) together in time. I hope to try next year. DJ Paul is a character. He tries to be funny but it doesn't always work. Even though it was small I still had a good time.

Congrats to Dilek and Sabrina!!!!!!!

Tara (3rd in the Tribal category) and I dance together in Chymera (www.chymeradance.com), and I haven't heard from her so far, but Hurray! Thanks for posting the results ladies! Be sure to keep a look out for Tara later, she's a up and comer heavily studying with Heather Stants and everyone else she can get to!

Hi Humdinger!

Yes, Yu are correct, I didnt get the handle but yes, I know you and thank you SO MUCH for stepping in with your help. Its not the first time yu have rescued an event. Much appreciated.