Syncopate 2 - The gathering

The first weekend of spring begins bright and sunny - I start my day by ironing some silk veils I hope to sell at Syncopate , Johannesburg's only community based bellydance event. Which features many other dance styles. I'm looking forward to meeting dancers from all over South Africa.

The hall is already set up when I arrive at 9am, organisers are busy adding the finishing touches to the decor.  they've had to change their plans somewhat drastically as the stage cant be used because the resident drama group has neglected to remove their set from the stage - rendering it useless for dancers - despite having a month's warning and repeated requests to remove it. Drama Queens

My stall gives me a great view of the hall and dancers begin to arrive to attend the workshops on offer.  I'm a bit jealous as my workshop fund had to go towards buying a new microwave - I'll have to wait till Amira decides to do another sword workshop to figure out what to do with the thing other than wear it as a hat.

I get to meet quite a few facebook friends for the first time and I sell some of my old stock.  My profits are quickly chewed up by the food stalls and the mehndi Artist at the stall next to me.

The day flows by quickly and soon dancers begin to arrive for the evening show, which starts almost on time... not due to late dancers but to late guests.The most memorable performance for me was the Classical Indian performance by 6 dancers 2 of which were tiny 4 or 5 year olds. They performed with precision and grace exactly like the older dancers. I admired their dedication.

There were, flamenco, tango, bollywood, sword, fire, hip hop, greek and bellydance fusion, ATS, folk and cabaret performances from beginners, professionals and hobbyists of varied skill levels.

Sunday is a little quieter - though no less fun my Mehndi stall neighbor has been replaced by a tarot card reader and his partner selling angel cards and esoteric books.The smell of yummy samosas and incense waft through the hall.  We are performing in tonight's show and my preperformance nerves begin to appear.  This show features different dancers and styles from the night before, I don't get to see as much of it as Id like as the hall is full and I have to peep round the corner of the doorway. We are in the last last set so I have lots of time to build up the nerves.  Happily this time I don't make any big mistakes and we get a nice round of applause. The show ends with drummers and the dancefloor is filled with dancers and audience members happily wiggling with joy to the beat.

Highlights - Dancing of course! - and the Classical Indian dancers, getting to visit with my bellydance friends, meeting dancers from outside of Johannesburg, seeing so many great dance styles, costumes and performances.
Lows - not having the stage, though everything works well in the end the stage would have have allowed more movement in the hall, as once it was full there was no way to get to the food stalls at the back or for dancers to get to the few available seats on the other side of the hall.

Was it fun?  Yes it was!  Should you go next year? Definitely!