Gilded Serpent presents... The Luna Gitana Festival produced by Vashti November 13, 2004 Santa Cruz, California photos by Monica Berini Vashti of Santa Cruz presented Aziza of Montreal in a theater show in November of 2004 as part of the Luna Gitana Festival, an annual event featuring a day of workshops and a night of performances. The theater was packed, and vendors lined the entrance hall and side aisles. The program listed each dancer or dance group along with simple bios. Vashti said a few words of welcome before the show began, and then let the dances speak for themselves. There was no announcer or MC in between acts, something I found surprisingly refreshing and certainly different from most Middle Eastern Dance shows.

Byzantium, directed by Sese of Santa Cruz. They performed several numbers, including a piece to pop star Christina Aguilera's "I am Beautiful".

Rebekah of Santa Cruz. Crystal Santa Cruz

Ka'ela, a student of Sese's, performed an Indian inspired fusion belly dance. Artemis vending

Sagheera, directed by Vashti and Aaliyah. They performed to a lovely version of Batwanees Beek.

Aziza's first set closed out the first half of the show. This set included a fantastic oud and drum solo and a pharonic style veil number.

Siwa was observed doing a pot balancing dance by the Dancers of the Crescent Moon.

Jalilah of Santa Cruz.

Janelle was supposed to be a part of a duet this evening, but wound up soloing. Her dance was dedicated to all mothers.

Helene and Sisters of the Desert Sky Company of Santa Cruz.

Shikha Mahasim is another troupe directed by Vashti. They danced an upbeat and well-choreographed number to Chicky by Oojami, and also did an interesting martial arts style sword dance.

Aziza closed out the show with a great performance that expressed a wide range of emotion. Next year's Festival features SeSe, celebrating twenty years of her contributions to the art with a multimedia tribute show and innovative workshops. See you next year!

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