Leona Henderson said: May 29, 2009 8:29 am PST
60th Hasani Hafla! So I had the pleasure of going to the Hafla down in Tacoma... Now I do not know what I was expecting... I guess I had a vision of some sort of lush gypsy kind of camp, so my expectations were higher than the reality, but the blingy costumes - holy cow! Of course, I had committed to only buying zills, so I was good on that but my eyes were a bit star struck from all the sequins in the vending area... I will say I was late in getting there - late start, got lost (typical) blah, blah, (OCD) - but walked in just as Amira and her beautiful girl's were performing, and they were beautiful. The performance was tightly choreographed and all the hard work and effort they had put in on Saturday's had paid off. They looked like the total professionals they are and the audience showed their agreement with the thundering round of applause. The troupe looked stunning in gorgeous hand painted peacock shawls from Hasani in assorted colors with accent pants and tops with these wonderful gold sleeves - oh - they were simply fabulous - almost like a Jeannie but not - wonderful! And the peacock fans! So the costumes were amazing - Just beautiful!!! But they ladies were the knockouts of the night! Amira's choreography was perfect for the music and really told the story. The troupe did her proud. Everyone was fantastic. There were traditional Saidi dancers, although I must say our Mirabai has choreographed our Strawberry Festival Performance in a more exciting and robust way, if I do say so myself! Mirabai performed that night and was gorgeous! She performed with her silk fans and did not disappoint! She was a vision in red and had the attention of the entire room... The music and Mirabai become one and I do not think anyone can do justice to that music the way she does. She has created an exhilarating and breathtaking choreography that leaves the audience wanting more.