Photograph: Bob RoseWalking up to a stage where five bellydancers are dancing in formation is something of a peculiar experience. Take away the music (or, in my case, have it drowned out by a burger bar's sound system) and what you are left with is a few flashes of turquoise from the costumes and a lot of mid-body shaking. Not too dissimilar, in fact, to Destiny's Child.
But put music into the equation and everything changes.
In this case, Middle Eastern pop that made the Bellydance Superstars' appearance this afternoon at the Jazz World a 2005 contender for the Richard Wagner/English National Opera prize for least expected act on a mainstream stage. That wasn't all though. The group had a rolling dancer policy so there were always new people and new costumes on stage. In one of the most surprising swaps, five belly dancers with dreadlocks took to the front of the stage and wobbled - if that is the word - to a heavy electronic beat.
