Making the Snake Rise From the Basket

I got a call last week from Dante Amaya.  He was excited and doing a show down the street from where I live.  (One block down the street to be exact.)  I asked what kind of show and he replied, “belly dancing”.  I don’t know if Dante had told me that he does belly dancing or not.  If he had told me in the past, I forgot about it.  It sounded cool and like it might be a fun show.  I was reluctant though, because I was unclear what type of show it was.  Was it all belly dancing for hours and hours on end?  Did I have to sit and be quiet and watch every one of the acts from beginning to end?  What if it sucked?  Could I leave after his performance?  All sorts of things ran through my brain but I agreed to go.  First, I like to support my models.  If they’re doing a show that I know about, I’ll go.  And being down the street only one block away….well I’d be a real douche-bag if I didn’t show up, right?  Second, what the hell?  It’s different from my normal routine.

I showed up and paid my ten bucks at the door with a friend.  It was like a Moroccan bizarre inside with people selling belly dancing equipment like bikini tops and fans with scarves and little finger cymbals you can click with the music.  It also struck me how much everyone was really into what they were doing.  This is an entire subculture that means business.  It reminded me a bit of going to a Renaissance Fair where people are dressed as knights and wenches with pewter cups and turkey legs and all the accoutrement.  Okay…I’m really exaggerating with that but it was similar on a smaller scale.  There were men dressed as Turkish sultans and most of the women had some sort of scarf or belly dancing sash somewhere on their person.  As the show went on (they were running late) you could enjoy the acts, have some wine, and do some shopping.  It was actually really fun.

There were two parts to the evening.  The solo acts and the dance troupe evening floor show.  I watched a good hour or 45 minutes of solo acts before Dante came on (he was the last of the solos).  He was all decked out in his big tall boots he’s worn for both shoots of Alternadudes and lots of really nice, really expensive looking leather and silver rings to complete his flamboyant and awesome costume (I wish I’d taken a picture…I can’t do it justice with my description).  He was fucking incredible!  It was belly dance music set to some sort of goth meets house music (Dante, if you’re reading this please pipe in and correct my ignorance on the music genre or anything else I might be saying wrong).

He was masculine and feminine at the same time with spot on dance moves and body placement.  At one point a shot rang out in the music and he fell to the floor.  He had the audience by the balls and they were all really happy to be watching him.  He’s an incredible performer.  I wouldn’t have expected it by his close personal demeanor.  When you meet Dante, he’s quiet, reserved, a bit brooding and always done up in goth attire.  Wow he had us all fooled!  He’s a flamboyant out there dancer with a larger than life personality.  Under it all though, you can still see the brooder on stage, which makes him a performer you just don’t want to peel your eyes from.  He was, hands down, the best one of the night, beating out every other man and woman who came to strut their stuff.  Great job, Dante!  Keep us posted and we’ll come to more shows.