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Send your camel to bed! Then join us for a sumptuous feast under a Bedouin tent and enjoy
food and entertainment with an Arabic flair. The tent will be layered with oriental carpets and
decorated with tropical plants, pit fires, and torches. The feast includes skewered lamb, stuffed
dates, goat cheese, hummus, lentils and other Moroccan and Mediterranean fare.
Cinnamon Phoenix will provide the entertainment for an exotic evening full of fun.
So plan to slip off to our sand dune and kick up a little dust.
Party Parade 2006 promises an experience befitting a sultan! |
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Act I (In the tent)
- Entrance: Dancers honor the musicians, then do 2 goddess salutations, then improvise for a few minutes.
- Dance of the Cinnamon Phoenix:
Phoenix loves the Sun & Sun loves the Phoenix |
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One day in the ancient times, the sun looked down and saw a large bird with bright red and
dazzling gold feathers. The sun god blessed him, "Glorious Phoenix, you shall be
my bird and live forever!"
The Phoenix was overjoyed to hear these words and sang, "I shall sing my songs for
you alone!" But living forever didn't make him happy for long.
Men, women, and children were always chasing him, wanting some of those beautiful,
shiny feathers for themselves. |
Phoenix travels far from the Sun |
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Tired, the phoenix flew off toward the east, where the sun rises in the morning.
The Phoenix flew for a long time, and then came to a far away, hidden desert where
no humans lived. Here, flying freely he would sing the songs of praise to the sun
alone.
Five centuries passed. The Phoenix was still alive, but it had grown old. It couldn't
soar so high in the sky, nor fly as fast or as far as it was young. It wasn't as
strong.
The Phoenix sang, "Sun, glorious sun, make me young and strong again!"
The sun didn't answer. |
Phoenix returns, gathering cinnamon sticks along the way. |
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When the sun still didn't answer, the Phoenix decided to return to the place of its
origin. The journey was long, and because the Phoenix was old and weak, it had to rest
along the way. Each time it landed, it collected pieces of cinnamon bark and all kinds
of fragrant leaves. |
Phoenix builds its nest. Phoenix collects myrrh and places egg in nest. Phoenix begs sun to release her. |
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When at last the bird returned to its home, it landed on a tall palm tree.
Right at the top of the tree, the Phoenix built a nest with the cinnamon bark and
lined it with the fragrant leaves. Then the Phoenix collected myrrh, a sharp-scented
gum and made an egg from it. It carried the egg back to the nest.
The Phoenix sat down in its nest, and once again, sang, "Sun, glorious sun, make
me young and strong again!" |
Sun incinerates Phoenix |
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This time the sun heard the song. It shone down on the mountainside with all its
strength. Everyone, every animal, reptile, bird hid from the sun's fierce rays --
in caves and holes, under shady rocks and trees.
Only the Phoenix sat upon its nest at the top of the tallest palm tree on the highest
mountain and let the suns rays beat down upon it beautiful, shiny feathers. Suddenly
there was a flash of light, flames leaped out of the nest, and the Phoenix became a
big round ball of fire. |
Phoenix is ashes, then slowly resurrects |
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After a while the flames died down. Strangely, the nest and the tree remained
unaffected by the fire! But the Phoenix disappeared. Only a heap of silvery-gray ash
remained in the nest. Suddenly, the ash began to tremble and slowly heaved itself
upward. Rose a young Phoenix. It was small and, like new born, looked sort of
crumpled. But stretching its neck it lifted and flapped its wings. Moment by moment it
grew, until it was the same size as the old Phoenix. |
Phoenix loves the Sun, Sun loves the Phoenix |
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He resumes his Sun song. As the song ended the climate
changed. The clouds emerged, wind began to blow and all the living creatures emerged
out of their hiding places. The Phoenix, with the egg in its claws, flew up and away.
The birds
flew with the Phoenix to the temple of the sun at Heliopolis. The Phoenix placed the
egg with the ashes inside on the sun's altar. |
Act II (By the fire pits)
- Entrance: Dancers perform 2 Goddess Salutations
Shakti leaves
- Tiana's solo: 4-5 minutes: begin gentle and gradually work into drum solo, Shakti will Yip! @ 30-second
warning. When Tiana goes into 4 spins, then a pose, the music will end!
Begin slow flute/oud combination, Tiana will exit as Shakti enters
- Shakti's solo (water dance):
- (slow) Goddess Salutation w/water
end cue: body wave up!
- intense + drum: Call in the directions
end cue: Turkish drop
- (slow) Shakti gives her energy to the water
end cue: pick up vase
- intense + drum: Shakti collects the audience's energy into the water
end cue: returns to starting position (from traveling around the room)
- (slow) Pours the water into the bowl
end cue: places the bowl of water on her head
- intense + drum: Dances with the water on her head
end cue: Gets down on her knees
- (slow) Slow dances with the water on her head
end cue: Comes up onto 1 knee
- intense + drum: Releases the directions
end cue: beginning of Goddess salution
- (slow) Shakti blesses the audience, blesses the sky & earth, gives thanks and drinks the water
end cue: drinking the water
- Grand Finale: Shakti will leave to put the water away as Tiana enters. They will dance
separately for a while and then Yip! To signify the beginning of a coordinated improv section. This section will last 2-4 minutes.
The next Yip! will signify the end of the Coordinated improv section after which Shakti and Tiana will dance their
gratitude to the musicians separately for a couple of minutes. When Tiana is ready to end the set she
will zaghareet, then both dancers will go into a set of 4-spins, and the
music will end as they come out of it into a pose
- Bow to the musicians, bow to the audience, etc.
Location: Cismont Manor
- From Charlottesville, take I64 East to the Shadwell Exit
- Turn right onto 250 East
- Drive about 2 miles, branch left onto Rt. 22 at the Citco Station/Shadwell Store/7-day Junior
- Drive about 3 miles
- On the right is Clark's Tract, across from Cismont Manor
- take the 1st driveway on the left
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