A Little Bit of Everything! 4-24-2016

Sunday nights mean another great show at Winds of Sahara!  Seeing as this is my debut, I do ask for patience in that I completely forgot (I am a bad girl and need to be spanked I guess), to take a lovely picture of the wonderful Annie!!!!!

What is so funny about this is that I was staring at her several times throughout the night in that LOVELY pink flowing gown thinking how pretty she looked and how the color worked so well with her stark red hair! Thank you Rebecca for the lovely picture of Annie!  Saved by the boss lady!

She started out the evening with Rebecca and Meegan greeting our wonderful guests!  Whether it be long time patron or new folks that decided to come and see what we had to offer!  The music was the familiar songs that introduce it is almost time to start the show as there was hustle and bustle back stage, grabbing hair spray, throwing on costumes, and limbering up legs and arms with some stretching!

Adam & Muse Magic w/Pan, Kitten and BB
Song – Born This Way by Lady Gaga

First up was magnificent team of Adam and Muse Magic!   Now I should mention, that the month of April, is Autism Awareness month and Muse and Adam performed a brilliant set dedicated to Autism Awareness.  Brightly colored puzzle pieces that rose to form a steps for the dancers to step down on, spinning pieces for them to hurl in style and dance on.  There were hand particle effects and amazing costumes that were created by Muse herself as they gave it all they had with trademark Gaga moves along with perfectly timed animations from others, to bring us to the knowledge, that anyone with Autism is Born This Way and it is more than alright!

Devlin
Song –  Jungle Love by Morris Day and the Time

Next up was Devlin!  Now some of you may not know this, but Jungle Love was actually written by the Prince who recently passed away.  It was performed in the movie Purple Rain by The Time, but by Devlin, it was in the middle of  a jungle!  He had some very primitive animations as he moved around the stage declaring it was time for his Jungle Love!  One of the greatest things though and something that made me laugh was that the thong he wore, was an elephant with ears and a trunk!  *Laughs*  I will let you guess what went in the trunk!

Lotta w/Path and Queenie
Song – The White Stuff by Weird Al Yankovic

After Devlin, Lotta was up!  I have to say, at rehearsal I was getting ready to go to another commitment when this dance started and I just HAD to stay and watch it!  It was so inventive and creative and it was performed for our beloved Winnie who has an Oreo fixation!  This was SUCH a cute dance!  The animations had to have some great thought into them, because the dancers hands were covered and not used as the all dressed up as dancing Oreos!  The best part was that there was some fabulous mover work involved as Queenie (as one of the Oreo’s) was picked up and DUNKED into the glass of milk!  Such a great dance Lotta!  It had everyone in stitches.

Kyshra
Song – Bring Me To Life (Rare Remix) by Evanescence

Next up was the sexy and talented Kyshra!  Kyshra is one of those people that can switch from a group dance to a solo with an ease and flow that leaves me green with envy!  The scene was a cemetery and Kyshra was in this glorious white outfit barely there in the front, but swishing skirt that flowed as if it was light as air, while she twisted and turned with hand particle ribbons.  As the beat of the music accelerated more particles were added as she was brought back to life!  Visually stunning Kyshra!

Winnie
Song –  Fame by David Bowie

Winnie took to the stage after Kyshra, and it started with Winnie actually in the audience area, walking up on a red carpet to the stage aware which was full of paparazzi that was snapping pictures of her in the BEAUTIFUL gown encrusted with the England flag.  She was stunning as she walked towards the limo with the Hollywood sign in the background and stopped to show off her moves to those that were taking pictures.  The animations were spot on as the black and red gown and tall black hair was very avant garde.

Queenie w/Kyshra, Aradia, Path, Lotta, Lil and Jag
Song – Teeth by Lady Gaga

Queenie then enchanted us with another Lady Gaga song, but this one was about Teeth!  She started off walking down some grand staircases that reminded me a bit of Gone With the Wind, but in the top of the stairs on either side, statues came to life and started to dance!  As she continued with her mesmerizing moves with this mask that was wicked cool, other statues jumped off their perches and began to dance with her as she stripped herself bare as her soul!  The dance ended with the statues back on the poses, but down by Queenie vulnerable showing the flesh of her being!

Babypea w/Gunner
Song – All of Me by John Legend

Next up was Babypea in an ethereal cloud dress that was light as a feather with complementing makeup and hair that seemed to flow with the wind that would move the clouds and thus her.  The set was stunning with a tree atop some land while you got a sneak peek underneath of lava.  The sun beams flowed around her and then Gunner joined her as a tree who needs the sun to grow.  It was a FABULOUS metaphor for the song of how “All of me, needs all of you”.  This was visually, a masterpiece of creative influence to a song that I would have never ever thought of doing.  How clever and inventive!

Kellan w/Muse, Rebecca, Adam, Pan, Ariel (Ravana), Queenie, Jilley, Jo, Kitten, Meegan, Winnie, Roni, Lotta
Song – Will You Be There by Michael Jackson

Last up to close the evening was myself along with, what seemed like, half the staff.  I created this set and dance for a special Autism event, but I wanted to share it with more people.  The scene was a waterfall and trees as we started out dancing, joined by some drums with different ages, signifying how Autism effects all ages.  Lastly we were joined, by what I affectionately called “the choir” They were all in white as they walked out of the waterfalls and swayed to the music until they joined the rest of us.  Sun beams enveloped us like a cloak as puzzle pieces began to turn and twist slowly to the music and form the completed puzzle about Autism.  I will say that I was very proud of this piece, it took 394 waypoints but my hope was that the feelings were moving and touched by the dance.

That was it for another fabulous evening at Winds!  Next week will be an “unofficial” Prince theme week as many want to do something.  You won’t want to miss this one!  Join us Sunday at 5:00 PM Slt and see what everyone comes up with for your entertainment!

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Happy 3rd Birthday Winds and Happy Birthday Rebecca!! Show Review 4/17/16

Tonight was a special night for everyone at Winds of the Sahara. On Thursday April 15th we officially celebrated our 3rd year on the dancing circuit. 3 years and a lot of changes, moves and general SL things that happen. I have danced here officially for 2 years now and there are others that have been here since the beginning. The Winds, for many, is home. It’s a warm, crazy family of mixed personalities and each of us look at dance differently, but when that curtain goes up…we are all the same. On behalf of all the management and dancers, thank you…each and every one of you reading this for your support, love and dedication to Winds of the Sahara, because without you we wouldn’t have seen this birthday. Now….ON WITH THE SHOW!

Winds was dipped in pink for the event. Why pink you ask? Why glitter on the floors? As Ke$ha says “throw some glitter, make it rain!” It’s a P A R T Y! It is Winds 3rd year and it’s Rebecca’s RL Birthday! Saying that, there were a lot of surprises tonight in the acts, but I will elaborate on that more in a little bit.

Looking ravishing tonight was out lovable Annie, taking the stage to get everyone seated and filled in on the weekly reminders. Wearing a very sexy PINK (Rebecca’s favorite color if you didn’t notice) dress with lots of frill. The party hat made the outfit complete of course! Thank you Annie for just being so damn cute!!Babypea started the show with “Celebration” from Kool & the Gang. With her was Jo and Beebs wearing super sexy silver slinky dresses….so ooohh la la ladies! It’s a celebration so there was explosions of color, swirls of spotlights, birthday wishes rising from the floor, party hats and of course champagne! We all danced to the song and sang along…it absolutely set the mood for the evening. Let’s Celebrate!!

Up next and ready to keep the party rolling was Winnie and many friends! Winnie chose Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” and had a special dance for the bday girl and showed pictures of all the crazy things that happen at Winds in front of and behind the curtain. She asked all of us to dress in our favorite outfit from a dance or act…she opened a can of worms there!!! Lotta and Path as Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty, Jo was pretty in red and Aradia joined in on the sparkle and wore a shimmery green dress. Beebs wore the chef Sheep and Baby too wore the glamorous Sheep! Ariel wore a sexy purple dress and me as my favorite avatar, Mr Gopher! What a blast we had and the pictures were fantastic!! Many of us in chat were teary remembering some of the fun moments over the past year. Thank you Winnie and everyone for the laugh down memory lane.The rotten SL gremlins got a hold of Devlin but he beat them away and showed us one of our favorite sets of his. Devlin chose Savatage’s “Believe”. This song is such a beautiful one and Devlin’s very simple but beautiful set with ruins and some strategic light rays, coupled with his simple white shirt and a stunning dance was wonderful. The song moved everyone to silence which shows us that sometimes “simple” moves people more. Beautiful job Devlin!Ariel brought back and oldie but a goodie (and one from my top 10 list of favorite movies) with “Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Taco with a little extra Peter Boyle added in there from the movie Young Frankenstein. Path was the monster and he danced his way into everyones heart as a very lovable one. We all know the song and if you have not seen the movie Young Frankenstein, GET IT because its a classic! Thank you Ariel for bringing the monster to life again!Oh Lil….what can we say….this woman chooses some of the funniest songs. This week was no exception. Keeping with the pink theme Lil had all her dancers in sexy pink lingerie that barely held in their massive..ummm what to call them…..ummmm well the song was “99 words for boobs” so I’m sure I can come up with something! The song listed all the common and some not so common words we use to name the female chest. Thank you Lil for the laugh! 

Lotta wins the cute award for her dance this week. She and Path danced to a mix of songs from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They danced to “Doll on a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious/Chu-Chi Face & Chitty Bang Bang” The set began with Lotta dancing in a music box as Path watched her as the King. She talked about being free and not dancing wound by a key and he told her she was scrumptious! (which I’m sure he does). Then BAM she changes into something sexy and so does he and they dance together…now…did I miss this part in the movie? Maybe I need to go back and watch it again! *fans self* that was unexpected and so totally you two!!Continuing with the birthday wishes was Adam and Muse joined by Beebs and Rhonda. They burst out of a cake, danced down to the table managing not to get covered in frosting and shimmied for us to Lady Gaga ft. Jessie J “Your Birthday” ft. Pitbull. The stage was a large party table complete with all you would need for some party fun including the dancers all in pink! Balloons rose from the floor for the dancers to dance on top of and they danced on the plates, the cake the table…..WHAT A PARTY! There is a rumor that even Adam dressed up as Marilyn Monroe and sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President”…..only at The Wids!

I was on deck next with a crew of dancers and a camel! We danced to “This is how we do” by Katy Perry on a large birthday cake dressed as candles! I was joined by Path, Lotta, Meegan, Kitten, Lil, Kysh and Beebs. “This is how we do” celebrations at The Winds!!
Up last but not least was Selene and she was joined by Carolyna and Thunder and they danced to “Black Cat” by Janet Jackson. This was some set! It went out to the entrance way as Selene came in on a large crane as Cat Woman getting ready to fight Poison Ivy. As she comes across the crane and stage she whips zombies out of the way to get to her rival, they dance, they fight until Cat Women is triumphant! Good over evil!! The set was amazing…she crawled up and down the beams, there are crazy vines of ivy growing up the sides, there is a bat signal but….where is Bat Man?? He arrives, but too late for the fight….SAME BAT TIME, SAME BAT CHANNEL…to be CONTINUED….

What a night, what a great 3 years, what an amazing group of supporters we have and most of all what a wonderful leader. Happy Birthday Winds and Happy Birthday Rebecca! Here is to many many more wonderful, crazy years! See you all next week for a new show!

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Winds

There were doubters, there were naysayers, there were folks that thought that we couldn’t make it this far.  We proved them all wrong and we did it with class, style, perseverance, new dancers, hard work, a dedicated owner, old sponsors and new and some of the best backup staff on the grid.  We did it together and the most important ingredient in our success year after year has been YOU!  Our wonderful, wonderful fans who support us week after week and without whom we wouldn’t have a need to have a home.  This show was dedicated to all of you who have made this possible, so we’re raising a glass to you, the best fans anyone could ask for and then some!  A special thank you to Rebecca, without whom we wouldn’t have a home, Meegan, who has added her support and knowledge to expand our internet presence and fanbase, to Kitten who counts scripts, looks out for griefers, moves microphones and shovels up after camels, Annie who stands up there and keeps you all informed and amused week after week, all of our backup dancers who need to debut (hint hint), Queenie for doing the reviews with me, Que and Lotta for decorating the theater for special occasions, Jag for rebuilding our theater for us and Lady Anekee, VT, and Rhi for their support and generosity as well as everyone who has supported the venue and dancers over the years.

And now…on to the review 🙂  Annie took our Egyptian theme night over the top with a stunningly fun outfit with feathers and gold belts and silks and all sorts of fashion forward elegance as she engaged our guests with song titles and Egyptian trivia.  Way to sparkle out front Ms. Panties!

 

Adam and Muse choreographed our first set to a mashup of a children’s chorus and the famous Steve Martin “King Tut”  They were joined by Kellan, Amanda and Beebs in this great opener with columns falling, statues walking around and Kings rising from sarcophagus’ all in a rousing tribute to our third anniversary.  Also, there was a HUGE Anubis…you may want to count and see how many times he shows up :).  What a wild and fun way to get the evening going and get the fans sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see what would come next!

Lovely Ariel was our second act and what a pretty set this was.  She danced to Loreena McKennit’s “Marco Polo” on a stage with a tent and sand (another theme of the evening along with my bff Anubis) and she had the most amazinginly beautiful silks on.  She flowed across the stage like silk … the very oasis that any weary desert traveler would want to wander upon…

Amanda brought us a great set to The Bangles “Walk Like an Egyptian”.  She was joined by me, Kellan, Muse, Meegan and Adam.  Amanda and Muse were opposing dancers in black and white and the other ladies were the Pips to her Gladys Knight.  Adam ended up sort of stealing the set at the end…he was buried up to his head in the sand and looked a little nervous as a camel ambled up to him…and peed on his head.  The house broke up at this point, with everyone laughing so hard that poor Kitten had to wipe up the stage and our guests had to pull themselves together for the rest of the show 🙂  Laughter…the BEST medicine!

Devlin chose another version of Steve Martin’s “King Tut”.  If you haven’t seen the Saturday Night Live skit that made this song famous, I highly recommend a trip to youtube!  Dev was bedecked in his best Tut outfit…but wait…are those flip flops??  On the famous child king?? I loved the camel too…check out the argyle!  Another fun set, I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting so much fun with this theme…belly dancing, sand and pyramids yes, but boy, people really brought some joy to these sets.

This brings us to Lotta and Path who danced to Snap’s “The Power of Bhangra”.  Another proper belly dance bonanza right?  Well, there was some of that but also some more fun animations, a little more funk and hip hop with Lotta in the idea of a top and some smashing purple bottoms and Path had my favorite pants of the evening.  They danced in a market where I would have loved to go spice shopping…and Path looks pretty darned good in pants doesn’t he?

I picked Holly Valance’s “Kiss Kiss”.  I had a set with Jo and I dancing on water with some pillars that may or may not have managed to hold up my pyramid.  We had some candles and fire bowls and these cool barely there sorta silks that I found at Collabor88 completely by accident.   It was a sexy little belly dance that was just fun to do.

Babypea danced with her Gunner to Mere Watan’s “Fiza”.  If you were expecting more belly dancing…you didn’t get it.  Baby came flying off the rocks looking more like NinjaPea and she and Gunner got into a little bit of a tussle…when Baby took off some of her Ninja-wear and Gunner decided she might be more fun to dance with than throw fan-kicks at.  The danced a sexy little duet, until Gunner tossed her over his shoulder and proved that though she was tough…he was tougher 🙂 A new dance genre…born at Winds…Ningyptian!

Path danced to “The Magic of Egypt”.  His set was really cool, he built the pyramid out into the audience so it was like you were looking at a cutaway into the interior. He had a nice crusader in a vault (dead) and Path was chatting away with his companion wondering about what it was like…what was he doing there…did crusaders have nice girls to date…it was very cute.  Path had blue hair and some silks of his own…at least for a little while…but he wouldn’t be Path if he didn’t misplace them!

Queenie dance with Lil and Kyshra to Rihanna’s “Diamonds”.  The ladies appeared out of their genie bottles and danced in white silks with pretty hand particles.  They were sexy as all get out. Queenie changed the scene from day to night which was REALLY cool and then the ladies ended up on a flying carpet. I have to say, SL was a big booger to Que and she couldn’t put her set in a rez box, so she had to manually work her changes and do restores and all sorts of crazy stuff like we used to do years ago and she pulled it off beautifully!  Style and grace under pressure our Queenie…great job 🙂

We ended the evening with a set from Kellan along with Asali, Jo, Muse, Queenie and Pan, Ridley, Adam and Path. Katy Perry and Pitbull doing “Dark Horse” was the song. The set opened with the earth and then a pyramid flying up and over the audience and then the men were there…and then the ladies appeared out of urns.  All that and we weren’t even a minute into the song!  Kellan had awesome effects, with Pentagram circles on the floor and then turned up to be behind the dancers.  The set was gorgeous…and then…she even managed to include some scarabs skittering around on the stage. (ok, I may have closed my eyes for a little bit there…but I’m really not that good with bugs)  A hot-damn ending to the show!

We ended the evening on a bang and headed up to the rooftop for some after show dancing with our friends; a great way to hang out and relax while listening to some good music.  Thank you all again for your support and getting us to our third anniversary and we look forward to another year of dance and spectacle for your viewing pleasure 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

It’s our Birthday!! Happy 3rd Windsday

For those of you who may not know, it is the third birthday of Winds of the Sahara Cabaret.  We invite you to come and celebrate with us tonight as we do a theme show dedicated the the Egyptian spirit of our theater.  There will be sand, there will be silks, there will definitely be camels!  Come on down and enjoy the show and stay for the after-party dance on the rooftop.  My new BFF Anubis and I can’t wait to see you!

 

Wow power at Winds!

Sunday, a day with Sun…if you don’t live in the northeast US, lol….some of us were just so darned cold that we HAD to run to the desert to warm our toes in the sand.  Some of our laptops did their best to die in the middle of the performance, but lucky for you, gentle reader, I have people who took pictures and notes and I was lucky enough to see most of the dances during rehearsal…the only one I can’t review is mine because I crashed like a rusty plane before I got to go on 😦 Never fear though…another Sunday and that dance will get done!

Annie was our lovely hostess, as usual.  She was out at the front of the house meeting and greeting as was our lovely and fearless leader, Rebecca, who manages to greet and DJ and keep all of our silly bums in order for the show.  Thank heavens for both of them because without them we would be a gaggle of geese without a pond to swim in, and thank heavens that Annie is always dressed to the nines so all of our guests have some eye candy while we run around backstage before the curtain opens.

Well, we can’t just sit around ogling Annie all night now can we?  The strains of Iggy Pop let us all know that showtime was about to begin and Amanda was up first with Adam and Muse to a wild interpretation of “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead.  There were cards, houses of cards, moving, dancing cards…it was a wild Alice in wonderland sort of dream set on an acid trip which was really, really cool!  I am so happy that Amanda decided that she wanted to dance because every week she hits us with WOW!

Our second act was Devlin with a set to The Dresden Dolls’ “Missed Me”.  I love the Dresden Dolls….I can’t tell you how innovative and fun I think this band is…so I’m always up for a chance to see a set to their music.  This is a great steampunk set with big wheels and cogs and machinery rotating around, and Dev is dressed as sort of a rainbow clad deranged Mad Hatter. Sorry if that’s repetitive, but trust me…this costume makes Jonny Depp’s Mad Hatter look just shy of  normal.  It was fun and punky and had great music.

Kellan….Kellan, Kellan…what can I say?  If ever there was a best Bette Midler song ever, it would be “Otto Titsling”.  I can’t stop singing the damn song, lol.  Kellan was joined by Gunner, Adam, Baby and her boobs, Jo, Aradia, Jilley and Kota.  This song is hysterical and Kellan knocks it out of the park with the theft of the over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder, the cute outfits, the funnels, and the cutest animations ever.  This is classic that I first saw at a Relay for Life show and it should be performed annually, semi-annually, quarterly… whatever… because it will make youre face crack from smiling and make your soda come out your nose from laughing.

Queenie came out of her cage in the sky to dazzle us with a set to Rihanna’s distubia.  Now, we all know our Queenie and she was never going to let us get away with a dull set to this song.  She’s all suited up in her fancy white jacket with retro-tied arms and stockings that could have used some nail polish to help with the runs.  There was also a really sexy old lady in a wheelchair creeping us all out in the background.  Que eventually comes donw and does a super sexy dance despite her clear need for some medications and a nice padded room.  Just kidding Queenie….I love this set….it’s such a great vision and interpretation and in its own twisted way, fun!

Gunner was up next and our Gunner is a man who loves Gor. He has been active in Gor for years in SL and he was really excited to share is set to Man-o-war’s “Pleasure Slaves”. He was joined in his super sexy set by Aradia, Nayer, Dawn, Pandy, Kyshra and Kota.  There were so many lovely ladies, I wasn’t really sure where to look!  Suffice to say, Gunner treats his ladies well and they seem to take really good care of him too *winks*.  The set itself was sexy too, but I’m still not sure about hanging from the ceiling…the plaster in my house would likely find me on the ground in a cloud of dust if I tried this at home 🙂

Adam and Muse had a special guest, Toxie who sang “Hurt” written by Trent Reznor and most awesomely done by Johnny Cash and also Nine Inch Nails. Toxie was fantastic and what an amazing treat for all of us!  This is an amazing, moving, heartwrenching song and it was a set to match!  Adam and Muse never cease to amaze me with the depth of their creativity and super cool friends! Every week is a treat and their sets have such variety, I just love it 🙂

Baby was forced to step it up as I crashed my way out of existence and didn’t get to perform.  She and Ahava danced to Jefferson Starship’s “Stranger”.  Baby and Ahava are two sides…yin and yang, black and white….and this dance is so pretty, set in a fantasty world of rain and water and candles which changes to a world of  clouds and particles and fog and barren landscape.  Their silks float around them as they dance.  It’s a mesmerizing dance, simple and elegant and beautiful.

Selene was our closer and what a great set this was.  Thank whomever stood in for me after I crashed, because Selene could tell from the git go that I was having huge issues and she cobbled together a stand in and got an outfit and the whole nine yards.  I have to admire how well everyone works together when something goes wrong…you lucky folks never even know…which is a testament to the professional and selfless folks who dance each week.  Selene actually reproduced the set of ET…entertainment tonight for those of you across the pond and elsewhere.  She danced to Ailee’s “Don’t Touch Me”.  She had hosts out at the anchor desk, Rebecca and Annie and was joined by Thunder Starr on piano, Azure Sharktooth, YukioOnna, Carolyna Bikergrrl and Carolyna’s alt…Annie Sevigny as her back up singers.  She was making her debut on the show…it was great…the set was amazing!  The whole thing was so much fun and what a way to end the evening!

Thank you all so very much for spending your time with us out here in the desert.  Hopefully the camels behave and the SL gods cooperate so that we can give you another wonderful show again next week.  Many thanks to our fearless leader, Rebecca, our hostess Annie and our wonderful patrons who make it possible for us to dance for you each week. Catch you next Sunday!