Maki (Bellydance Evolution Cast Special)

1. Could you tell us about the competition to be a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

To enter the competition, it was pretty straightforward. Once to you sign up and pay the entrance fee, we had to learn a choreography from Jillina from a video clip they send you. Then you had to submit a video of yourself dancing the choreography along with a clip of you doing your own dance. Once you submit these videos and upload them onto the Bellydance Evolution site, your competition submission is complete. People who visit the site and view the videos can vote on the videos of the contestants they like and rate them. The contestant with the most votes got the People’s Choice award. Then, the tough part… you wait to hear if Jillina has selected you to be part of Bellydance Evolution!

My strategy was to show Jillina that I could dance her style and also bring something interesting to the table. I tried to dance her choreography with her stylization and her technique as much as possible and then show her my style in my section. I think being versatile and showing you have the potential to do anything she asks of you is key.

2. What is your strength as a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

I think my strengths are my work ethic and that I am a team player. The way I approached my experience was to try and enjoy it as much as possible and soak in every moment. Being cast in the show was a great experience and I loved dancing with a team of such professionals! We all understood that we were brought together to create a great show and to represent bellydance as best as possible. Because we all had this common goal and understanding we were able to put together an amazing show and gel together as a group in only 10 days. At the beginning, I wasn’t sure what the other girls were going to be like but Jillina and her Sahlala Dancers really set the tone of teamwork and inclusiveness from the beginning which carried through till the end. Since the show I was in was the one being filmed for the DVD, there was a little more pressure to deliver clean shows. This might have been one of the reasons that Jillina had cast many of her own dancers and dancers who have done the show before. Ziva (another contest winner) and I were the only brand new girls to the group so I felt like Jillina had put her faith into me so I had to step up and not disappoint!

3. Do you have any advice for dancers who will apply the competition of Bellydance Evolution?

Entering a competition is always a little nerve wracking because you are putting yourself out there. I always approach auditions and competitions the same way, I try my best and work hard but know that at the end of the day, if I didn’t get picked/win, it’s not the end of the world. I think you have to be realistic and accepting of whatever decision is made. It’s not my show, it’s not my production, Jillina has every right to choose who she sees fit. It takes someone who is a strong dancer of course but also someone who can pick up choreography quickly, adapt to changes, apply feedback quickly and can dance her style. Not getting picked isn’t necessarily a reflection of your dance ability but it just means you are not the right fit for this particular show. As this is a cast with many group dances, you have to be able to dance as one unit and understand you are part of a bigger picture. If you do get in, enjoy every moment, have fun and be ready to work hard!

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• Eshe (Bellydance Evolution Cast Special)
• Kasia (Bellydance Evolution Cast Special)

Kasia (Bellydance Evolution Cast Special)

1. Could you tell us about the competition to be a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

I had heard about it by chance from Irina Akulenko, who had already done the show. She had great things to say about it, so I got to thinking about doing it. I think it was in October that I learned the choreography online, from one of the OTHER contestants, before I even signed up for the competition, just for kicks. I wanted to see if I could learn it accurately and quickly from a mirror image video with no breakdown. It went well! so I think it was in December that I signed up, and having already learned the choreography, sent it in right away. I was hopeful, but decided to not think much about it, and when chosen, some panic did set in. Organizational-omg-now-what-do-I-do type panic? I had a bunch of things going on that I had scheduled for that time period, what with my ''don't think about it too much'' approach, that I had to re-organize. But then it all worked out.

2. What is your strength as a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

I would hope my strength is my bizarre Fusion Bellydance style, that I do not know what to call. Contemporary Fusion Bellydance, is a good description, I suppose. I hope that this aspect of my dancing can bring something interesting to the show as an entirety.

3. Do you have any advice for dancers who will apply the competition of Bellydance Evolution?

Learn the audition choreo well. Very clean arms and turns. If you do something neat and unique, show that in your personal section of the audition video. Be willing to work with everyone, work hard, don't complain or make excuses, adjust and adapt to all changes that come up. Be positive in your outlook. You can learn something good from ALL experiences, changes and situations. Give it your all. AND BE SURE TO GET YOUR SLEEP. It helps a lot.

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Eshe (Bellydance Evolution Cast Special)

Eshe is a professional belly dancer originally from Hamilton, Canada now residing in Seoul, South Korea.

1. Could you tell us about the competition to be a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

When I entered BDE competition we had 7 days to film our videos. When I entered, I was also preparing to go on a 3 months honeymoon to Turkey, Australia and Canada. I was very busy packing up my entire life. I didn't have a lot of time to learn the choreography or practice. I got on the airplane on my way to Turkey feeling very upset. After being in transit for about 10 hours, I had a stop over in Malaysia so I decided to try and film at my airport hotel there. The room was too small and the hallways were too busy. I put on my makeup and costume and found room in the hotel gym. The staff kept walking by and pushing their faces up to the glass to see what I was up to. I was ready to upload my video but when I got back to my room I saw a sign "we apologize but our internet service is unavailable." I went to the airport gates and tried to find a signal. The airport only allows 2 hours of internet service, but because of the size of the file and speed of the internet it would take almost 3 hours to upload it. I decided to wait until I got to to Turkey. After about 27 hours of traveling, I arrived at my guest house which had advertised internet service. I sat on my bed and booted up my laptop-there was no signal. I tried everywhere. I finally found a 60cm spot on the floor near the bathroom door that had service. When I tried to access YouTube I found it was blocked in Turkey. I bought an internet cloaking application and finally was able to upload my video.

There were a few problems with the 2010 Asian competition and the deadline was pushed back about 3 times. I was so happy when I hit refresh and saw my name. About 4 days later, Jillina sent us the choreography videos. We had about 10 days to learn all of the routines before meeting her in Korea.

I was very, very nervous on the first day. I think I was the only cast member Jillina had never met before. Most of them she had met at a workshop or show. Jillina is very kind and she's a wonderful leader. There was no job that was too big or too small for her. She was of course teaching us dances and correcting technique but she was also helping us to sew our costumes and cleaning the studio with us. We danced about 8 hours everyday. Jillina would post our schedule every day on the studio mirror and we would have to be ready for that. The first day she gave us our costumes and during breaks we would make adjustments. The first 3 days she or another star would go over each dance in detail 1 time with the formation changes. It took about 1 hour for every 2 minutes of choreography. From the 4th day we started running the show. On the 5th day we started dancing in costumes. On the 6th day we were doing full dress rehearsals. The 7th day we had the in-theater dress rehearsal and then the show.

It was very intense learning all the routines. I usually don't wear shoes to practice or dance in but my feet got blisters from all the rehearsals. It's not only a bellydance show. There also are routines from India and Uzbekistan; Georgian dancing is featured prominently in the show too. She also uses a lot of props like asaya, fan veil, veil, candles and feather veils in the show.
It was a bit more relaxed when we got to Bali because everyone except 1 new dancer knew the routines. The only stressful element was the stage was not built until the very last day. During the performance there was a storm and we had to stop it about 30 minutes early which was very disappointing for a lot of us.

2. What is your strength as a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

I'm not sure. Jillina told me I was a beautiful dancer, which meant a lot to me. I had to work very hard to learn so much in such a short amount of time. It was such a big challenge but so wonderful.

3. Do you have any advice for dancers who will apply the competition of Bellydance Evolution?

If you start working now with Jillina's choreography videos, I think it makes learning her routines easier.

Do it. It was so much fun and I made a lot of good friends when I did it. We still dance together now. It was such a wonderful memory for me. I also learned so much from being around Jillina and the other dancers in the show. Not only technique but the nuts and bolts of running a big production. It was so enlightening.

As practical advice if you are accepted bring extra sewing materials for your costumes-like hooks, buttons, thread and needles.

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Cristina Gadea (Bellydance Evolution Cast Special)

1. Could you tell us about the competition to be a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

I participated in an online casting; first I registered for the one in Italy / Prague and then I received a routine that I had to learn, film and send back, along with a video of myself dancing. I also had to fill in an application (stating how long I’ve been dancing, whether I’m a professional dancer, how many hours I train per week…) and attach 2 photos.

All the videos are uploaded to the company’s website and, after the deadline, the winners can see a WINNER banner before their names on the videos.

The answers in the application form give Jillina an idea about the rehearse capacity of each dancer, and she ensures the girls she picks can handle the pace. The rehearsal sessions last up to 8 hours during the week prior to the show and, after that, you spend many long hours on stage too, so you need to get physically used to it very fast.

I had to fill in information about my measurements. At first I thought Jillina wanted a cast of similar dancers but, when I saw the girls she picked, I realized we were all very different. That’s the idea she wants to pass on, that very different dancers can create balance without clashing: blondes, brunettes, tall, short, oriental dancers, tribal dancers… It’s integration and internationalization in one single show.

2. What is your strength as a cast of Bellydance Evolution?

I’m good at teamwork and pretty fast when it comes to learning routines and correcting mistakes. I’m used to working as part of a company in Spain and I’ve performed in big shows, so I work well in theaters, with fast costume and stage changes, etc.

Also, what Jillina called my "exotic look" (long-haired brunette with dark eyes), which has to do with what I was saying before about shaping a cast of dancers that are very different to each other, where they all work at a very high level in regards to the dance technique.

Bellydance Evolution was a great experience, I learned so much and visited such beautiful places. I met some wonderful people and amazing dancers from Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Portugal, Argentina and the USA.

Working with Jillina and the main cast of the show was very enriching and made me grow and evolve as a dancer.

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Jillina Carlano

Jillina is a producer, co-creator, and performer of Bellydance Evolution. Jillina gives advises and comments to dancers who will apply cast members of Bellydance Evolution and belly dance fans!

1. Could you give some advises or comments for dancers to challenge a cast member of BDE?

I would advise the dancers auditioning to pay close attention to the small details of the choreography like hands and hips . Also, in their audition video be sure to put up their best solo performance and keep in mind the world is watching.

2. What is the most important thing to do when we dance in public?

Connect with your audience, thru your expression and movement. Dance is like a language and you want to be sure that they understand your message.

3. Do you have any comments for BDE fans?

Expect the unexpected!!! This is not the BDSS show. I have collaborated with some very talented artist to help create a new level of bellydance productions.In addition to having a star studded cast we have men in the show that will blow your mind!!