As promised… here are more images from Darbukastan! These were all taken during the Turku concert on Saturday night. And let me tell you, Turku was AMAZING.  Their polish, their professionalism, and their excitement on the stage rocked.

Turku performed the very first time I went to DID as a baby bellydancer (…seven years ago?) Watching them live and getting to join the open dance floor during their concerts changed how I viewed dance.  For me, they have always representated a small piece of the soul of Darbukastan, what it means to have that amazing collaberation between dancers and musicians. It’s those moments, dancing under the stars and in the company of friends, that regular performances cannot compare to.  So many thanks Turku, for being your amazing selves, and for playing awesome music.

Also of note: several wonderful dancers joined them in the performance, including: Ziah of Awalim, Mavi, Sara,  Olivia & Christine of Zafira Dance Company, and JT of Khafif.

Lastly, there are EVEN MORE pictures that I haven’t blogged. You can see the entire gallery here. Performers, if there are any you would like to keep, let me know and I will be happy to share them with you.

There truly are no words for it. Every year we make this pilgrimage into the mountains and immerse ourselves in music and dance. It’s one of my favorite events of the year, and there is simply nothing that compares the the amount of energy collected in that place.

I want to give many thanks and much love to Sheque & Kay & family who invite us into their home every year, and also to the musicians and dancers who bring so much of themselves. The quality of the classes is simply astounding, the impromptu jams inspiring. It’s incredible how much talent gets fit into a relatively small space.

As seems to happen every year, I didn’t get as many pictures as I wanted. One of these days I’m going to walk around to all of the classes with a camera glued to my face and truly document the event. So far, I’ve had too much fun going to all the classes and simply being there.  So I really didn’t take any walking-around pictures this year, only focused on performances really. Also, a side note- typically I try to get at least one good shot of everyone who performs; sadly, that didn’t happen for the expo this year. I managed to get some of the expo,  but the lighting was not cooperative. Here’s what I did get, leading up to the Turku concert- those come later. :)

More soon…. :)