Las Vegas Belly Dance Intensive at Flamingo Hotel September 6-9

Sept. 3, 2012 - PRLog -- It might be impossible to imagine Las Vegas with even more glamour and glitter than it already has… until The Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive & Festival hits the strip September 6-9, 2012.

Now in it’s tenth year, The Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive (LVBDI) is  a four day long extravaganza, celebrating the  beauty and artistry of  belly dance, which is enjoying a huge surge in popularity across the globe.   The  event’s home base is the  legendary Flamingo  Hotel and Casino,  where the  festival’s participants, and over  2,000 onlookers, can enjoy non-stop performances, dance workshops and lots of glitz-infused shopping. Evening shows featuring world-class professional belly dancers performing in both traditional and contemporary styles to be held at the nearby Clark County Library Theater on Friday September 7th and Saturday, September 8th.  Both the festival and the theatrical shows are open to the public.

The brainchild of local dancer Samira Tu’Ala, the festival originated as a small, informal get together for Nevada-based belly dancers. Over the years, the event grew exponentially, astounding even Tu’Ala, who says:

“Nothing surprises me more than the popularity of this event!  I understood the art and I knew the business, but mostly, I think I was the right person at the right time with the right skills. I saw a need in our Las Vegas belly dance community, and I found a way to meet that need. The event just happened to explode in a way that I didn't anticipate. It's a beautiful thing.”

Currently, the LVBDI currently draws nearly 500 stage-worthy performers- both seasoned professionals and avid students- from across  North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as from Egypt, Turkey, Greece, Japan and Taiwan.

The headliners this year at LVBDI are all elite performers, known the world over. They are: Sadie Marquardt, Sera Solstice, Colleena Shakti, Virginia, Elizabeth Strong, DaVid Baydal, Dalia Carella, Cera Byer, and Egyptian dancer/ musician, Karim Nagi.

2012 also marks the third year the LVBDI presents the “Think You Can Belly Dance?” Contest. Open to anyone brave enough to enter, the competition features an elimination process over the course of the four days, overseen by the Intensive’s choreography team, Ashtalea of Las Vegas and 2012 headliner Cera Byer. The winner  will receive  prizes from the festival’s sponsors including cash and trips, as well as the prestige of performing at the festival’s Sunday Evening It’s A Wrap! party, which also features appearances by the requisite long-stemmed Vegas showgirls, a set from an Elvis impersonator, and a special guest performance by renowned Grammy-nominated Arabic percussionist Souhail Kaspar.  

Although belly dance originates in the Middle East and North Africa, its   popularity in the United States has caused a dance revolution resulting in tremendous diversity of styles and interpretations. The 2012 Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive strives to embrace this remarkable living art, to enlighten and entertain the public, and to support the local Las Vegas belly dance community.

For media passes, interview requests, show tickets and additional information, please contact Samira Tu'Ala at 1-888-587-2578.