– EVENT REVIEW –
THE TRIBAL MASSIVE™ ~
A Boutique Among Shopping Malls
By Lee Ali
Photos by Tori and Yaniv Halfon
Lady Fred
Metaphorically speaking, many belly dance
events have something in common with suburban
shopping malls. Both offer an enticing variety of
goods and services, designed to attract as many
customers as possible. For dancers, it’s easy to feel
over-looked in a sold-out workshop with 75, or
more, other students. Like battling mall crowds at
Christmas time, only in this case dancers battle to
see their teacher, and not get stepped on.
The Tribal MassiveTM does not operate on the
shopping mall template. The Tribal MassiveTM
is designed to provide dancers with a “boutique”
style experience: intimate, unique, and never
generic. Class sizes are kept purposefully small.
Individualized mentoring is a core value of the
MASSIVE mission. This intensive delivers more
than just a week of workshops, performances, and
partying. According to dancers I interviewed, the
MASSIVE is a “life-changing” event. Students
immerse themselves with their teachers and peers
for 8-10 hours each day, in a “college campus-style”
learning environment. Intermediate/advanced
is the entry-level learning-track at The Tribal
MassiveTM. In fact, most of the “students” who
attend MASSIVE are professional performers,
teachers, and studio owners, in their own right.
Photo by Tori and
Yaniv Halfon
October 2015
The Belly Dance Chronicles
41