2/5 dissapointing
  by chantal (seattle)
I loved the first tribal fusions dvd but this one is too expirimental and not enough tribal..im not a big fan of the music and expected to see rachel brice or mardi love..loved sharon kiharas performances and zoe jakes are pretty good but this dvd is definitley moulan-rougey..its just different.

4/5 a definitive improvement over the first DVD; creative and adventurous
  by The Lone Wolf (Charlottesville, VA, USA)
If you are reading this, you are probably already familiar with the first Tribal Fusions DVD. And you will probably remember the monotony, bad lighting and poor filming of that release. Has there been an improvement? The answer is definitively yes. Lighting is good, this one is shot in decent definition and there is more variety. Is there room for improvement? The answer is, unfortunately, also yes. The performances are uneven (mostly owing to the dancers' skills), and there are important details that need to be addressed for future releases.

Interestingly, some of the previous reviews seem to be slightly put off by the more adventurous nature of some of the performances here. I agree with them in that this release contains more Fusion than Tribal, but this is not a bad thing. Dance, and particularly this style, must be organic and in perpetual motion and evolution. This DVD has several missteps, but it definitively shows that the ladies do not want to become stale and too comfortable in the same niche.

I will now break down my personal views on each dancer and performance.

Elisabeth Strong- She is featured in three segments: a burlesque-styled, piano-based piece that brings to mind old, mute black & white movies; a Turkish-style folk-like piece a la Rompi rompi, and a duo with Zoe Jakes. In my opinion, she is just not ready for this kind of exposure. Her dancing is just not very interesting, and I did not get engaged.

Fat chance bellydance- They have six dancers on stage, performing to an Indian piece and later to Oojami, featured in the first BDSS performance DVD to Ansuya's capable hands and feet. I had heard a lot about the originators of American Tribal Bellydance (ATS). Unfortunately, I am not impressed. The Indian piece comes out as something a beginner's outfit could pull out to a similar effect, and whereas you can sniff the scent of what they do best on the second performance (follow-the-leader-based tribal choreography), there is not enough. I will not pass judgment on them yet, but I had come to expect something better.

Kami Liddle- She dances to a cello-based mid-tempo techno beat, and to a heavy techno beat. The first performance is really good; she follows the tempo well and is a well-rounded dancer. For the second one, there's too much lock and pop, but I guess she likes it that way. A personal favorite, though.

Moria Chappell- Definitively the craziest of the bunch. She must be fun and creative, and her dancing, and music and attire selection shows it. She dances to a Tom Waits-wannabe, semi-burlesque piece, and to a Dracula-meets-his-girlfriend-in-a-techno-bar piece, complete with purple, vampire-like veil. I can see these performances throwing off a lot of people, but I found them highly entertaining, well-thought and performed. A minor thing is, the first piece was a bit too fast, and she has problems following the rhytm. As said before, these dancers work better to slower-paced pieces.

Samantha- She dances to two similar-sounding cello-based gypsy-inspired slow pieces. She is not the most engaging dancer I have seen. I found her a bit repetitive.

Sharon Kihara- My absolute personal favorite. She is quite crazy as well, and her music reflects her mind. She dances to a slightly atonal, oud (probably)-based mid-tempo, and to a cold-split piece including a slow techno beat laced with cello sounds interspersed with classical-sounding tabla drum solo. There is an interesting subtle evolution in her dance; arm work is more prominently used in these recent performances, to a great effect given her height. She's a great dancer, beautiful and terrific. I would love to see her dance to a goth metal piece, or a duo with Kami Liddle.

Urban tribal- They dance to two slow techno-based pieces (four dancers on the first, two on the second). I do not get them. They perform in casual, practice attire. They convey no emotion while dancing, and they do not seem to be enjoying themselves. Two major things on the second performance utterly destroy it. For one, the dancers wear plainclothes tops, which prevent any midriff work to be perceived. They take the belly out from bellydance. The only reason I think the midriff should be sacrificed is for lavish folk attires, but these ladies seem to go to the disco. Also, it is really obvious that at least one of the dancers has really dirty-looking feet. Either she did not take care, or the floor was filthy, in both cases unacceptable. That makes the whole performance look amateurish.

Zoe Jakes- She is featured in a futuristic-sounding techno piece complete with Alien sounds almost taken from Star Trek IV, a duet with E. Strong and an unexpected take on the old gospel-blues song "John the Revelator". I have not been partial to this dancer... until now. I still think she makes awkward turns and is a bit self-conscious when she dances... but blues? That's Fusion with capital F, a witty and adventurous move. Kudos!

Sonia and Colleen- I have saved my favourite for last. Sonia, the beautiful cabaret dancer for the BDSS joins former BDSS dance corps captain and novel-tribal Colleen for a cabaret-meets-tribal fusion performance that is instantaneously beautiful and engaging. The chemistry is there, they are both terrific dancers (I have followed Sonia's evolution since the BDSS came out and it is just amazing how much better she is now) and, as in the Folies Bergere DVD, it is shown that cabaret and Tribal Fusion can co-exist onstage. Excelsior!

Music throughout the DVD prominently features the rising stars of these sounds, such as Beats Antique, Maduro, Pentaphobe, Djinn and many others.

In summary, it is worth looking at if you are familiar with the Tribal tribe of the BDSS, or if you are looking for some fun, different and darker bellydance.

2/5 tribal fusions 2
  by Rubaida I. Allen
Where do I begin indeed? I have to agree with the first reviewer, this dvd is all over the place. As much as I love Bellydance Superstars, I just do not know what to think of this production. Unlike the first Fusion dvd, which was awesome, this one does not live up to the hype. The 1920's flapper, Moulin Rougey vibe seemed confusing. The performances seemed forced and looked like not much effort was put into them. The only performances that are worth the money I spent on this dvd are, Moria Chappell's second performance, Fat Chance Bellydance, and Sonia and Colleen. Elizabeth Strong is just a mess. Sharon Kihara, Samantha, and Kami Liddle were all ok but not the amazing dancers I remember. I was very disappointed with this dvd. I expected the best and got mediocre. I don't recommend anyone buy this dvd unless you are a hardcore BDSS fan.

2/5 seriously?
  by aline (los angeles)
I dont know where to begin. All the ladies looked lovely as usual but thats about it. The music selection is like a new orleans soundtrack literally sounds like a jambalaya rice commercial...like are you kidding me? elizabeth strong just doesnt seem to fit in right. A lot of this is too wannabe flapper 1930's sideshow freak dancing. It is wayy too over the top. The only alright performances were sharon's and fat chance bellydances performance. I was absolutely dissapointed.