Palace of Wonders, 11/29/07--Mavi

The night’s MC, Mavi, showed grace and strength as she slid through her routine. She kept up her sneering expression until the very end, when she flashed an unexpected smile.

Palace of Wonders, 11/29/07--Sammati

DC Tribal’s ATS belly-dance group, Sammati, taught the audience a thing or two about teamwork. Members Eugenia and Jen kept careful eyes on each other as they improvised through several songs and countless turns.

The recently founded dance troupe Bella Quattro crept out after their own performance to watch Sammati in action.

Palace of Wonders, 11/29/07--Ariel

Genre-bending Ariel left her cane behind tonight to put on an old-school cabaret show, vamping it up to unexpected classics like “Mein Herr.”

Palace of Wonders, 11/29/07--Bella Quattro

Bella Quattro, a new belly dance group, delighted the audience with their upbeat music, fast moves, and sinuous poses.

Palace of Wonders, 11/29/07--Kaihea

Kaihea's set began with a beautiful, mid-tempo number. Her song choice was unexpected--some kind of mildly psychedelic rock--but it really worked.

But for her second number, the lights when down and the flames roared up!