Twenty-some years ago, I was the music director of a radio station and was also a professional bellydancer. Every week, I'd have telephone meetings with record execs to go over how well their albums were doing at the radio station. One of those contacts was Miles Copeland, the manager for Sting and The Police.
He was fascinated when he found out I was a bellydancer and told me he was putting together a project. It would do for bellydance what Riverdance did for Irish dance. He asked me if I'd like to be a part of it.
I was flattered, and said no. I had no intention on relocating to NYC.
Not long afterwards, Bellydance Superstars was formed. And although it didn't get the same kind of audience that Riverdance got, it had a vocal subculture appeal. It was immensely popular with amateur and professional belly dancers all over the world. The audiences were mostly made up of other bellydancers and their families. They did, however, have a wider audience when they performed at Lollapalooza.
I don't think Bellydance Superstars is around anymore. A lot of the dancers went on to have big solo careers. A lot of them are still dancing in the workshop circuit and/or teach online classes.
Sometimes I wonder what might have happened if I'd taken Miles up on his offer. #Bellydance #BellydanceSuperstars #dancer #MusicIndustry #Lollapalooza