This past weekend I went up to Phoenix to see Ghosts of the Grand Hotel, a show put on by local dance/theater company Vraja Productions. Featuring belly dance, acting, hip hop, burlesque, singing and more, these shows take the concept of a variety show and set it to a storyline, so everyone gets to showcase their talents, but it’s all tied together with a theme and narrative. I think it’s a great way to bring artists from various backgrounds together, while attracting an audience of both dance fans and theater-goers.

Vraja’s shows always tend to be pretty dark (the last one I saw took place in a mental hospital in a near-future dictatorship, for instance), but Ghosts was darkly humorous. It told the tale of a haunted brothel in a struggling western town. There were cops and robbers and plenty of prostitutes, not to mention the town drunk and the star-crossed lovers. Over the course of two acts, we got to see their stories weave together through various art forms.

Over all, the performances were really strong, it’s clear that everyone in the shows works hard to hone their craft (I know for the fact all of the belly dancers do, because I’m friends with almost all of them, ha!), rehearsing together and separately to bring their A game to stage. Unfortunately, the performers were hampered at times by minor technical difficulties, including a flaky sound system and lights not going on and off at the proper times.

My main complaint would have to be the outdoor venue, however. While Alwun House is a cool, funky venue and just the right size for the audience that night, it was 100 degrees in Phoenix yesterday and it hadn’t cooled down much by 7pm when doors opened. It was also a little windy and rainy, although not enough to impact the show, and there were mosquitoes which feasted on my poor feet and ankles. What’s more, the ambient light meant that whenever the lights went down, we could see “dead” cast members getting up to walk backstage, and scenery being shuffled around. I understand that these are the perils we sometimes have to put up with in niche entertainment markets, but I definitely think the show would have been elevated by being held in an actual theater.

Other people might find cause to complain about the somewhat naughty tone of the show. I will say that while the belly dance was a little sexier than usual, there was a clear delineation between the belly dance numbers and the burlesque numbers, and they were performed by different dancers. Even the burlesque only had implied nudity and flashes of lingerie, nary a pastie nor g-string was seen. Since this was billed as an 18+ theater show as opposed to an all-ages belly dance show, I feel like belly dance’s reputation remains intact. It helps that Arizona’s general public mostly seems to already know the difference between belly dance, burlesque, and the strip club.

I really enjoyed this show, and I hope I’ll be able to make Vraja Production’s next show (I seem to make it to about half of them).