Bellydance Superstars shimmy into Kirkland

Remember what Michael Flatley did for Irish step-dancing? That's what the Bellydance Superstars, an ensemble created by former Police manager and IRS Records honcho Miles Copeland, hope to do for American Tribal-style belly dance.

Meaning: Yes, they take considerable liberties with the dance form; yes, they sell lots and lots of DVDs; and yes, they're probably going to get bigger and bigger until half the country loves them and the other half views them as a punchline. (Meanwhile, the rest of the world will perceive it as a Yankee bastardization of something another culture holds dear -- right up there with hookah bars, lattes and tonsil hockey.)

That's not to say that the dancers aren't particularly gifted, that the music that they perform to isn't easy on the ears, and that the show won't be worth seeing. The troupe won over the tough-to-please festival rock crowd with a series of well-received Lollapalooza appearances, and audiences are reportedly going nuts for their new Vegas-style show, "Babelesque." See them with your own eyes at the Kirkland Performance Center, and you tell me if Michael Flatley has anything to worry about.

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company