With men around the country eagerly anticipating their Valentine's Day treats, a Tokyo-based collective of bellydancers is aiming to shift some of that day's focus back to the female populace by presenting "V-Day" on Feb. 11 at Cozmos Cafe in Shibuya, Tokyo.
The event will feature the sensuous shimmying of several bellydancers, with proceeds being donated to two women's charities.
The Afet (Turkish for catastrophically beautiful) Collective is a group of bellydancers from Canada, Australia, the United States and Japan that formed late last year to bridge the gaps between the various bellydance scenes in Tokyo.
Originally from Toronto, founder of the collective Eshe was first exposed to bellydancing in Japan and has studied it here and in her native Canada. She performs regularly throughout Tokyo and Kanagawa as a solo dancer and as a member of the dance community, P.U.R.E. (Public Urban Ritual Experiment). The Afet Collective perform the two mains strands of belly dance, Oriental and Tribal.
DJ B Krishta will be spinning a wide selection of world music between performances.
Money raised from the show will be donated to HELP (Housing in Emergency of Love and Peace) Asian Women's Shelter in Tokyo and the charity V-Day.
HELP provides emergency housing relief and support to hundreds of needy recipients, Japanese and foreign, each year. V-Day is an international organization whose goal is to stop violence against women and girls.
The Afet Collective presents "V-Day" on Feb. 11 (5:30-10 p.m.) at Cozmos Cafe and Bar, 1-6-3 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (tel. [03] 3407-5166). For directions, visit www.cozmoscafe.com/
Admission is 1,500 yen at the door (this price includes one drink). For more information, visit eshebelly dancer.com
