Dancing Machines

Last night we took a group of tourists to the Crown Hotel for dinner and to see the dance show they put on there for guests. The food was excellent, with a variety of dishes from spicy chicken wat (stew) to beef tibbs (marinated cubes) to shiro bean and steamed veggies, all with red and white enjera of course. However, the real highlight of the night was the performances. With a stage for a band to play traditional, regional music, a dance troupe of about 8 people came out multiple times sporting different costumes from around the country and displaying the unique dances from each tribe and region. The domed ceiling of the hotel restaurant is painted with people in the same costumes, giving the name of the tribe beneath, so it's possible for guests to watch the dance, glance up at the ceiling and identify which tribal dance is being performed. The dancers seemed to have endless stamina to bop up and down, spin, jitter, shoulder pop, wave their arms and shake their tail feathers. After we finished eating, many of us shared a bottle of tej honey wine--some of the best I've tasted--as we watched the performances. Apparently some people's inhibitions were lowered as the dancers enticed onlookers to join them; at one point, one of my Japanese colleagues in his 40s was face to face with an Ethiopian dancer doing a nearly yoga-like pose while rapidly shrugging his shoulders. The music made it easy to shrug off any hesitancy and join in, and by the end of the night it looked like people would have some good stories to tell back at home and also sleep well before their flight the next day.