Lord of the Dance

Video of "Yochi" (The Bible Faith Remnant's song from Oakland) 2/2010, Palace of Fine Arts - S.F.

Pioneers of the 1) Western Themes and 2) Gospel Themes in and through Bharatanatyam in English in California. (We use the language of Bharatanatyam or Indian Clasical Dance to choreograph our one of a kind dances to western music).

1.   Lord Of The Dance (This is a hymn praising the son of God "Lord Of The Dance"): This dance was first choreographed by Alexandria and Ruth for a Retirement Performance in 2000, and this dance was again done for prologue for our dance debut in English on July 20, 2002 per Ruth's request.    The talented pianist, Sterling played this beautiful hymn and it was beautifully sung in English by Julia. This has been our family vision since we started dance in 1995 (Alexandria D'Souza, Ruth Alexander and Daniel D'Souza) to use Bharatanatyam as the language that provides an insight or alphabet for choreographing with Western influence.
2.    A.N.R.G.S.F.M- Gospel Song 2003 dance/music program at Corin. on 7/12/2003 and TPT on 8/13/2003
3.    S.N.: This dance was first choreographed by Alexandria and Ruth for a performance in 2000. We added this
        dance for our 2003 December Shows.
4.    C.O.T.S.: 2004 Valentine Program
5.    A. T. B.&B.: 2004 "ATB" Program
        Choreographed by Ruth and Alexandria - for 2004 Performances
6.    C.W.B.A.P: 2004 "Let There be Peace on Earth" Fall Program
        Choreographed by Ruth & Alexandria.
7.    H.G.T.W.W.I.H.H: 2003/4 A.T.B.
        Choreographed by Ruth
8.    T.C.M.: 2004 Mother's Day Program
        Improv. Dancing & choreographed by Ruth & Alexandria for the "2004 Let There Be Peace on Earth" program
9.    A.T.B.B. - 2005 - 2005 shows -
        Choreographed by Ruth & Alexandria
10.   C.O.G.: 2005 - Choreographed by Ruth and Alexandria
11.   FTBTE - 2006 Programs- Choreographed by Alexandria & Ruth
12.   R.S.-P: 2006-2007- Ruth choreographed Yoga mixed with Bharatanatyam for D.T.T. shows -
        to a beautiful song and the lyrics talks about the awareness of what is happening in our universe which I feel is true
        (meaning greed, untruthfulness, power, lies, and we should be thinking of a peaceful world on our planet).
        Ruth's thoughts: True wealth/happiness is being successful as a whole person - meaning in your personal family life/marriage, faith, health, financial,
           academically balanced, and being fulfilled (by using your gifts and giving joy to others you feel fulfilled and have a purpose in life).   "
13.   Yochi: - 2/2010 - The Bible Faith Remnant's composed song....
        We choreographed a dance to "TBFR" song for an audition for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival 2/2010
        Had some great response from the audience...We need artists like yourself in this festival - according to someone who attends every year;
          An accomplished artist (incredible woman who was wise and lived an artful life) from San Francisco who recently passed away said:
          Your spiritual dance/choreography together with with the band was the best performance on the day we auditioned & if you are not
           accepted...the only reason is you are not part of this thread.... you need another venue....

World Arts West Ethinc Dance Festival (Below info. is taken from the blog of "TBFR")
Category: Music

This Saturday, 1/23/10, in a small way history was made. The Bible Faith Remnant participated in World Arts West’s 32^nd Annual Ethnic Dance Festival. It appears that this was the first Christian band to minister at this prestigious event.

“Recently cited as one of the top ten Bay Area dance innovations by San Francisco Chronicle dance critic Rachel Howard, the Festival is considered the largest and most prestigious gathering of its kind in the country. Drawing on Northern California’s rich cultural diversity, the event is an unparalleled showcase of some of the area’s top dance performers, many accompanied by world-class musicians”.

It is easier to understand why B.F.R. would be considered to participate in this festival when you discover that this band is anything but conventional. The instrumentation, arrangements and stage presentation of this band are innovative, and refreshing. The song accompanying the dance is called “Yochi”. The dancers are Indian Christians by way of South Africa. Ruth Alexander and her daughter Alexandria praised Almighty God in exhilarating, glorious . Half of the chorus of the selection is sung in Japanese. In addition, a Koto (a traditional Japanese musical instrument) is included in the musical accompaniment. Blending the happy rhythm, with the infectious melody emanating from the singers created a recipe for certain excitement.

B.F.R. continues to stir audiences while giving the pure Gospel message through a variety of enjoyable styles. The audience at the E.D.F. was no exception! The band may be easy to describe, but it is difficult to categorize. The one category that fits best is probably unconventional.