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The Magic of WOMADelaide 2009

The Kaurna cultural custodians of the Adelaide plains were represented by a trio of women elders, who warmly welcomed the festival-goers to the three-day event over the first weekend in March. Wrapped in dark furred cloaks Joan Lamont, Josie Agius and May Turner spoke in both Kaurna and English to welcome locals and visitors alike and explained aspects of the Red Kangaroo Dreaming of the area known as Tarndanyungga.

Led by Karl Winda Telfer the ochre-painted Paitya dance group came onstage, carrying shields and clacking spear-like sticks to traditional song in a warlike but welcoming manner. Then the mood changed to a contemporary vibe as the graceful girls of the Port Adelaide based Kurruru Youth Performing Arts Company simulated the soaring of a flock of birds. One young dancer, Jessica Gray said that her nerves soon disappeared with the excitement of performing for such a huge crowd.

First up on the main stage the Bedouin Jerry Can Band sat before a desert shelter' and sang, played flutes, hand drums, plus an ammunition case and jerry can (salvaged from the 1967 Sinai War). In tune with our own wide, dry land the band's desert-wandering lifestyle, came through vividly in its music, echoing much of the cultural life of central Australian communities. As the turbaned musicians created such a good groove it was impossible for those in the crowd to sit still, the rhythms and haunting melodies positive and totally invigorating.

Dan Sultan and his band hit full-tilt boogie mode at the Zoo stage, his fiery delivery backed by the ample force of a tight horn section, while guitarist Scott Wilson played some very tasteful licks, and I loved his adaptation of the Rolling Stones' Happy'. The version of Kev Carmody's "This Land Is Mine" was neatly interpreted.

Arte Kanela showed immense zeal, as the Tedesco brothers led their Flamenco dancers and musicians through routines so full of precision, yet dripping with ardour.

Natasha Atlas is an Egyptian-English diva who has collaborated with Transglobal Underground and Jah Wobble, and her grasp of fusion is marvellous, with Middle-Eastern intonation spicing up a cover of soul classic I Put a Spell on You', along with her exotic compositions.

Sa Ding Ding thrilled the rapt audience with her well choreographed show, featuring a combination of Hong Kong film costumes, acrobatic male dancers and the lady's operatic voice; all held together by the fusion of folksong and techno beats.

Day two dawned sunny

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