SOUTHFIELD — Samir Haddad has had plenty of guests on his “Arabian Candles” afternoon radio show before. But on Monday, August 26, he had perhaps his three most intimidating guests ever in studio.

They were three fairly large corn snakes, which happen to be a big part of his other two guests’ popular belly dancing show. The guests, two dancers who go by the names of Samara and Elysia, performed live in studio on the show to promote their dance troupe’s upcoming performance at The Palace banquet hall in Southfield.

The troupe, called Carnivale Mijnoon, was founded in 2005 with the intent of expanding on the belly dancing phenomenon in new and creative ways, using tons of props like swords and fire as well as snakes in order to capture the imaginations of their audiences.

Samara was first up on the Arabian Candles radio show, performing a traditional dance to Arabic music using two ornately decorated canes, which had Haddad clapping and gushing to his radio audience about how impressed he was.

Next up came Elysia and her three cold-blooded friends. Haddad winced and was a bit nervous when the snakes came out of their straw crate. Elsyia wrapped the snakes around her body and began to dance, impressing Haddad once again. But when Elysia got close to him, he quickly lunged backward and out of the way.

“They only bite if you reach down for their head,” said Elysia, explaining the snakes’ natural reaction to a hawk or eagle coming down from the sky attempting to grab them. “They only bite if they’re afraid of you or if you smell like food.”

But after the show, Haddad was smiling and even allowed the snakes to be wrapped around his body, just like Elysia.

In a way, it was exactly the sort of reaction the two performers from Carnivale Mijnoon hope to get from their audience for their upcoming October 4th performance at Ladies Night at The Palace.

“Our goal is to shock people and to get them to say ‘Wow!'” said Samara. After the initial shock provided by performances like balancing swords on their heads and swinging large, heavy balls with lit candle wicks on the ends, audiences begin to settle down and feel the grooves of the dances and the music.

Carnivale Mijnoon has a way of capturing the audiences attention with its performances and style of dress, as the troupe, which ranges anywhere from 9-14 dancers per show, dances to various types of music including cabaret, folk steps, belly dancing, and other styles influenced by places like India, Morocco, Turkey and New Zealand. Each dance is an original creation choreographed by the troupe.

The costumes include Egyptian tribal-style vests and other flashy outfits that can be purchased after the show.

The performances also feature a great deal of audience participation as members are pulled up on stage to join them in dances or other performances.

Elysia and Samara met at a traditional belly dancing class and connected over their desire to try something a little different and to expand upon the style by adding their own creative touches.

Now they both teach local belly dancing classes while performing at various functions and fairs in Michigan. Their goal is to “create a group environment for greater artistic growth and expression in performance and community-based dancing in the Michigan belly dance community.”

Their Web site, www.carnivalemijnoon.com, offers a music CD called “Tribal Bazaar” for fans to dance along to at home as well as two DVDs entitled “A Night of Carnivale” and “Of Light and Shadows” for sale. Haddad admitted he was greatly impressed by the DVD performances.

Tickets to their October 4th show can be purchased by calling 248.357.4500. They are $40 each and include a ticket as well as dinner and an appetizer.

Samir Haddad’s “Arabian Candles” radio show can be heard on United Network Radio 690 AM from 3-4 p.m. on Mondays. The show focuses mainly on Arab cultural elements with a dash of political talk mixed in. Haddad has a Masters in Theater Arts and Broadcasting from San Francisco State University. His brother Sami Haddad is the host of the popular “More Than One Opinion” TV show on Al Jazeera.