The grooving is real as Shakira shakes up Allegiant Stadium — PHOTOS

During a review of New Kids on The Block this month, I noted, “You can’t track dancing.” It is a reference to all the technology employed in a concert.

You can embellish productions with vocal and music tracks, pyro, inflatable figures, party cannons, strobes, holographic figures, even fake money falling from the sky. But dancing is real.

I hadn’t realized until Saturday night that Shakira had inspired that line. “Hips Don’t Lie” is the truth. The title and lyrics reveal the Colombian-born artist’s method of feeling if a song is ready for the public. Your hips will give the honest answer.

That song is 20 years old this year. Shakira flipped it out midway through her “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry) World Tour” performance at Allegiant Stadium.

Shakira sold the place out, some 45,000 fans pouring in to catch 26 songs and 14 costume changes. She arrived in the floor section behind A2, specifically, bathed in spotlights and tailed by her dance team. She was lifted to full view, mid-stage. The crowd’s shrieks were accompanied by flashing lights from tens of thousands of LED bracelets issued to the masses.

“La Fuerte” blew open the doors. “Monotonía,” “Última,” “Estoy Aquí” and “Wherever, Wherever,” were in the set list. “Las de la Intuición” was the reason many fans donned purple wigs. He sons were shown on the 50-foot LED panels for a virtual harmony on “Acróstico,” a song Shakira wrote as a tribute to the boys after her breakup with soccer player Gerard Piqué, her partner of 12 years.

The headliner’s backing band included a pair of Las Vegas horn players, Andrew “The Fury” Friedlander on sax and Jean-Francois Thibeault. Shakira played some acoustic, and summoned her pink, crystal-covered Fender Stratocaster. She broke it down acoustically mid-show.

Vegas horns in this one. Andrew “The Fury” Friedlander, Jean-Francois Thibeault bring the brass for @shakira … @neonlasvegas pic.twitter.com/5sHDZR39FX

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) June 29, 2025

Shakira’s musicianship was a welcome element, as she swiveled her way through the two-hour performanc. She seemed hardly breathing hard as she swung her derriere to ongoing delight. She is the Balanchine of the booty bounce, twerking long before the term was applied to that move.

Most of the crowd watching the expertly produced show on the big screens. The camera crew works just as hard and is just as nimble as the headliner and her backing dancers.

At the close, Shakira led a color-splashed “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” and “She Wolf,” as a massive inflatable wolf loomed over the stage. “There is absolutely no better feeling than when a she-wolf is back with her pack.”

This message resonates across generations, from kids to those in Sharkira’s late-40s range. Her production scale and message are Sphere-worthy, and there is little doubt Shakira has the demand to run at least a short series at the Bulbous Wonder.

A demerit for the sound setup at Allegiant Stadium, which is still an inconsistent art. The low-end, echo effect seems the biggest challenge in these spectacles. On a scale of Garth Brooks to Rolling Stones, this one was about a Billy Joel. Shakira alternately spoke Spanish and English in the performance. It was not easy to understand either for the stadium’s slap.

But the vision of Shakira nearly ceaselessly gyrating, shimmering and grooving will endure. “Shake” is practically her name. The screen brought home the sentiment. “They say that the first woman was created from the rib of a man. But the truth is… The first man was born from a woman’s hips. The hips. Never. Lie.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.