Set One:  7:15pm   Full of energy and having a great time with three little kids who were having a marvelous time dancing too.   My favorite memories are the little two year old boy kept delivering one dollar bills and then somersaulting back to his dad, and a three year old practicing her snake arms and spins.  Dancing time: 25 minutes

Set Two:  8:30  Holy cow, got to dance again because 1 new couple has come in (and the girl is a bellydancer).    I do a new set, (Zamon joins me for one song) get people up to dance and complete my set....only to have Fadil come up and ask me to get the bellydancer up to dance....he turns my music back on and the 6' bellydancer proceeds to show off her shimmys for 4 minutes, as I tried to keep the sweat on my face from splashing on the customers.     Dancing time:  28 minutes

Set Three  9:00pm   Crapitola-khomeini !     I'm walking out the door, and Fadil comes up to me and says he has a problem.  Another bellydancer and boyfriend have come in, and have demanded to see a set and she will leave if I don't dance.  After giving me the mournful eye, I ask him if I can just do three dances.  He says of course, but the bellydancer overhears and says she wants a full set......anyway, I go to do my third twirl around the floor -- (note to self:  do not use a silk veil when you are sweaty --really sticks to you like glue) .   A gay couple wave at me that they want to dance, and I pull up one of the guys and he and I begin waltzing up to the front,  when the other guy fails in his attempt find my waistband...... I stop dead in my tracks, and turn around glaring at the offending male thinking about how to deck him gracefully in a way that Leea would approve ... in the meantime the happy Sidi Monsoor music is playing and I've got to keep dancing.    My drum solo begins, and up come both bellydancers (uninvited) to dance to my drum solo.  Amazing !   Dancing time:  20 minutes

I grumbled to myself all the way home --my hip a quivering lump of shooting stars.   I get home and I'm recounting the tale of the hip diving hand to my husband as I'm pulling off my wet costume.  My husband says "hold on there", proceeds to pull a sopping wet bill that was stuck in my underwear, and holds it up and says "at least it was a ten dollar bill".

Raks A'Diva started as a social troupe -- our primary aim was to get to know other dancers, perform together and  enjoy spending time together.   The first adjustment was shifting from being 'soloists' to dancing together as a unit -- when the dancer next to you is six inches shorter -- you just have to adjust.    This took time as we had eight very strong soloists, each with their own style.... compromise and  persuasion took on new meaning.   

The first year of the troupe started as a  perfect dictatorship -- as we were ruled by our iron-feather-fisted Director Zamon who took care of everything.   We performed together for six months and entered a competition where we won THIRD PLACE.    This became a major wake up call for us, and we made a big shift in our focus and decided we wanted to make the effort to become a 
Professional Troupe.    

What is a Professional Troupe?    This is a group of very committed dancers who often invest 5 -10 hours a week in rehearsals to be at the top of their game.     Most professional troupes are run by an artistic director who conducts auditions, establishes choreography and sets tone for the troupe.  

Raks A'Diva troupe members made the commitment to be the very best we could be,  and we set our sites on seriously competing.   Unlike most professional troupes, all our dancers participate in decisions  -- helping select music, participating in choreography design, etc.  We're a family and a very hard working one at that.   Our troupe members often spent 6+ hours every week practice, plus attending classes or performing as soloists.      We set a goal of re-inventing ourselves each year so that we can learn new skills and grow as dancers.    We also have a strict rule that we must have fun in the process --sometime we have to remind ourselves about that one a lot !!      

We all love dancing, and we all love dancing together.  We also love to spend time together and have great fun in the process.   We're blessed because we genuinely like each other .  We don't have any formal rules or by-laws --just an incredible commitment to be the best we can be and enjoy the ride along the way.