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".

We've had to create our own language for various things that help us improve our dance.     I've listed a few for your reference with new ones always in development 

Miracle Weight Loss Raks A’Diva Cruise
By Iman
“Utter indulgence and mad cap fun ”, reported Raks A’Diva cruise mascot Isis.   This article is dedicated to an accurate portrayal of the eating and drinking excesses and sleep deprivation of just one Raks A’Diva member.     I have to report that even with all the abuse and stomach-stretch carbs, I did not gain any weight.   The secret?  Three (3) hours of non-stop dancing a night, and absolute refusal to take elevators –with the exception of a bathroom emergency.     

So, with great embarrassment, here is my personal log of my excesses on the cruise.  (Disclaimer: my excess experiences don’t necessarily match other Raks members – you’ll have to get the others to fess-up. 

Cruise Day One –arrival on ship at 12pm. 
Exercise:   Pulling 50# suitcase on sidewalk for 1/2 mile to ship.  Triceps have never been as firm.    Disco dancing for 3 hours, and walking all over the ship.  

Food:  Salads, Pastrami Sandwich, Chips, Fish & Ice Cream (2x)

Drinks:  3 cups of coffee, a cappuccino and a Cozumel* 


Sleep:   5 hours  

Cruise Day Two – Catalina Island  

Exercise:   Walking all over Catalina Island,  2.5 hours of dancing, walking up and down stairs, laughing too hard.  

Food:  Croissant, Eggs Benedict, Chicken Teriyaki, Stuffed mushrooms with cheese, lobster & shrimp with mushroom infused rice, soufflé with Grand Marnier  

Drinks:  2 cups of coffee, a cappuccino and  TWO –Cozumels, 1 glass white wine

Sleep:   6 hours

Cruise Day Three – Esplendida 
Exercise:   Horseback riding for two hours,  walking around a Mexican town whose name I could never remember.   

Food: Ham & cheese omelets, bran muffin, top of a banana muffin, eggplant dish, beef, chocolate chip cookie, fried mozzarella cheese, fish, warm chocolate cake 

Drinks:  2 cups of coffee, decaf cappuccino, Iced Cappuccino and  One –Cozumel, 1 glass white wine 

Sleep:   6 hours

Cruise Day Four  – Parked in the Ocean – a Lazy Day 
Exercise:  Sitting up and down at least 12x from lounge chair on deck,  bending over a couple of times,  lifting food into mouth,  getting a ‘turkey baste’ massage,    Laughing exercises (1 hour), and dancing 2 hours 

Food: Veggie Omelet & bran muffin, slice of mushroom pizza, salad, crab cake, seafood pasta, 1/3 warm chocolate cake & baked Alaska 

Drinks:  1 cups of coffee, Iced Cappuccino and One Lava Flow

Sleep:   5 hours 

Selecting the name for our troupe was quite a challenge.   Three years ago, we got highly motivated to find the right name when someone suggested we name ourselves 'enchanted princesses' -- YIPE !    That got us motivated and we started searching 100's of name to find something that inspired us and represented what we wanted out of our dance.    

We came across an arabic phrase that we thought meant dancing feet which was easy to say in English.   Luckily we checked with an arabic speaker and found out that the phrase we selected actually meant --'the bottom of your foot'.    Obviously, not the best thing in the world.  

We'll, we kept our search going and found the name A'Diva which means 'gentle' , and we kinda liked the double meaning with being 'diva's' as well.     We've lived with that name through several years together and have enjoyed every minute.   We just learned, however, that there is another meaning for A'Diva and that is pleasure and pain....  Now we love our name even more -- because it truly defines who we are.