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.  

Time to fess up -- dancing to live music can be about as popular as pulling rotting teeth out of an alligator.   Dancing to live music can be exciting, but it can also come back and bite you.  The clever dancers have an easy solution which I'll provide at the end. But to bring this story home, let me offer a couple of examples:  

Challenge One:  What can happen when musicians are bored? After an evening with dozens of dancers, one particular drummer looked bored out of his mind.   During my drum solo,  the drummer decided he was going to play 'test the dancer', and changed the rhythm every 8 counts.   With a maniacal grin on his face, he finally settled into a rhythm that precisely matched the rhythm of "jingle bells" --it was after all December.    I struggled through -- twisting, stepping, and pop, locking with everything I had -- I think I pulled a hamstring and distended my colon in the process (only kidding).  

Challenge Two:   What can happen when musicians get nervous? Usually musicians have played together numerous times before they are in front of a live audience.   However, I recall one dark evening when a substitute musician was called in and they all stared at each other trying figure out what they were going to do. (Really a bad sign).   When the music started, the anxiety was noticeable because the music was being played at 3x the normal speed -- always a challenge for the dancers.    

So is there a trick to live music?     The clever dancers typically will ask the musicians to play one song they know --so know matter what they are dished out they have one polished performance they can hang their hats on.    To help you in this process, I've listed a number of popular songs for live musicians that they will most likely know.   


:A Ya Zein
Alf Lelya WahLeyla
Al Atlal
Ana Fi Intizarak
Ayeela Tayha (Lost Daughter)
Ayoub
Aziza
Bahlam Beek (I saw You In My Dreams)
Banat Iskandria
Batwanis Beek (I Desire You)
Bir Demet
Yasamin
Dala'a el Helween
Daret al Ayam
Enta Omri (You Are My Life)
El Houbbi Koullou
Fakkarouni
Gamil Gamal (Such Beauty)
Gan al Hawa
Ghannili Shwayyi Shwayyi
Habibi Ya Eini (My Love, My Eye)
Habibi Ya Nour El Ein (You Are The Light In My Eye)
HaniHarrraml Ahebbak
Hazar Fazar
Hebbina
HIzzi Ya Nawaeem
Hoss Bass or Hes Bes
Istemen Babajim
Lamma Bada
Lissa Fakir (Do You Still Remember?)
Leylet Hob
Mashaal
Me 'Alli Oultilu
Nebtidi Menein el Heykaya
Nour el Nain
Noura Noura
Rezah Rezah
Rompi Rompi
Salam Allay (My Lover Greeted Me)

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 

Drink Recipes:  Cozumel
1/2 oz Brandy
1/2 oz Coconut Cream
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Blue Caraco
1/2 oz  Light Rum
1/2 oz Vodka 

Blend really well,   And don’t drink and drive.  Served in a coconut adds to the look.  

Drink Recipe:  Lava Flow
 
1 oz light rum
1 oz Coconut rum
2 oz fresh or frozen strawberries
1 small banana
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz coconut cream

Blend 2 rums and strawberries and pour into tall glass.  Blend separately banana, coconut cream and pineapple juice with crushed ice.  Pour into the glass with rum and watch swish around……cool !    Must be served with umbrella for full effect ! 

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.  

Somehow, I jumped to the second post without getting things started properly on the Dancer's Rak Blog.