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Lotus Niraja · 04-15-2008, 10:56 PM

Hello Maria.

The NDC members have informed me about this topic. I apologize for the delay, as my schedule keeps me traveling and busy. Thank you Makeda, Jahzaal, Ameena, and Sehar for filling in the details for me.

First thank you for the compliments. It is nice to know that we are also appreciated outside of our national borders.

Let me see if I can answer some of your questions, especially since they have already been tackled!

1. How the group was formed? in time? by auditions, it just happened between a group of friend dancers that shared the same vission?

The NDC did not start out as friends, but as strangers who came together and created a family. The NDC began as a desire. My 'desire' to take bellydance to a professional performance level with a team effort. In 2004, I had a group of dancers that were mostly hobbyist. We had fun, but I desired a traveling dance team of dedicated dancers with a focus on theatrical arts. I was blessed with several dancers that wanted to take troupe dancing to a new level with higher standards. I began with 3 dedicated members that eventually grew to 6.

Presently, we are an audition-only troupe. Like most professional dance companies, one must apply and be selected to join. We keep the audition process serious with not just the talent portion, but with an interview segment. We also do a drill down of what a typical day, typical week, and a typical year is like for the NDC. We tell you yes, it is fun, but it can be tiresome. You miss your family and it is a considerable investment of time and finances. We are up front from the beginning that this may not for some people. Then, we narrow the line up down and the NDC ladies themselves select the final members. But…it does not end there! All new members must complete a probationary period before we obligate you to a contract. If you change your mind, there are no hard feelings. We also have a wonderful group of associate dancers that perform with us on a regular basis, but cannot commit to troupe rigors at the present time. These individuals are like family also!

2. How many hours you work together?
We work many, many hours. Not just in rehearsal, but also in monthly troupe meetings, outings and also brainstorming sessions to collaborate on choreography, costuming, events, and gigs. We spend a lot of time together and being a close group of hard working ladies makes it easier! It is not a stretch to say we rehearse upwards to 3-4 days out of a week at least 3 hours times a week. This time is very precious to us, as it is a creative time and a bonding time also.

3. How you decided to get into designing your own costumes?
My mother, MAZ, is our costume guru. My mother feeds off of our choreography and my design ideas. I cannot draw to save my life

, but MAZ can sketch any idea with colors, swatches, layers, designs, etc. She helps bring my ideas to life. MAZ has a degree in Art & Design and has worked in the design industry for numerous years before making bellydance costumes. In her youth and during her tenure as a dancer with a dance company (not Bellydance), she became familiar with dance costuming. So I enjoy originality in costuming and dedicated handwork, plus the benefits of working close to someone I cherish and love in a business relationship.

4. Do you have a life beside all this??????
Oh, yes. I have a wonderful husband and niece that I consider my daughter. Two fur babies (dogs) that are spoiled and command a lot of attention. My husband I both ride touring motorcycles and we love to travel on holiday internationally. I also do a lot of volunteer work, my focus being on at-risk teens and the elderly.

5. The results are the leader's ideas or you work as a group also?
Both. The general idea begins as mine, the Director's. I select what we want to represent and then I allow ample time and space for creativity from the NDC members. An idea that is not used today may possibly be used tomorrow! This keeps me from being a dictator, but gives me control of what is performed on stage. The NDC and I both have the power to veto each other. I listen to them. They are a very intelligent group of women, so I can't put much past them

. We have known each other so long, they can pretty much run themselves. In The NDC, everyone is given a voice; there are no drones, back up dancers, or underlings. Everyone is a force to be reckoned with, just each in her own unique way. I love that about us!

6.I really love that you are all real everyday juicy women away from the skeleton/anorexia type that is showed from tv and media, did you ever had a problem with this, with people hirring you etc?
Never! We stay busy. It has actually given us a platform and has made us even more unique. In a crowd of bellydancing troupes, we stand out in various ways. At first, it was quite novel, now I believe it has given us an edge that sets us apart from dance groups. Although we range from sizes (US) 4 – 16, our various sizes have polarized other dancers to accept themselves and to help put a visual on dancers of all shapes and colors.

7.What is your dreams as a group and individuals?
To entertain our audience and to make them happy. That has always been our dreams and goals from the very beginning, as it is now. That is most important to us. Our audience ALWAYS comes first.

8.How you compine such variety in different styles of oriental dance? and everything be WOW!!!
The NDC is comprised of various cultures, religions, races, etc. so our theme stew pot goes pretty deep! We take various aspects of our current lives and put them onto the stage. There may be a Middle Eastern song that may be telling our story, so we will dance to that. Every dance term, we decide what our message will be. Our style is modern and contemporary, but we love Raks Sharki and all the classics. We love the option of fusing it all together or breaking it apart and dancing to a classical song that melts you heart!

Thanks for the opportunity to talk about The NDC. I hope your program goes well!!

All my best,

Lotus Niraja
Lotus Niraja - Shimmilicious!
Shimmilicious!

04-15-2008, 10:56 PM	#10 (permalink)
Lotus Niraja Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: USA, heart of PR Posts: 1	Hello Maria. The NDC members have informed me about this topic. I apologize for the delay, as my schedule keeps me traveling and busy. Thank you Makeda, Jahzaal, Ameena, and Sehar for filling in the details for me. First thank you for the compliments. It is nice to know that we are also appreciated outside of our national borders. Let me see if I can answer some of your questions, especially since they have already been tackled! 1. How the group was formed? in time? by auditions, it just happened between a group of friend dancers that shared the same vission? The NDC did not start out as friends, but as strangers who came together and created a family. The NDC began as a desire. My 'desire' to take bellydance to a professional performance level with a team effort. In 2004, I had a group of dancers that were mostly hobbyist. We had fun, but I desired a traveling dance team of dedicated dancers with a focus on theatrical arts. I was blessed with several dancers that wanted to take troupe dancing to a new level with higher standards. I began with 3 dedicated members that eventually grew to 6. Presently, we are an audition-only troupe. Like most professional dance companies, one must apply and be selected to join. We keep the audition process serious with not just the talent portion, but with an interview segment. We also do a drill down of what a typical day, typical week, and a typical year is like for the NDC. We tell you yes, it is fun, but it can be tiresome. You miss your family and it is a considerable investment of time and finances. We are up front from the beginning that this may not for some people. Then, we narrow the line up down and the NDC ladies themselves select the final members. But…it does not end there! All new members must complete a probationary period before we obligate you to a contract. If you change your mind, there are no hard feelings. We also have a wonderful group of associate dancers that perform with us on a regular basis, but cannot commit to troupe rigors at the present time. These individuals are like family also! 2. How many hours you work together? We work many, many hours. Not just in rehearsal, but also in monthly troupe meetings, outings and also brainstorming sessions to collaborate on choreography, costuming, events, and gigs. We spend a lot of time together and being a close group of hard working ladies makes it easier! It is not a stretch to say we rehearse upwards to 3-4 days out of a week at least 3 hours times a week. This time is very precious to us, as it is a creative time and a bonding time also. 3. How you decided to get into designing your own costumes? My mother, MAZ, is our costume guru. My mother feeds off of our choreography and my design ideas. I cannot draw to save my life, but MAZ can sketch any idea with colors, swatches, layers, designs, etc. She helps bring my ideas to life. MAZ has a degree in Art & Design and has worked in the design industry for numerous years before making bellydance costumes. In her youth and during her tenure as a dancer with a dance company (not Bellydance), she became familiar with dance costuming. So I enjoy originality in costuming and dedicated handwork, plus the benefits of working close to someone I cherish and love in a business relationship. 4. Do you have a life beside all this?????? Oh, yes. I have a wonderful husband and niece that I consider my daughter. Two fur babies (dogs) that are spoiled and command a lot of attention. My husband I both ride touring motorcycles and we love to travel on holiday internationally. I also do a lot of volunteer work, my focus being on at-risk teens and the elderly. 5. The results are the leader's ideas or you work as a group also? Both. The general idea begins as mine, the Director's. I select what we want to represent and then I allow ample time and space for creativity from the NDC members. An idea that is not used today may possibly be used tomorrow! This keeps me from being a dictator, but gives me control of what is performed on stage. The NDC and I both have the power to veto each other. I listen to them. They are a very intelligent group of women, so I can't put much past them. We have known each other so long, they can pretty much run themselves. In The NDC, everyone is given a voice; there are no drones, back up dancers, or underlings. Everyone is a force to be reckoned with, just each in her own unique way. I love that about us! 6.I really love that you are all real everyday juicy women away from the skeleton/anorexia type that is showed from tv and media, did you ever had a problem with this, with people hirring you etc? Never! We stay busy. It has actually given us a platform and has made us even more unique. In a crowd of bellydancing troupes, we stand out in various ways. At first, it was quite novel, now I believe it has given us an edge that sets us apart from dance groups. Although we range from sizes (US) 4 – 16, our various sizes have polarized other dancers to accept themselves and to help put a visual on dancers of all shapes and colors. 7.What is your dreams as a group and individuals? To entertain our audience and to make them happy. That has always been our dreams and goals from the very beginning, as it is now. That is most important to us. Our audience ALWAYS comes first. 8.How you compine such variety in different styles of oriental dance? and everything be WOW!!! The NDC is comprised of various cultures, religions, races, etc. so our theme stew pot goes pretty deep! We take various aspects of our current lives and put them onto the stage. There may be a Middle Eastern song that may be telling our story, so we will dance to that. Every dance term, we decide what our message will be. Our style is modern and contemporary, but we love Raks Sharki and all the classics. We love the option of fusing it all together or breaking it apart and dancing to a classical song that melts you heart! Thanks for the opportunity to talk about The NDC. I hope your program goes well!! All my best, Lotus Niraja Lotus Niraja - Shimmilicious! Shimmilicious!