For more than a year, Sha-Awit Raqis entertained
and wowed the Hampton Roads area with their fun
and high energy cabaret belly dance style. "Sha-awit"
translates from Egyptian into "cheeky
playfulness". The dancers of Sha-Awit embraced
their moniker whole-heartedly, choreographing
humor-inspired dances to songs like "Walk Like
an Egyptian" and the old Muppet Show favorite "Mananama"
along with high skill level traditional cabaret
pieces, often bringing audiences to laughter and
impassioned applause.
On December 1, 2007, Sha-Awit Raqis performed
their last cabaret routine at BodyWorks by
Chandani's Annual Christmas at Waterside show.
At that same show, they unveiled their new belly
dance path: American Tribal Style.
With months of training in American Tribal
Style, under the leadership of FatChance
BellyDance General Skills certified Rebekah
James, Sha-Awit Raqis decided to fully embrace
the intense strength and spirituality of
American Tribal Style belly dance. Dancing
solely the original version of ATS, that
designed by Carolena Nericcio of San Francisco's
FatChance BellyBance, Sha-Awit Raqis is now
Sha-Awit Tribal.
