I went out to dinner last night. I took Scott and invited several people from my work to go out and eat *moroccan* food at the Casablanca, in Old Town, Alexandria. PLUS! my Belly Dance teacher *Bonita* performed.

The Casablanca was a very *ethnic* resturant. I guess it would have to if you were to eat moroccan food in a moroccan homestyle resturant vs somthing that looks like a mom and pop joint. It had very intimate lighting, and the walls were all done up in green and red. You even get to sit at a couch to eat.

First of all, I have NEVER eaten moroccan food. Apparently they don't use untensils. This was a very new expericence and quite fun at the same time. You get to eat off a giant GONG! *well it looked like a gong*, only about knee high. As I said earlier, you sit at a couch with LOTS of pillows on it and if you wanted a chair, there was a chair to sit at. This gives you, the viewer a good view of the dance floor.

I think the people that run the Casablanca got a kick out of our group. NONE of us knew what to pick off the menu, how to eat it ect. Our waiter was most amused and actually liked telling us how to eat our dinner. First of all, they make you wash your hands before you eat. They pour warm/hot water over your hands in a brass basin and give you a white towel for your hands to dry on and to use as your napkin.

THE FOOD: Appetizer-cold cucumber/potato/carrot/eggplant salad. They also served a filo dough filled with lamb/cinnamon and other spices. It was sweet, almost like a dessert.* I gave this filo dough stuff a thumbs up!* Main course- *really spicy* chicken and beef kabobs. Dessert was mint tea! They pour it in a very elaborate style too. *about a foot above the glass-yes glass, no mug!* Overall, the food was really good. I'd go there again to eat*cept that I don't think I have ever eaten so much damn bread in my life!! Flat bread too!*. BUT, its not for people that are in a time crunch. It took 3 hours to eat the dinner. The time between courses was great, and you did not get rushed about eating ect...

THE SHOW!!!! My teacher, Bonita, was the first to perform. She did turkish/egyptian style dance. She wore a turksish style turquoise dress with LOTS of fringe! PLUS, she wore shoes. *from what I have read from a belly dance FAQ, turkish dancers always wear shoes* It was a really neat costume. Her first dance was a routine she has been teaching us in class. Dancing to SUERTE , by Shakira. *VERY COOL* Other music was an arabic (might have been persian) version of Tequila (!), and other egyptian and turkish music. Linda, one of my friends at work, recognized one of the songs from Quebec since it was in french. Bonita also did routines with canes, veil and sword. The sword dance was really really impressive. She balaced a scimitar on head and proceeded to bend backwards with it still on her head, not moving once. *COOL!* Her performance lasted a good 1/2 hour of basically non stop dancing. Everyone was impressed by all the shimmying, stomach fluttering. Everyone in my group gave Bonita a double thumbs up!!

There was also another dancer that did not dance with any props. She did wear a green and gold glitsy outfit that had 2 cutouts on the side to show some skin. It was a one piece dress. She was also barefoot. Everyone in my group kept commenting that you must have to have a large head of curly hair to be a belly dancer. Both Bonita and this other dancer have LOTS of hair, and it is very curly.

Did I tell you my teacher spotted me? She also came out after her routine to say hello to the 4 students *out of 20 somthing* that showed up. Sat down next to me and asked why I did not get up and dance. "So my little bambina, how come you did not get up to dance with me"? *blank look on face, afraid to talk- "um...I dunno, I'm not very good at this. -I even have a hard time looking at my teacher in the face, and she is nice! GAK!! there must be somthing wrong with me* Small chit chat* did I get my new flyer in the mail from the City to sign up for the next beginner advanced class- NO, fucking city has not sent them out yet and they won't let you register by mail!* Hopefully they will be in this week. That was it. She also said I was a good student, and was ready to go to the beginner advanced *woowoo!*

Other than that, that was the night in a nutshell. Everyone had a great time. I'd go again..

ps.. In May, there is a dance recitle for the beginner advanced class...I'll keep ya posted.