HER DANCERS

Accompanying the diminutive diva would be four backup dancers at every performance. That was a suggestion from Shakira that the record company agreed to incorporate for the launch of the album in various cities. The dancers, who were chosen by audition, also had to know how to sing, since they would perform the chorus and any masculine voices. César Navarro, Guillermo Gómez, Mauricio Pinilla, and Richard Ricardo were chosen. Like Shakira, they were all from Bar ranquilla and two of them had attended the Academia de Modelaje Passarela. As such, there was a good working environment and good communication among the five of them

As soon as her team was chosen, they all began to take dance classes with two well-known choreographers, Gary Julio and Ray Silva, and a couple of months before the record was launched they started rehears ing. According to one of them, César Navarro, who was also her lead ing man in the video for"Magia," Shakira was unstoppable. When everyone was finished rehearsing, Shakira would stay behind to prac tice the movements over and over or to do some sort of exercise routine. "Those of us who knew her at that time," says César, "we'd say, `huh, this girl is going to make it far.' She had an incredible talent, she composed easily, she was extremely sensitive, affectionate, and tender." Shakira would go to the rehearsals dressed comfortably, in shorts and a T shirt or, if there was no time to change, in her school uni form. Often she had to finish her homework after rehearsals. But she had enough energy for everything: school, rehearsals, homework, and singing lessons. The little girl was living her dream, and no one was going to wake her up. She was happy. After almost three months of preproduction, working with the songs and rehearsing the chore ography, she recorded Magia, an album comprised of eight songs she had written between the ages of eight and twelve.

According to César Navarro, working with Shakira was fun and re laxing. It was easy to be with her, not only on stage but also off. She talked with everyone to make sure they were happy and that they had what they needed. If she detected even the smallest distress, she asked about it, listened, and gave advice. "She is like that, she feels others' problems as if they're her own." He remembers her as a very sensitive person and full of positive energy. "She was a tireless worker, but more than anything, performing was a total blast," he said.

Despite the weak sales of the album, Shakira's shows with her dancers almost always sold out and the audience invariably ended up dancing in the aisles. More than once they drove the audience wild, literally. For example, while performing the principle number in Riohacha in an interschools festival, Shakira; Nidia, and the dancers ended the show running down the halls of the school trying to escape fans who wanted to hug and kiss them. As César Navarro remembers, after running for half an hour, they had to lock themselves in a class room, but the crowd was so unruly that the girls ended up breaking down the door. It was quite a scare: due to the suffocating heat, Nidia ended up fainting inside the classroom. Shakira tried to help her, but there was not much she could do. Finally, the police arrived and Shakira, Nidia, and the dancers were able to leave the school, scratched and bitten, but intact thanks to the police. Something similar happened at a show in Maicao, where the stage was accessible to the audience. A man went up to Shakira and gave her flowers and a kiss. Later another man, this one drunk, started hugging Shakira and refused to let go. She became very frightened. She could n't even bring the microphone to her mouth because her arm was stuck under the blubbering man's arm. The dancers had to intervene to save the petite singer from the arms of that fan and many others that had joined him. In the end the situation got so out of control that they had to retreat to their dressing rooms and were unable to finish the show