how to make the trains run on time

Why is it that belly-dance events never run on time? I pondered this last night, as I had to leave a wonderful performance early (or rather, when it was scheduled to end). It was great to have that ability, as usually when I'm a performer, I have to stay at least until my own performance is scheduled. At the mercy of a club owner, I once waited 2 hours to perform - I was asked to arrive an hour early - and went on an hour late. That's not fair. When it's a big hafli or show with other dancers, there are of course so many variables to control, and sometimes organizers are kind enough to allow people to change the order of the show to perform earlier (as Meiver did for Seyyide on Friday night, who had a family obligation).

So I thought I should look at this as a project manager (my day job). I am producing a show this year, my first, and I do not want it to run late, for the sake of the audience and the performers both. So what are the reasons that it happens? Obviously no organizer wants her show to be delayed; so what happens? What seemingly out-of-control events occur that could be mitigated or avoided in advance? In Project Management, we call this risk management - identifying potential issues before they happen, taking actions to avoid or reduce their impact, and having contingency plans for when they occur.

In belly dance, we are often dealing with people from other cultures, whether it's Arabic culture, or Latin American culture, or North American culture. Our performers come from every part of the world. Some cultures, like North American culture, are monochronic; whereas others, like Latin America, are polychronic. [Succinct explanation here: http://www.csub.edu/TLC/options/resources/handouts/fac_dev/culturalbarries.html]

While one person might value a relationship over timeliness (perhaps waiting for a performer to be ready to go on, or waiting for all the ticket-buyers to take their seats), another person might drive towards a deadline by saying "If you're not here at X time, I'm starting the show without you." The latter attitude risks harming your relationship with the performer, who may have a valid reason to be there late. But the prior attitude may upset/frazzle people who have tight time schedules to meet. On the other hand, some organizers demand that all performers are at the site and in costumes hours before the show, in order to ensure promptness from the chronically tardy belly-dance community ... and if one goes too far with that, the performers just ignore your rule or are bothered by your need to control. I know I've been upset if asked to be in an uncomfortable costume and full makeup for hours, and the show still runs inevitably late. The point is - things happen to delay us - and how we deal with them depends on our cultural background and personal preferences.

So I put a lot of thought into how I could make this comfortable for everyone for Raks Nativity, showing respect for everyone's time, by preparing well in advance. Certainly I can arrive at the site early, and begin setting up, and I can ask others to do so as well. I can allot more than enough time for people to get dressed and made-up. I can prepare the technology in advance, testing it the night before in our Tech Rehearsal.

In Project Management, there is also great value in "lessons learned", learning from past experiences from your own life and others. So I ask you, dancers, organizers, audience members: What else can go wrong? And what else can I do to ensure that everything runs smoothly?