Little Egypt

Princesses… Great Exhibitions..Side Shows…Charmers…and…

What happens when Men get all up in our Dance….

I was fascinated when I discovered some YouTube clips from the late 1800′s and early 1900′s of Oriental Dance ( then named Belly Dance.. the English version of the French phrase ‘Danse du ventre’… Dance of the stomach)…when it was first introduced to the West…it seems that Thomas Edison not only found a way to put a ‘meter’ on electricity but through film also helped put a ‘meter’ on our lovely dance! You want to ‘Play’ you gotta ‘Pay’ !!!!!

 We have all heard of ‘Little Egypt’ , The Chicago World Fair, and Promoter, Sol Bloom…if not, here is a brief rundown…from Molly Crabapple’s Blog

” Sol Bloom (Pekin, Illinois, March 9, 1870–1949), was the son of Polish Jews. He started in show biz at seven, managing theatres by his early teens. At the age of twenty-two, he talked his way into the Midway commission at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Initially conceived of as an anthropology exhibit, under Bloom’s lead the Midway became a fleshier, more sinful counterpoint to Chicago’s White City. He imported hookahs, African villages, and the belly dancer Little Egypt, who entertained in a special “men only” tent. Bloom composed his most famous tune after Little Egypt complained about not being able to dance to classical waltzes. He never trademarked it, much to his regret.”

We don’t have a film of Little Egypt…but…here are Thomas Edison Company’s silent black and white clips of ‘Belly Dance’!

This first one is Princess Ali.. circa 1895..seems this is an Algerian..Berber Scarf Dance..

Brief yet wonderful!

Then from 1898 here is a clip of a ‘Turkish Dance’ by Ella Lola….is she Turkish? Not Sure… but she gives it a whirl! 

And Last but certainly NOT least is the ultimate..filmed by ‘American Mutoscope and Biograph Company…of Princess Rajah…Warning!!! “Don’t Try This At Home”!!!

Now THAT is way better than snakes!!!

But then again…if it wasn’t for the men…we would not have these treasures to watch…So..Thanks boys! and besides…even if we dancing women have been exploited by the ‘Entertainment Industry Moguls’…and lesser versions of promoters and producers…the fact is that we Dancers are Happy because we live a life of passion, fun and Dance! So…Who’s Zoomin Who?

It is also interesting to note that on the other side of the coin… (pun intended)…it was a Woman that ‘birthed’ Raks Sharki in Egypt. Badia Masabni, a Lebanese dancer, came to Cairo to work. In 1926 she opened the Casino Badia nightclub which catered to the Upper Class and foreign visitors. She was very successful and then in the 1940′s she opened another club called Casino Opera.

Badia blended  western dance elements with traditional Oriental Dance movements and created what we know today as Raks Sharki. The Great Stars of the Golden Age such as Tahia Carioca, Samia Gamal, and Naima Akef came to fame from Casino Opera. In addition singers and musicians also got their start from Badia…Late greats like Farid Alatrach and Mohamed Abdel Wahab were two Super Stars of the Golden Age that have a woman to thank for the venue to expose their wonderful talent!

Here is a Priceless Treasure…a clip of a Cinema Advertisement for Casino Badia…With Badia herself singing and playing sagat (Zills)…Tahia Carioka is one of the back up dancers!

Ahhh! Nothing like a woman’s touch! Classically feminine!

Ok…fast forward to 2002 and Miles Copeland…the man who created the Bellydance Superstars…in an article from the SFGate,  Miles proclaims the following…

“Once I realized dancing was as interesting as the music,’ said Copeland, “to me it was even more interesting because you could develop stars. There are no stars in dancing. In a world with no stars, I can make stars. That’s fun for me.”

Indeed, Mr. Copeland…what sky have you been gazing upon?

Oh well..Maleesh (it’s ok)…we all see what we want to see! Besides, if you click on the above link you can hear all he has to say about his Superstar Vision…he does have some points of redemption!

Here is a Belly Dance Superstar Show Trailer…Entrance Of The Stars.

Miles and Miles of Stars! Some Stars are Made…Some Stars just ARE!

Whatever can be said about this Beautiful Art Form..one thing is for sure…whether men promote it..exploit it…or try to eradicate it…from East to West…it Raks On ….From Origin to Destiny!