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”!!!
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Suhair Zaki

An’ Authentic Love of Dance’ always shines through!

A truly great Dance Artist is so much more than moves, steps, a perfect sense of rhythm,  awesome costuming and delightful looks! As much as these attributes are  necessary they are only the external ‘container’ for the true element that comprises ‘star quality’! The magical element that creates greatness is ‘Love’…and a Dancer’s ‘True Love of the Music and Dance’…expressed authentically…is the elixir that keeps us coming back for more!

Egyptian Dance legend Suheir Zaki has been gracing the stage and capturing our hearts for many years. In the Middle East she is loved so dearly that many refer to her as the ‘Oum Koulthoum of Dance’ ( rumour has it that late President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, gave her that title). That is quite a title considering that Oum Koulthoum is the ‘High Priestess’ of Arabic song! I don’t think you will find anyone in any Middle Eastern country that will deny the Great Talent of Oum Koulthoum…and, of course, you will find those that would take affront to giving even second billing to a ‘Dancer’..yet, for those who recognize Raqs Sharqi as Art…Suhair Zaki is a beloved Artist!  Suheir is also KNOWN to be the first dancer to perform on Oum Koulthoum’s music,( it is said … with her personal blessing).  Suheir Zaki has set the standard for the approach to Egyptian Dance on these classic treasures.  

Suheir Zaki’s sweet dance persona has remained with her throughout her career. Here is a clip from an Egyptian Movie when she was a VERY young teenager!
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“ Children Are Our Teachers”

When I was living in Lebanon it was always purely delightful and an education in movement to watch a little girl get up and dance. In family parties, there is always, it seems, a ‘little bright star’ that just loves to dance. The adults encourage her and everyone becomes totally inspired!

Usually one of the women gets a scarf and ties it around her hips..and off she goes!  The ‘Natural Movement’ of these little beauties is pure joy!

Here is a fantastic clip from an old Egyptian movie of a ‘Family Party’ with a ” Little Star’ that ‘gets the party started’ .. And Ends it!

What Fun!

After all that is what this dance is about..Fun…Joy…Beauty! That is the essence of dancing! Children are naturally in the spirit of dance.

This next clip was filmed by someone attending the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival in Cairo. This young girl got up on stage between the shows to ‘play around’… watch and learn! Read the rest of this entry »

Ahlan Wa Sahlan …Welcome to Juwariah…a Master Story Teller, and a woman of many talents, living a life of adventure.

The strait of Gibraltar is the narrow passage between Morocco and Spain.

An air cushion hydrofoil ferry was all I needed to make, more years ago than I care to count, the connection between Morocco and Spain—and more tellingly, between Oriental Dance and Spanish Flamenco.   The connection is more tenable than the ticket one buys to make the crossing. Still, seeing is believing.

The day after we arrived in Cadiz was a bank holiday. The same people who had sold us a postcard from a kiosk, a T shirt from a boutique, or who had served us a dish of Ceviche with bread at a street table did the unexpected: they walked out in the middle of the street and started dancing.

Flamenco in the streets.  Everyone was a bit more talented than I had expected (ever in my wildest dreams)  Sweet, hard working matrons of the day before were snapping their fingers, clacking their  castanets, and pounding around the pavement in high heels with  equally invigorated spouses—or whichever male neighbor decided to spring forward to partner them. Not that they couldn’t dance—and very well, thank you—alone. Here is a taste of Spanish Street Dancing.

I thought, “How very Spanish!”   I also thought here was living proof of Moorish Spain’s heritage—in addition to all those ancient Muslim castles so amazing the French refer to them in the expression “Don’t go building castles in Spain!” (In English, we say, “Don’t go building castles in the air!”) Read the rest of this entry »

First We Imitate Then We Create!

It is a natural progression of learning an art form, it seems, to imitate our teachers. In dance, through the process of imitating, we develop the movement skills, the rhythmic expression and nuance that we can internalize. By repetitively watching and following our teacher we gain the imprinted skills that allow us to experience our bodies in dance.

Once we develop a more extensive movement vocabulary we gain confidence in our abilities and we experience the desire to expand.

Hopefully, we have a teacher that points us to the resources, such as videos, DVD’s and YouTube, that will expose us to other dancers that will inspire and instruct us in our ‘learning journey’. The more we experience, through observation of the  ‘style’ of each dancer, the more inspired we become to express our own unique style.

I thought it might be interesting to watch a current ‘Star’ in Egypt, Randa Kamel. Although she has flavors of Egyptian Super Star Lucy..She is very innovative and definitely has her own unique style of Oriental Dance!
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Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Thank You for your Beauty!
Namaste… Michael !

Whatever has been said or will be said about Michael Jackson,one thing is for certain, he had a powerful gift and he gave it! He was a Bright Star amongst a ‘world of planets’!
What is the difference between a Planet and a Star?

“Stars are huge balls of hot gas that emit their own light . Stars burn hydrogen in their cores and have nuclear fusion going on inside. A planet does not have nuclear fusion. A planet is a world like the Earth. Unlike stars, planets get their light from the Sun.”

Stars emit their own light…Planets only reflect light!

Michael Jackson gave his light through every possible aspect of Music and Dance! From a Dancer’s perspective his movement was truly ‘Stellar’ ….the visual he created with his ‘moonwalk’ and all of his dancing, expanded our perception of the human body, movement and gravity!
Michael was truly a ‘Cosmic Dancer’!

Here is a montage of Michael’s Best Dance Moves! (if your time is limited..don’t miss ’3:34′ time on the vid…Wow!) Read the rest of this entry »

A Marriage Made in Heaven…..

The Arabic Drum is the heartbeat…the sounds of the fingers on the Drum skin stirs the Dancer’s soul..makes it quiver…the body responds…movement is born!

If the elements of Oriental Dance are a metaphor for Life…then the Drum Solo is ‘Elemental Fire’!

Here is a famous clip of Egyptian Dance Legend Najwa Fouad ‘On Fire”!

Najwa, in pure abandon with the drum is a demonstration of the ‘primal’ quality of  the relationship of Dancer and Drum.

Notice how she opens with the spin and then becomes almost rooted to the spot where she stands. The shimmy and vibration originates from the hips as it moves up into the abdomen and is then fueled by the chest shimmies and lifts! Her beautiful arm movements create a lifting and dropping momentum that enhances the crescendo of  chest and hip pops and shimmies! The ‘fire’ builds with the crashing cymbals and drums and leaps up to powerful head movements as she lets loose in a finale of wild abandon!  A classic Najwa piece!

In addition to the ‘Drum Solo’ there is another wonderful Dancer and Drummer show in Lebanon that Howaida Hachem is famous for… Read the rest of this entry »

Stand (and shimmy) by your Man!

Often Americans and Europeans think of Oriental Dance as only a performance dance. In the Middle East, the dance is the cultural dance of the people. All women do this dance…little girls learn to dance watching their mothers, sisters, aunts and other women in parties (haflas) weddings and just family gatherings. Women of all ages dance..as in any country. The movement is the natural movement of the culture to the music of the culture.

I thought it would be fun, from a learning perspective,in terms of natural movement and style, to see some classic representations of Egyptian women ‘ Dancing for their Man’ from Egyptian movies.Watching  from this personal and intimate perspective illuminates many aspects of the dance!

Here is Sahar Hamdi in an Egyptian film..’Dancing for her Man’.. Oops! or is that someone else’s man?..Oh Well..It’s cute and fun!!!

This clip shows the light hearted entertainment quality of the dance in the Middle East. Whether it is on stage or in the privacy of an intimate setting, the nature of this dance is ‘Fun’ seduction.

There is just something about seeing an Egyptian actress dancing in their nightie, gallabaya, or home dress…with a scarf tied around their hips that emphasizes the pure joy of this dance!

Here is a treasure with Aida Ryad dancing!
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To Understand Baladi is to feel the heart of Oriental Dance!

I have often been asked over the years to explain  Baladi ….

The word Baladi…also transliterated as..Beledi..Balady..etc…literally means ‘My Country’ yet refers to not only the country but also the village or region of origin. As people left their villages to go to cities for economic reasons, they still held  ’baladi’  in their heart.

Baladi is also a ‘Style’ of dance. It is the dance of the people. In Egypt, Baladi is the type of dancing you will find in village and urban weddings and parties. It is also classically part of the Raks Sharki show.

  The costume is usually a ‘dressy’ form of ‘Thobe’ or Gallabiyah’ which is the long straight robe with sleeves and often slits on both sides. A scarf or belt is worn over it at the hips. The variations on this theme are limitless and each one is beautiful and expressive of the ‘regional culture’ of the music and dancer. 

Here is a short clip of Egyptian Superstar FiFi Abdou doing a ‘Baladi’ section of her show in an outdoor venue in Ismallia Egypt. Fifi was known in the beginning of her career as a ‘Baladi’ Dancer or as often quoted, ” a dancer for the people”. In this show she comes out with the ‘malaya’ a heavy,usually black, wrap that is a prop used in ‘Malaya Leff ’ a  “street dance ‘ of Iskandaria ( Alexandria) Egypt….( you will see it on her exit) and then she picks up the cane (Assaya)…Just a taste of Baladi, Fifi style… Read the rest of this entry »

 Do we have confusion about fusion?

I thought it was very interesting that recently a Belly Dancer was in the Semi-Finals of Britain’s Got Talent! Actually she is from Latvia, Julia Naidenko..a beautiful girl and she can move.  When I saw it I was not inspired because she was dancing to a western pop song, Moulin Rouge. I just couldn’t ‘feel’ her dance.  

 After a bit of research I discovered that the song was selected by the Britain’s Got Talent people, behind the scenes. Julia wanted to dance to a drum solo yet, the usual ‘talent management brokers’ were once again deciding what would be appealing to the public.
You Decide!
Here is a short clip..(the only one that would allow me to embed…embedding suspended at YouTube for Julia!!)

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