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Love, Hugs and Happy Wishes…
Kathreen
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Delilah
The old fashion belly dance, the way I learned it, was not by choreography. It was live in a cabaret environment. The party atmosphere made things come up spontaneously that made choreography not very realistic. Sometimes the dance would stay on the stage and other times it was someone’s birthday and the dance moved around the room. Audience members made song requests and sometimes would sing low yearning poems into the microphones during my dance. The audience loved when the dancer came out into the audience and interacted with them. Most of the parties and restaurants I danced in hosted families and little kids were encouraged to put tips in my waist band. Many performances were sacred sacraments of divine grace under a mirror ball and some, down right rowdy and profane, with Greek sailors showering dancers with hundreds of dollar bills. In the 70’s I danced for 45 minutes per show. There was not one hair on my head that wasn’t soaked in sweat. My stamina was incredible and I felt like a cosmic astronaut, rocketing into out of this world trance spaces. In tribal society the trance is a big part of the dance. Dance is a means of prayer from the beginning of time. The tarab is divine ecstasy the listener gets into as part of the experience of the music. The dancer is a vessel; a container of the human interface.
This unique experience is valuable and transfers something vital to our soul experience. Today’s technical world is sadly lacking, as we sit addicted to our physically passive computer screens.
You use what you know and you create your dance in the moment. You can do this effectively if you know 5 moves or 500 moves. To me, this wildness is an exceptional opportunity in dance that should be revered and held on high. Not that it negates choreography. It’s just that at this point in society we have many dances that are contained and choreographed and fewer options that are un choreographed and free. Improvisational dance holds essential skills that benefit our life experience in important ways.
Improvisational dance doesn’t mean you don’t study rhythms, music, learn moves, develop your skill set, practice combos, condition the body and work to increase flexibility and endurance. It doesn’t mean you don’t have an intended destination either. You just navigate differently. Your moves become your paints. When we as the audience watch an improvisational belly dance, we are witnessing the painter painting. The dancer shares the live creative process with you. She listens carefully to the music and opens her heart and soul to be like a tuning fork and resonate with the vibrations in the air, using time and space. With each breath she is inspired to unfold the next movement in time. The spirit provided the force behind the motion. We call this dynamics. We all are individuals and this is an opportunity for individuality to shine. The challenge is to be relaxed enough to allow the exhibitionist to step forward. There lies the hitch. We are told at an early age not to show off. Don’t indulge yourself. This comes from our old puritan roots. However all artists are indulging the stuff that makes up their lives. We call this expression. The “don’t touch your own body policy” is just a stupid lack of appreciation for the marvelous gift of life you have been given. So check to see if that’s in the back of your brain and get rid of it, if you want to really dance. Whether you are dancing for yourself or for an audience or both, you must be open and susceptible to your emotions. Available, vulnerable and shameless.
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”While I Dance I cannot Judge,
I cannot Hate
I cannot Seperate Myself from Life.
I can Only Be Joyful and Whole.
That is WHY I Dance”.
Hans Bos
There is that ‘throbing’ place in each and every one of us, that contains all of the beauty we can imagine. It is there.. ALWAYS… if we allow it. It is the Heart set Free!
This beautiful dance we share is a “Fiery Chariot” that allows us to let loose of that ‘little self’ and soar passionately into the Beautiful Being that we Are!
To me, Valentines Day is a day of Beauty… as Love and Beauty are One.
What Beauty we have in the World of Oriental Dance!
So… to all of the Sweet Hearts… A song I LOVE!!! “Ya Tayeb Al Qalb’ ( Your Sweet Heart)………
Originally sung by Abdul Majeed Abdullah from Saudi Arabia.
The lyrics of the chorus are as follows..(A loose translation)…
“Oh, One with the sweet heart…
Where are you?
It is wrong to leave your lover.
I miss you….Oh, My Life.
Maybe your tenderness will bring you back.
Oh, My eyes long for your eyes.
Oh, the One with the sweet heart…
Where are you?”
Here is ‘Our beloved Egyptian Dancer FiFi Abdo’ on Lebanese TV..dancing to a Saudi song…in a cocktail dress! You Gotta love it!!!
And here is the music video of Abdul Majeed Abdullah singing ‘Ya Tayeb Al Qalb’..
Saudi Style!!! Wonderful!!! Read the rest of this entry »
painting by Saad El Girgawi
The term “Baladi” is an important word for every Egyptian whose life and traditions identify him or her with the soil of Egypt, the original country.”
Suraya Hilal
Baladi and Sha’abi in Egyptian Dance and Music is mostly misunderstood from the Western perspective. Since Baladi is the ‘Heart as well as the Root’ of Middle Eastern Dance, Danse Oriental, Raks Sharki, and what we call Belly Dance, to understand it becomes essential in order to truly appreciate and experience the movement and music of this beautiful art form.
If we take this dance and apply it to our own cultural perspective, we are applying a veneer of movement that can only portray an interpretation devoid of the ‘Origin and Feeling’ of the music. Certainly that is an option. Yet, we might consider how much richer and more joyful our dance experience might be if we understand the ‘Feel’ and Power of the ‘Baladi Personae’ expressed in the music and movement.
Suraya Hilal of the HilalArt Foundation in the UK, has written a very insightful paper on this subject, of which I am only introducing here. It is well worth reading ‘The Baladi Personae In Egyptian Dance and Music’ .
In her illuminating paper Surya Hilal brings to light the passionate cultural, socio-economic expression that Baladi and Sha’abi Music and Dance are…a tradition that was born of the soil of Egypt.
“Awalad el Balad ( the children of the country)… The term describes the particular identity of the working class people, the people who have migrated from rural villages and farming communities and settled in the cities, creating their own kind of community. Awalad el Balad is also a term that refers to the “real Egyptian” , or ” Masri Asil”, as opposed to the Western occupiers and Westernized Egyptians, known as “Afrang”. This is an important distinction for Egyptians, who have been ruled by foreigners for long periods of their history.”
The Baladi community of lower middle class origin, people of trade and craft, including the trade and craft of the artist, singer dancer, adhered to a strong code of ethics. The true Egyptian is ‘gada’a', for men and ‘gada’ah, for women…good, honorable, courageous and responsible…which includes the singers dancers and musicians that live by ‘the ethics of the Baladi tradition.’
Baladi music and dancing were taking place for decades, even before the turn of the 20th Century, in the main Sha’abi Quarter of Cairo, Mohammad Ali Street.
“In the city, the term Sha’abi’ is loosely used to mean ‘popular’, of the masses or populace. Baladi people, with their distinct and traditional-modern culture, have their origins in the ” Balad”, the village or countryside. They live in Sha’abi quarters such as Bulaq or Mohammad Ali Street.” Suraya Hilal further explains that ” From this urban struggle of opposites emerges the essential expression of the Baladi character, in the music, the dance and the personae which were so well portrayed in the films of the 1940′s and 1950′s.Their yearning for truth and goodness and the simple life gives meaning to their struggles in the urban chaos. The depth of the soul and the bitter-sweet nature of life are reflected in the Baladi culture, especially in music and song.”
Here is Naima Akef in an old Egyptian film that depicts the Balady Personae…and the female singer singing “the ‘Mawaal’ the soulful improvisation of the voice… ”
The distinction of the true Shaabi music and singers is that it is from the Upper Egypt (Sai’di) and Fallahi (farming community) musical traditions.
‘Early on in the 1960′s the famous Mohammad Taha was one of the first singers to bridge the gap between the Baladi and Sha’abi song and to urbanise and popularise his songs.” (S. Hilal)
I had the privilege to meet Mohammad Taha and watch him perform in San Diego in the 70′s! What an experience!
I found this clip from an old Egyptian film of Mohammad Taha singing and Gawaher, a realitivly unknown Belly Dancer circa 1962.
” The dancer’s body is simply the luminous manifestation of the soul.”
Isadora Duncan
It came to me that this subject of the’ Language of Oriental Dance’ has, seemingly, many layers.
It is evident , from my own experience, and the years of witnessing and hearing about other women’s experience, that we unanimously agree that this dance is transformative. Regardless of our initial motive to learn to Belly Dance, the experience of the dance, the music and movement, the feminine quality, the fun and sisterhood…and the profound feeling of confidence ,clarity and connection with our spirit that we each develop and experience is the captivating gift we all share!
Just as Isadora Duncan, in the early 1900′s, created her own version of dance based on the themes of Greek Mythology, ‘Belly Dance’ in the Western world, particularly in America, has evolved it’s own mythology!
” Virtually alone, Isadora restored dance to a high place among the arts. Breaking with convention, Isadora traced the art of dance back to it’s roots as a sacred art.”
The restrictive and repressive era of Isadora was the catalyst for her to find a ‘template’ based on a cultural foundation to express her passion and spirit in a free and natural form of movement.
In the 60′s and 70′s in America women were also seeking ways to break free of convention. The ‘template’ of Oriental Dance which became labeled as ‘Belly Dance’ in the West provided not only the cultural foundation but the very essence of free and natural feminine movement!
Arabic music with it’s ‘Heartbeat’ rhythms, exciting, exotic sounds and melodies, along with the powerful movements of Oriental Dance, allowed the Western woman to enter an unfamiliar portal that opened the floodgates of creativity, personal power and freedom!
In the same way that Isadora ‘created’ a form of dance, based on what she imagined might have been in an ancient culture, we American dancers from the 70′s and beyond ‘created’ Belly Dance from what we only could imagine it to be…given our limited knowledge and exposure to the culture of it’s origins at that time.
Also, like Isadora, those of us that burned with the passion of our new found ‘freedom of expression and art’ sought to elevate ‘Belly Dance’ to a ‘high place among the arts’.
At the same time, in the land of it’s origins,the women of Oriental Dance were creating an equally powerful phenomenon within Middle Eastern Culture. The Oriental Dance Stars from Egypt and Lebanon,such as Najwa Fouad, Suhair Zake, Fifi Abdou, Mona El Said and Nadia Gamal, were actively evolving this Dance from it’s traditional origins, with the aid of the sweeping power of the film industry and tourism, to a popular and elevated stature on stage and silver screen!
It is interesting to note that although Oriental Dance and it’s Western forms of Belly Dance finds it’s expression as a Performance Art, at the same time, it is also, in both cultures, an experience of ‘Collective Joy!’ In the Middle East the women dance with and for each other in women’s parties,( Haflas) and gatherings just as Western women Dance together in classes, workshops and Haflas. In both instances this dance allows women to share sisterhood, joy and creativity in an environment that supports an experience of dance in freedom and abandon!
Here is a treasure from a Documentary of Moroccan Women Dancing in a Birth of a Child Celebration!
At the root of it all, the desire for individual and collective joy is the impetus to dance and to share our dancing with others. Whether we are alone on a stage or in a gathering, when the music calls, our soul responds and we call it ‘Dance’ !
Here is a wonderful video I just discovered that depicts the fun and pure joy that can emerge from even the most seemingly austere and grey surroundings! This is an ‘After New years’ gathering in Bulgaria…I believe this is actually called ‘Kucheck’ yet it seems to have Oriental Dance roots!
Cold weather…Hot Kucheck!
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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 »
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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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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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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