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’..
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!
If language is considered to be a system of communication ‘ using sounds, symbols and words to express a meaning, idea or thought’ then dance is a language.
The language of Oriental Dance, is an expression of the feminine soul in movement to the music…That means ‘Your Soul’! That expression is as unique as your ‘voice’.
In keeping with the metaphor of dance as language…..we can explore a subject that has come to the forefront of the “Belly Dance World’ in recent years! That is, dancing improvisation or with choreography!
First off, they are not mutually exclusive..there is certainly a place for both! The question that comes to mind is with respect to ‘ learning’ the dance through choreography with the exclusion of Improvisation!
It has come to my attention, through various sources lately, that women are being taught to dance perdominantly through choreography…this has created the ‘phenomonon’ that students can’t dance without a choreography!
This would be like, learning a language and only being able to speak words in sentences that communicate thoughts, expressions and ideas that come from someone else. You would not be able to communicate your own thoughts, expressions and ideas!
This dance comes from a culture that is ‘foreign’ to us, not only in language but in movement, musical tone and rhythm. In order to ‘learn’ this language of dance we must learn the basic vocabulary/movements, immerse ourselves in ‘hearing’ the spoken language/music and allow ourselves to experience the expression by speaking/dancing!
The above elements of the dance are a ‘whole’ expression, they are not isolated parts. If your learning experience is simply a repitition of isolated movements that are then strung together into counted out phrases that are in sync with the music… forming a dance created by someone else… you will have learned ‘a dance’ but not ‘to dance’!
It is like the difference between writing a poem and reciting someone else’s poem…..
Shall we ask ourselves the REAL question? What attracted us to Belly Dance and why did we want to learn it?
Was it to experience the Beauty, Joy, Excitement, and Power that we saw and felt when we watched an Oriental Dancer?
In order to have that experience, it is necessary to understand and ‘FEEL’ the music and movement. How do we accomplish that? How do we make this dance our own original authentic art?
Since this subject of ‘How’ we learn and develop in Belly Dance is a ‘Core’ subject, I would like to spend some time in the next couple of blogs exploring it!
I would like to invite you to leave your comments and questions that arise from your own experience with respect to ‘Learning the Art of Belly Dance’!
” True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest who have learned to dance”
Alexander Pope
And so Beautiful Dancers, I close with a video to inspire you, from a dancer that said in her own words, ” I have never choreographed anything in my life”… Read the rest of this entry »
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!
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 »
