Thread: meleya leff questions

here's fifi abdo doing meleya leff [starts @ :52]
one of my fave clips cause it showcases her in so many styles :)


[ame=http://youtube.com/watch?v=JBp2in-fgpc]YouTube - Fifi Abdo in Sharazad[/ame]

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

Out of all the DVDs mentioned here on melaya, can anyone elaborate on their contents (i.e. is it only choreography, or also technique or lecture?)

Both Magdy El Leisy's and Mohammed Shahin's are choreography, with some bits of technique and lecture thrown in here and there. Both of them discuss how to wrap the meleya (the same wrap from each of them, IIRC, and I think also the same as what Faten Salama taught in the workshop I attended).

It's definitely different from a veil, both in its weight and how you use it!..g.:

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

here's fifi abdo doing meleya leff [starts @ :52]
one of my fave clips cause it showcases her in so many styles :)

The ending is the amazing Technicolor Fifi! ..g.: ..g.: ..g.:

Faten Salama's DVD is mostly choreo, and in the second half of the DVD she throws in a whole new choreo, which is veil and Oriental. So not all of it is Melaya Leff related. It's a long DVD though!

And, if I wanted to make a Melaya, what is the fabric I would use? I was looking in a fabric store today and I had trouble trying to figure it out. I know it needs to be heavy/thick.

getting off topic but I LOVED This fifi clip - especially the saidi bit.
I wish they still made costumes like those dresses at the end...

Originally Posted by Bellydancefanatic

And, if I wanted to make a Melaya, what is the fabric I would use?

polyester baby!

my traditional one is a shiny-ish black poly knit. heavy but not super thick.

the one hallah made is a cotton/poly knit.
it shouldn't be stretchy, but the knits give good booty huggn' action.

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

getting off topic but I LOVED This fifi clip - especially the saidi bit.
I wish they still made costumes like those dresses at the end...

those dresses at the end are bedlah with skirt likely sewn to belt [or body stocking ] and matching body stocking and accessories. a fluffier skirt version of the sohair zaki look. totally rip-off-able ..g.:
and yah, her saidi rocks! the cane looks totally effortless in her hand. total control over the fast backwards spin action.

Thank you, Sabrina!

Oh Bintbeled I love your photo you look so darn cute!!!!

Originally Posted by bellydancewear

Oh Bintbeled I love your photo you look so darn cute!!!!

Aww, thanks.

Sabrina, I got the fabric today. I may have made an oopsie, though!

I bought a heavy fabric called Pona Roma ??, with 50% polyester and 40% spandex. It's actually not that stretchy, some stretch in one direction. I bought 3 yards (is that right?) and it's really wide, not too mention heavy. But the fabric is not thick.

Am I on the right track everyone?

I based my melaya on one Denise Enan brought to a conference that she said was her personal one.

I used a 2 way stretch heavy cotton lycra... heavy heavy... about (argh imperial!) 90 inches x 50 inches. And sewed onto each end is a strip of stretchy lace... lingerie lace, that adds another 15 inches overall to bring it to 105 inches or so.

I'm 5 foot 6 inches with not particularly long arms and this is perfect for me. I just love dancing with it, it's a great weight and so grippy it really wraps your figure nice and snug. I detest those slippery shiny thin ones you get as costume melayas from Egypt.

I made milayas once for e troupe number out of a heavy black crepe-textured polyester found at my local JoAnn's. The fabric wasn't see-through at all but handled like a heavy veil.

I teach milaya every once in a while, usually a 2-hour lecture-plus-choreography thing. My fave teaching experience, though, was in Baltimore years ago when I was able to give a lecture first on the Egyptian concept of bint al-beled and how that applies to the character of the milaya dance. I was able to show video of various interpretations, and have a discussion with students who had questions. We then adjourned to a dance studio for the actual choreography.

Maybe it's just a hangover from academia, but I really like getting info (in a lecture or mini-lecture) that puts a dance style in context, rather than just having a choreography thrown at me.

And to finish up this stream-of-consciousness milaya post, there should be a really nice milaya dress up for sale soon. We spent a good part of our troupe practice yesterday modeling and taking pix of items to be posted for sale soon!

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Maybe it's just a hangover from academia, but I really like getting info (in a lecture or mini-lecture) that puts a dance style in context, rather than just having a choreography thrown at me.

Based on that alone, I'd come to one of your workshops any time!

Okay, so I am on the right track based on you all's descriptions. I need to do more arm workouts for this Melaya!

Thanx!

Originally Posted by Bellydancefanatic

Sabrina, I got the fabric today. I may have made an oopsie, though!

I bought a heavy fabric called Pona Roma ??, with 50% polyester and 40% spandex. It's actually not that stretchy, some stretch in one direction. I bought 3 yards (is that right?) and it's really wide, not too mention heavy. But the fabric is not thick.

Am I on the right track everyone?

sorry for the late reply.
it sounds like it will work. i dont know what pona roma is [but that means nothing]
if you can get it to do the full wrap without it slipping out from under your arm, it should be long enough. remember, the original point of the garment was to wrap/cover the wearer. so if it does that, you are good.

it will feel heavier and much different than working with a veil, but you will get used to it. and once you get comfortable with the character of the dance, it will help inform the quality of your movements with the prop.
now go mince around in your slip on heels !