Thread: Backbend history/safety?

Hi all,

I've been wondering about the origins of backbends. I have not seen anyone Middle Eastern do this while dancing raqs beledi. I could have just missed it, or perhaps the original backbends are much less pronounced than those we tend to use in the dance.

I also wondered about the relative safety of backbends. I love doing them, mainly because I'm good at them. ..g.: Still, I stopped doing/teaching Turkish drops because I paid for them with my knees (students still ask me about them all the time, though I try to discourage this; any thoughts on the drops also?) I'm wondering about the relative safety of backbends. I always do stretches afterwards, of course, but as I have back troubles unrelated to the dance (old lifting injury) I want to know how much they might exacerbate that. Thanks!

I was wondering the same thing. I have only seen Turkish and some Lebanese dancers do backbends (plus Americans of course!) They are impressive, but unless done extremely properly, can cause back pain. Even when I do them properly, I feel either back or knee pain! It seems like one of those iconic American Bellydancer things, to back bend with snaky arm movements during a taxim. I have heard that Egyptian bellydancers tend to accentuate taxims using more of their torso, less with the arms and hands. I have never seen on Youtube any egyptian bellydancer doing a backbend. (though I'm sure a clip exists somewhere).

I saw some golden era dancer ( samia?? No maybe not...)do a backbend in some clip but I don't know which one. It was crazy. She went almost all the way to the floor with her head without compensating with her legs. Just a bend at the waistline. Maybe I dreamt it????

Dina does one in this clip around 4:55. There's also a "sort of" backbend before that, but it is really just an extension of one of her hip circles. I think that's the thing, though...the backbends here make sense with her music; she's not doing them as a "Wow! Lookee!" kind of stunt.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbZNwFNeqfg&feature=related]YouTube - Dina دينا 1990 ****Zara's favourite part 3 full version[/ame]

I looooove "early Dina." There is a killer samai section in this clip. So pretty.

gisela, I think this is the clip you're thinking of:

YouTube - Ra'asa Naemet Mokhtar

Found it! It's Naemet Mokhtar.[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8P8s_510Ao]YouTube - Ra'asa Naemet Mokhtar[/ame]

Oops didn't see you posted it before me. Yes that was it! crazy isn't it?

Originally Posted by gisela

I saw some golden era dancer ( samia?? No maybe not...)do a backbend in some clip but I don't know which one. It was crazy. She went almost all the way to the floor with her head without compensating with her legs. Just a bend at the waistline. Maybe I dreamt it????

No, I saw that one too-I forget her name though. I too wondered how on earth she was able to bend at that angle without bending the knees. She must have a lot of flexibility....

Haha oops there it is in the above post!

Though I think she is bending her knees more than it seems, its just hidden by the skirt and the angle she's at...

Yes she probably is. Pretty impressive anyways. Especially with the twisting.

Wow, that was crazy! And I thought I could do some pretty nice ones.

What music is 'fit' for a backbend in your opinion? So that it doesn't look 'wow, look what I can do'?

Hi, what is a Turkish Drop?

Amaya has always told me when doing back bends to squeeze my butt to get that arch but not use my back. It's a small back bend - similar to what Dina does. ai have also seen Orit back bend.

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I noticed in the Dina clip that she sticks out one leg to stabilize herself. Might be a good idea....I like how she does the slight backbend in the turn. Oh, she makes it look so natural!

I also noticed in the Dina clip that the guy with the cigar was smirking during the backbend section.

I have a lot of natural flexibility; I have not had any problems from backbends myself. I was thinking more of long-term. The back problem I already have was from a lifting injury I gave myself many years ago. I love doing them...I generally also bend my knees. You can see me doing one in the main photo of my website (knees are bent but skirt covers it).

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Originally Posted by Nepenthe

I noticed in the Dina clip that she sticks out one leg to stabilize herself. Might be a good idea....I like how she does the slight backbend in the turn. Oh, she makes it look so natural!

When the leg is balancing the weight,
IMO it also balances the line of the body in a backbend.

I like bb:s if they are graceful and slow...not added as a "lookie I´m a human Slinkie"effect.

I'm pretty sure Nadia Gamal does it in the Hollywood Music DVD Nadia Gamal: The Legend. I'm not sure because it's been awhile since I've seen it. Here's a clip, but it doesn't have the bend: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEFNil8v7gM]YouTube - The Legend - Nadia Gamal[/ame]
You can get this on NetFlix. Oh and she does this thing where she turns a hip circle into a backbend, if I am not mistaken.

When you consider that performance belly dance, prior to the cabarets etc, used to be more of a "package deal" with other entertainment, like singing and skits and telling jokes and acrobatic tricks, you can see where doing some kind of backbend would be normal for some entertainers.

I know katy or katie (golden age dancer) has an extremely bendy backbend. I'll see if I can find a clip.

Zum: is this the burlesque past? I find it elusive.

Melania: Thanks! I knew you knew what I'd said, I was mainly clarifying for myself what I was looking for (long-term trouble, etc).\

You can get bellydance dvds through netflix?! I can't believe that hadn't yet occurred to me.

Originally Posted by BreaMorgiane

You can get bellydance dvds through netflix?! I can't believe that hadn't yet occurred to me.

I can share the titles with you if you would like. Perhaps a new thread is in order. I mostly watch the performance DVDs from Netflix. There is a group on Tribe for it too, if you are on Tribe. Netflix has a slew of belly dance work out DVDs, but those are not quite the level that I need so I stick to the performance.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

Oh and she does this thing where she turns a hip circle into a backbend, if I am not mistaken.

Yes-that move screams Nadia to me,I haven´t seen any other dancer use that as much?

Seen a lot of Egyptian dancers(modern and past dancers) do backbands.Dina does a big one in the intro to Tahtil Shabbak and puts an accent in it. A back bend is one of my only tricks i do back bend and shimmy and play the finger cymbals.A back bend is something I've always been able to do-like some people can do those amazing tummy shimmies or some people can do the splits.

Zum: is this the burlesque past? I find it elusive.

No, in the ME, 19th century and earlier. Anthony Shay's article on men's dance references acrobatics, skits, etc.

ETA: Oh, and. You look at old footage of the Banat Maazin and you'll see some backbends and a fairly significant lean back throughout. Apparently one of their popular tricks was bending back along the edge of a drum

At least one of the top Golden Era dancers was a contortionist also, coming from a circus family...I want to say it was Taheya but could have been Naima Akef...? I know I've seen more footage than the Naemet clip.

The Ghawazee do more of a body lean than a backbend (against a sister's head or along the side of a drum) but it's probably a safer alternative. As for safety, I focus on keeping the chest lifted and bum tucked as I go back to avoid and injury, but I have a very limited range.

It was Naima.

ah yes Akef Circus. :)

found one, but I can't read when/where it's from...

[ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=WXWGAqeqmv8&feature=related"]YouTube - نعيمة عاك� رجاء و عواط�[/ame]

I'm going to start a new trend about how a lot of oldstyle AMCab moves got picked off by Tribal, but for now: backbends:

I learned these at the get-go close to 30 years ago; I don't think Tribal had migrated East yet! Two tips for backbends:

1. Yes, if you stand sideways to the audience with a 'staggered' pose (one foot well in front of the other) you can give the appearance of bending back further than you are. Gives great stability.

2. Learned this from Shakira of Ohio: don't "bend" your back; "lengthen" your front. Will actually help you gain several inches.

Kitty