Thread: Just because an Egyptian did it doesn't mean we should!

If you watch enough videos, you eventually see Egyptian dancers doing some pretty outrageous stuff. (Remember the infamous wedding dancer in the miniskirt with her breasts threatening to escape out of the bottom of her blouse?)

So I thought it might be fun to share - what are some things that you have seen Egyptian dancers do that you would NOT recommend that WE do?

I'll start:

1. Balancing your cane on your breasts
2. Holding your cane between your teeth

Who else wants to contribute? Can we keep this on a light-hearted, playful tone?

Someone on Bhuz once shared pictures of a trip to Egypt, where they saw one of the big dancers in a hotel show (Randa, maybe?). One of the pictures showed an eloborate dance number with a caveman/prehistoric theme - furry loincloths on the backup dancers and all. It was crazy!

I don't like mini skirts, just because they're very used by some contemporary egyptian dancers, such as Dina...

Originally Posted by ANA_bellydancer

I don't like mini skirts, just because they're very used by some contemporary egyptian dancers, such as Dina...

aaaaaaaawwww I love mini skirts. Just not to mini...

Let's not exclude Lebanese and Syrian dancers.....

Hopping sideways on one foot to the theme from Bonanza (but Nadia Gamal made it look good)

Wearing gogo boots, scooting across the floor on your bottom like a wormy dog *cough* Rheem *cough*

Originally Posted by laura 2

Someone on Bhuz once shared pictures of a trip to Egypt, where they saw one of the big dancers in a hotel show (Randa, maybe?). One of the pictures showed an eloborate dance number with a caveman/prehistoric theme - furry loincloths on the backup dancers and all. It was crazy!

That was Asmahan not Randa

Z

I was a bit puzzled by a video of the Reda troupe, where they danced stretchy pants with ruffles at the legs, while holding something (supposedly ethnic percussion instruments) that looked very much like spaghetti tongues.

Originally Posted by steffib

I was a bit puzzled by a video of the Reda troupe, where they danced stretchy pants with ruffles at the legs, while holding something (supposedly ethnic percussion instruments) that looked very much like spaghetti tongues.

is there an on line clip of this? i'd love to see it

Originally Posted by *Shira*

If you watch enough videos, you eventually see Egyptian dancers doing some pretty outrageous stuff. (Remember the infamous wedding dancer in the miniskirt with her breasts threatening to escape out of the bottom of her blouse?)

I totally remember that video! I think the take away there: context is everything! and there are some very different, um, levels of belly dancer in the Middle East. There are dancers at 5 star shows (which as we also recall can be of the bizarre cave man spectacle variety) and there are dancers who function more like, well, like male oriented entertainment rather than family entertainment and whose goal may be less to promote art than to promote...I'll leave that to your imagination. For a valid analogy would we say that the Vegas showgirl is the same as the LIVE NUDE GIRLS XXX nickel show? Nope.

Asmahan does a really good show. i've seen her a lot in Cairo. she always makes an entrance. here she is being carried inas the goddess Isis and on Valentines day she was carried in a giant heart. Now this is stuff i do want to do-if i could find 4 strong guys (though I possibly may need 6) to carry me in...g.:

Originally Posted by steffib

I was a bit puzzled by a video of the Reda troupe, where they danced stretchy pants with ruffles at the legs, while holding something (supposedly ethnic percussion instruments) that looked very much like spaghetti tongues.

This sounds like a depiction of Suez Canal zone. The "tongs" were probably spoons, and they were probably representing al-Esmailia. In the Suez area, some of the women used to help out as dock workers, and wore trousers for the purpose. The ruffles at the legs were probably just artifice added for theatrical purposes.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

I

1. Balancing your cane on your breasts
2. Holding your cane between your teeth

..l;,..l;,

1. After seeing Liza Laziza do this I tried and tried to get it to work, and even though my bust is substantial it just wouldn't stick! I'm so glad I can't do it because knowing me I would probably throw it in every now and then for a laugh.

Originally Posted by Candi

Asmahan does a really good show. i've seen her a lot in Cairo. she always makes an entrance. here she is being carried inas the goddess Isis and on Valentines day she was carried in a giant heart. Now this is stuff i do want to do-if i could find 4 strong guys (though I possibly may need 6) to carry me in...g.:

The one I saw she was carried in dressed as a flower (by aforementioned strong men) in a large planter box from which she popped up covered in supersize petals. That woman has a very fun sense of showmanship.

Originally Posted by NandaDncer

..l;,..l;,

1. After seeing Liza Laziza do this I tried and tried to get it to work, and even though my bust is substantial it just wouldn't stick! I'm so glad I can't do it because knowing me I would probably throw it in every now and then for a laugh.

it depends on your bra-the old fashioned seqinned sort are best for this.otherwise you have to lean back slightly to find the angle where it will balence I do this trick briefly and then throw the stick into my hands/onto my arms with a upward chest isolation. Audiences love it. I only do it once-its fun.

Biker shorts under your costume--especially bad if you can see them through the slit in your skirt!

My understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong) is that Egyptian dancers were required to do this for a while--either it was another one of those modesty laws like the stomach covers, or it was just a good way to keep the police from harassing you. But I've seen the trend translate over to some otherwise great costumes outside of Egypt. Just because those dancers do it out of necessity doesn't mean we should.

When Fifi Abdo was teaching in the US the first time (Dallas, 2007), she did something interesting in her workshop. She had us drop forward with our upper body, keep our hair in our face as we came back up, and then hold part of it in front of our mouths and softly blow air so the hair fanned out from our breath. I dutifully followed along, but in my mind was wondering: "Is Fifi f*%@ing with us?".

I have since noticed that she does it in some of her performances from the 80s...videos I had seen before, but for some reason I never paid attention to that particular thing! So it was probably not a matter of her seeing if these crazy dance students would do anything she did in class (for the record, she was gracious and awesome and I don't mean to imply she would be malicious to students at all...just some possible personal humor!).

The hair blowing thing is not something I will likely choose to do in my own shows, though hey--never say never.

I love the video where Nagua Fouad wipes the sweat from her brow with her hair during a mega-long shimmy ..l;,

Originally Posted by *Shira*

This sounds like a depiction of Suez Canal zone. The "tongs" were probably spoons, and they were probably representing al-Esmailia. In the Suez area, some of the women used to help out as dock workers, and wore trousers for the purpose. The ruffles at the legs were probably just artifice added for theatrical purposes.

Those spoons *do* look like salad tongs!

I want to do that!!!!!!

Originally Posted by NandaDncer

The one I saw she was carried in dressed as a flower (by aforementioned strong men) in a large planter box from which she popped up covered in supersize petals. That woman has a very fun sense of showmanship.

deleted

Originally Posted by kiyaana

I want to do that!!!!!!

Oh wow, me too! That sounds really cool. lol ..g.:

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Let's not exclude Lebanese and Syrian dancers.....

Hopping sideways on one foot to the theme from Bonanza (but Nadia Gamal made it look good)

Wearing gogo boots, scooting across the floor on your bottom like a wormy dog *cough* Rheem *cough*

Yeah OMG.... That includes shimmying while laying on your stomach with your booty slightly up Reem style ehem... ehem...

Originally Posted by GenevieveOfAtlanta

Biker shorts under your costume--especially bad if you can see them through the slit in your skirt!

My understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong) is that Egyptian dancers were required to do this for a while--either it was another one of those modesty laws like the stomach covers, or it was just a good way to keep the police from harassing you. But I've seen the trend translate over to some otherwise great costumes outside of Egypt. Just because those dancers do it out of necessity doesn't mean we should.

Genevieve, a lot of dancers do it for obvious reasons. For the same reasons they use when adding modesty panels to slits in skirts and dresses or wearing color coordinated dance pants. And a lot of us wear stomach covers for the same reasons that have nothing to do with Egyptian dancers. There have been numerous threads on Bhuz about Raqs Beaver and none of us want to be the personal subject of one.

Costume dance pants or boy shorts mean the audience doesn't have to wonder.

Originally Posted by NandaDncer

..l;,..l;,

1. After seeing Liza Laziza do this I tried and tried to get it to work, and even though my bust is substantial it just wouldn't stick! I'm so glad I can't do it because knowing me I would probably throw it in every now and then for a laugh.

Originally Posted by Candi

it depends on your bra-the old fashioned seqinned sort are best for this.otherwise you have to lean back slightly to find the angle where it will balence I do this trick briefly and then throw the stick into my hands/onto my arms with a upward chest isolation. Audiences love it. I only do it once-its fun.

Yes, go LIZA ! She balances her cane on about six different places of her body, it`s just incredible. This part of the show takes several minutes and it is really exciting for audience (seen live three months ago).

Sorry for a slight hijack.

Originally Posted by Monica

When Fifi Abdo was teaching in the US the first time (Dallas, 2007), she did something interesting in her workshop. She had us drop forward with our upper body, keep our hair in our face as we came back up, and then hold part of it in front of our mouths and softly blow air so the hair fanned out from our breath. I dutifully followed along, but in my mind was wondering: "Is Fifi f*%@ing with us?".

I have since noticed that she does it in some of her performances from the 80s...videos I had seen before, but for some reason I never paid attention to that particular thing! So it was probably not a matter of her seeing if these crazy dance students would do anything she did in class (for the record, she was gracious and awesome and I don't mean to imply she would be malicious to students at all...just some possible personal humor!).

The hair blowing thing is not something I will likely choose to do in my own shows, though hey--never say never.

Yes, and I was curious to see what workshop students would do when she grabbed her boobs and cupped them in her hands. The camera was to everyone's backs so I couldn't see what the expressions where on people's faces. Definitely something I wouldn't do just cause Fifi was playing around with it.

Great as long as there is some dancing in between! Which is my reaction especially to sword and isis wings!

Bend over with torso and hands stretched forward ?

Originally Posted by Souzan

Genevieve, a lot of dancers do it for obvious reasons. For the same reasons they use when adding modesty panels to slits in skirts and dresses or wearing color coordinated dance pants. And a lot of us wear stomach covers for the same reasons that have nothing to do with Egyptian dancers. There have been numerous threads on Bhuz about Raqs Beaver and none of us want to be the personal subject of one.

Costume dance pants or boy shorts mean the audience doesn't have to wonder.

I completely understand the stomach covers (I only mentioned those as another example of modesty laws). And I understand wanting to be sure you're covered (I'm not entirely sure how one can possibly dance...or even stand...in some of the latest costumes. But there are lots of ways to accomplish staying family-friendly without looking like you're going to rip off your costume and hop on your bike for the Tour de France.

Fifi grabbing her boobs during El 3nab! Also, Fifi hanging her cane from the front of her waistband! Both these things occurred during her visit to Dallas in 08.

But I've also seen her on video messing with her boobs - i.e. "shifting" and adjusting...

Originally Posted by *Shira*

This sounds like a depiction of Suez Canal zone. The "tongs" were probably spoons, and they were probably representing al-Esmailia. In the Suez area, some of the women used to help out as dock workers, and wore trousers for the purpose. The ruffles at the legs were probably just artifice added for theatrical purposes.

That's what I was thinking too. I'll admit a lot of the folkloric stuff makes us non-ME dancers go "huh" at first!