Thread: Chiftetelli advice

I love a Shantel remix of a chiftetelli song, but it is mid to fast tempo, so the typical taxim moves won't work for it. Are there are *fast* chiftetelli moves? I guess it is a Greek sort of style (although the Greeks and the Turks fight over whose song this is). BTW, I search chiftetelli on youtube and a very nice Monica performance popped up.

Any help? Am I not making sense?

Usually when I dance to a Chifti I am doing veil. The exception is when it is in a larger piece of music but is not the main rhythm if that makes sense. I choose to let the Melody dictate which movements to express.

Try looking on YouTube.

Originally Posted by Fotia

Try looking on YouTube.

I did. They're all slow or male greek folkdancing. Maybe I should just search for some greek Belly Dancers.

Originally Posted by jetgirl

I did. They're all slow or male greek folkdancing. Maybe I should just search for some greek Belly Dancers.

Good luck finding that! Can you post a clip of the song?

Originally Posted by norma

Good luck finding that! Can you post a clip of the song?

Hahaha!
Here is the traditional version with a somewhat awful dancer. (But I kinda like her costume).
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHiN5R43SE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHiN5R43SE[/ame]

And Urban Tribal doing a modern dance version to the Shantel remix
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgCFa7fKcdI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgCFa7fKcdI[/ame]

Try searching under tsifteteli or tsiftetelli and perhaps you will find something.

Sadie's performance on her Slow and Sultry Dvd is quite fast. You can just see a bit of it at the end of this clip.


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7m7sgw86wc&feature=PlayList&p=F3FF926B281 7222E&playnext=1&index=20]YouTube - Belly Dance Slow Moves with Sadie[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m20umRvwL3I&feature=PlayList&p=36306097E94 6E4C8&playnext=1&index=47]YouTube - Chiftetelli Live by Petrol Bomb Samosa[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNEtgsYGHiw&feature=related]YouTube - Athena Najat slow Chifti at Lafayette[/ame]

The video of Urban tribal. the Shantel remix? That does not sound like a Chifti....

What about "Turkish Chiftitelli" or a "Greek Tsiftsitelli" search on YouTube or even Google? They might have other videos you can find.

There is a CD called "Best of Bellydance/Slow Rhythms" arranged/compiled by Ron Wagner that has a slow Chiftitelli. I hope that helps a little.

Originally Posted by AngelaDiCaprio

The video of Urban tribal. the Shantel remix? That does not sound like a Chifti....

I know, but they sing about "chiftetelli". And if you listen to the original song it actually is a chifti rhythm, just not heavy.

Yeah, I've found lots of slow chifti video examples, it's the fast ones I was looking for.

Originally Posted by jahbie

Sadie's performance on her Slow and Sultry Dvd is quite fast. You can just see a bit of it at the end of this clip.


YouTube - Belly Dance Slow Moves with Sadie

That's great. Thanks!

I am not sure I get this right - you're going to dance to the Shantel remix? That sounds very modern, and I agree, I don't hear a chifti, so I wouldn't worry about dancing to that rhythm. Maybe getting a hold of the lyrics first may help, too?

When it comes to dancing to fast, traditional songs that have a chifti rhythm under them, why not just treat it as a Turkish 8/4?

Originally Posted by jetgirl

I know, but they sing about "chiftetelli".

..l;,..l;,..l;,

Ummmmmmmmm .w.: Sorry but singing about it is one thing, having the rhythm in it is another.

Actually listening to the remix, it does have the same beat as the original song and Sadie's fast piece. It is remixed though (has another beat on top of it), so it is not as clear.
That's a good idea, I'll try to find some 8/4 examples, that would work well.
Just thought it would be fun to explore fast chiftitelli -- learn a new thing!

Rewatching Sadie's: those are such similar steps to my Turkish 9/8 already, I can work a lot of my 9/8 into an 8/4. Fun!

Originally Posted by jetgirl

I love a Shantel remix of a chiftetelli song, but it is mid to fast tempo, so the typical taxim moves won't work for it. Are there are *fast* chiftetelli moves? I guess it is a Greek sort of style (although the Greeks and the Turks fight over whose song this is). BTW, I search chiftetelli on youtube and a very nice Monica performance popped up.

I agree with the others that I don't hear a chiftetelli in this song either. Maybe I haven't listened to enough ME music but I personally can't say I've ever heard a fast chiftetelli, only slow. As seen in all the videos posted here, the chiftetelli is slow. Even with the rhythm in Athena's video being a bit faster, it is still overall a slower piece of music. If you think about it, a chiftetelli played fast might sound kinda weird, as I don't think it's intended to be played fast but I'm no expert on ME music at all.

But perhaps--as Sadie demonstrates in her video--you can combine some fast movements with some stacatto movements. If you are dancing to a faster piece of music, all the movements don't have to be fast. You might wear yourself out half-way through the song. Just keep listening to the music over and over again so you can get a real feel for it and pick up all the instrumental accents and nuances of the song. If you do that you will "feel" which movements will go with what parts of the song; and some movements will feel more natural than others.

remember, ciftetelli is a turkish folk dance, that has been borrowed by bellydancers. greeks call bellydance "tsiftetelli" after the name of the turkish rhythm.

i found you some good examples of what ciftetelli looks like:

here : traditional ciftetelli (turkish) folkdance.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5J4lftjDq8]YouTube - Baris Halk Danslari Köln - Ciftetelli - Tänze aus Anatolien[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghgdFozEGmc&feature=related]YouTube - Turkhish folk dance çiftetelli clip, çiftetelli halk oyunu[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h6Vf0F-BvQ]YouTube - Ciftetelli[/ame]

some kids in an elementary school group:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wURtqG6vnl0&feature=related]YouTube - Kırklareli Hamdi Helvacıoğlu 5-C Çiftetelli[/ame]

more:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuGbrunY-i8&feature=related]YouTube - Houston Turkish Festival 2007 Austin Folk Dance Group[/ame]

i was the ciftetelli soloist for 3 years in our regional folklore troupe so let me know if u have questions!

ps : that first clip posted changes up the ciftetelli w/ 9/8 karsilama (so its not all ciftetelli keep in mind!)

To add to the confusion, according to my music collection, songs in a 9/8 meter can be names chiftetelli ;-) (Sulukule chiftetelli = Mastika)

Here are Lisa and Adrienne doing a fusion duet to The Toids Tsiftitelli*:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeUuMTY74PU]YouTube - Baraka Mundi 2007[/ame]

There are some nods to Turkish and (I think) Greek (right at the end) dancing. If you look up this song you'll get more fusion performances.

* Just want to note that this video seems a bit "phoned in" because of the audio and visual quality, but it was very energetic in person.

yup steffib thats true - ciftetelli is a folk dance but its also a slang term for any dance rythm. thats why you will get songs with names like "adana ciftetelli" and it will be a hardcore folkloric line dance song from south eastern turkey near syria, or a name like "manisa ciftetelli" - a 9/8 roma song from a city near the aegean coast that has a large roma population. true ciftetelli dance is the folk dance above, and then the word ciftetelli is added by musicians and song writers to almost anything they want people to get up and dance to! (annoying!)

Originally Posted by aasiyah

yup steffib thats true - chiftetelli is a folk dance but its also a slang term for any dance rythm. thats why you will get songs with names like "adana ciftetelli" and it will be a hardcore folkloric line dance song from south eastern turkey near syria, or a name like "manisa ciftetelli" - a 9/8 roma song from a city near the aegean coast that has a large roma population. true ciftetelli dance is the folk dance above, and then the word ciftetelli is added by musicians and song writers to almost anything they want people to get up and dance to! (annoying!)

I feel like quoting Eartha Kitt in Uskudara: Yeah, those Turks! ;-) They make the best music, but their naming standards for that music could need some German precision and organization ;-)

Originally Posted by aasiyah

remember, ciftetelli is a turkish folk dance, that has been borrowed by bellydancers. greeks call bellydance "tsiftetelli" after the name of the turkish rhythm.

i was the ciftetelli soloist for 3 years in our regional folklore troupe so let me know if u have questions!

Thanks so much! Those clips help me out with the faster rhythm. It's such joyous music.

Apparently the Shantel/Maccrimmon version is sung in Turkish (some say the original Turkish, the Greeks disagree ..g.:). So Turkish 8/4 moves seems like a good direction to go.

That music sounds like Greek/Turkish Tsfitelli music which is not the same as the chiftitelli rhythm.

You need Maria Aya. I recall once she posted some clips of either herself or a group doing Greek Tsfitelli.

check out Ensembe Hüsein Türkmenler he's got tons of Upbeat Traditional Turkish Chifti's. I teach a workshop called Swifti Chifti, all about dancing to fast chiftetelli, I love it and it is very typical for Turks to play fast chiftis AND for bellydancers to dance to them!!! Have fun!

Originally Posted by Divinebelly

check out Ensembe Hüsein Türkmenler he's got tons of Upbeat Traditional Turkish Chifti's. I teach a workshop called Swifti Chifti, all about dancing to fast chiftetelli, I love it and it is very typical for Turks to play fast chiftis AND for bellydancers to dance to them!!! Have fun!

True this!

Originally Posted by norma

That music sounds like Greek/Turkish Tsfitelli music which is not the same as the chiftitelli rhythm.

You need Maria Aya. I recall once she posted some clips of either herself or a group doing Greek Tsfitelli.

yheah, i checked out a "Greek dances and how to do them" DVD to see some of the line dances and it had "bellydance" in it, but called it "chiftitelli". so, not knowing what the lyrics are actually about, they might be singing about the dance rather than the music.