Thread: What is Baladi?

I'm a little confused as to what Baladi or Beledi is. I think I embarrassed myself in front of a friend who is a long-time dancer when I stated I was going to learn Baladi or Beledi as my next dance. My former teacher stated that she was going to teach us a Baladi dance but I moved before she could get to it. Sometimes I see it used as a way to describe whether a dance is social in nature, then I look up videos on baladi and see that it is a distinctive dance type within Egyptian. I remember reading about it and hearing it referred to as an "emotional" dance...I think of it as more languid and danced to a distinctive song. So...what is Baladi?

While being far from an expert, I have heard instructors say that beledi is similar or the same as saiidi, meaning it is the folk dance of Egypt.

What confuses me is isn't all Egyptian belly dance folk dance? What makes Beledi dances distictive? This is what I usually get when I look up Beledi...and what I usually think of when thinking about the word "Beledi." Raqs Beledi was going to be the next dance we learned after veil dance and drum solo: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7YG7i2WmK4]YouTube - Bellydancer Ranya Renee of NYC: Raks Beledi "Tahtil Shibbak[/ame]

No, I believe that cabaret is not beledi nor is some of the raqs sharqi.

Okay, I'm really confused now. Lol. Can someone please post a video of actual raqs beledi?

The pronunciation variation is a matter of dialect. The meaning is the same. Balad (country) is written with short vowels, which means that the sound [α] is not as open as [a]. The open vowel i is the mark of genitive (“my country”). Baladi spells ﺒﻠﺪﻱ

Here are some sources gleaned from the web; and I am not stating they are absolute fact, just that these are the best definitions I could come up with and I want to know how accurate they are.

Wikipedia definition: Raqs baladi, (Arabic: رقص بلدي‎; literally "dance of country", or "folk" dance) is the folkloric style, danced socially by men and women of all ages in some Middle Eastern countries, usually at festive occasions such as weddings.

Raqs Baladi - Raqs Baladi Belly Dance

Here is a more complex description that I think explains what my former teacher was talking about: Raqs al Baladi

Not sure why she separated "drum solo" from "baladi" considering the drum solo seems to be a part of the baladi performance and described on the site above but perhaps she was going to have us combine all the stuff we learned into one?

It IS confusing because there's more than one definition of the word 'baladi.' I like to compare it to our use of the word 'country.' Imagine you're new to the US and don't really speak English. You come across phrases like country music, country biscuits, country fried steak, my country tis of thee, etc. What the heck is 'country?'

Baladi is an adjective, not a noun. Baladi what? Baladi style dance is different from baladi progression which is different from the baladi rhythm. There's also baladi people, baladi bread, and probably a baladi fried steak somewhere.

Rather than retype my whole explanation here, I hope you don't mind if I just refer to the article I have online on Baladi.

Belly Dance Stuff: Styles -- Egyptian Baladi

Let me know if it's confusing or unclear.

The difficulty is that the term baladi can be used in multiple ways. Just to go with the 3 I hear most often:

1) Baladi/Beledi = my country. It can be used to refer to any "home-style" dance that is common in a specific area. For people from the Said region, this could be Saiidi style.

2) Baladi = A rhythm commonly used for Baladi style performances. This often refers to masmoudi saghir in the US, but some musicians in the Middle East will use the term to refer to Fellahi or other "down-home" rhythms.

3) Baladi Taqsim/Progression - A specific dance style popular in Egypt that follows a progression from a taqsim, to a call/response, to a rhythmic or melodic portion, and sometimes ends in a drum solo. This is a standard part of many Egyptian style dancers' sets.

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by Fotia

While being far from an expert, I have heard instructors say that beledi is similar or the same as saiidi, meaning it is the folk dance of Egypt.

Not exactly. Saidi is ONE folk dance from ONE part of Egypt.

Saidi is one kind of baladi dance, but it's not what people mean when they say 'baladi.' Usually if people mean Saidi, they'll say so.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Not exactly. Saidi is ONE folk dance from ONE part of Egypt.

Saidi is one kind of baladi dance, but it's not what people mean when they say 'baladi.' Usually if people mean Saidi, they'll say so.

Hmmm, guess I was given a quick-quick definition.

This thread has me jonesing for some ayshe beledi now!

At the risk of info overload, here are some relevant threads -
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/music-trad...ogression.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/music-trad...ifference.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/rest-belly...ledi-song.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/rest-belly...-prefer-2.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...conundrum.html
http://www.bhuz.com/forum/rest-belly...u-prefer.html?

(Man, we really need to get some more sticky notes on the forums!)

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

(Man, we really need to get some more sticky notes on the forums!)

This is exactly why I started writing articles and putting them on my old site!

although it's just as good for people who weren't here the first time(s) around to have these discussions as it was for the original participants. Sometimes when a topic feels old I just step aside and let the young 'uns re-discuss.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

This is exactly why I started writing articles and putting them on my old site!

although it's just as good for people who weren't here the first time(s) around to have these discussions as it was for the original participants. Sometimes when a topic feels old I just step aside and let the young 'uns re-discuss.

Yeah but we need the pros to fill us in!

Yes, used in a variety of ways.
Check out the fabulous Lala Hakim of Montreal Canada: LalaHakim.com (Powered by MTL DIGITAL MEDIA) [She has been in Montreal 20 plus yrs.]
Her website is not updated much, but she is still very active. She was in one of the "big" folkloric troupes of Egypt, her home country, and she calls her school of dance: Le Danse Baladi (or Beledi). Her style is both "orientale" &/or "folkloric" depending on what type of dance she is presenting.

Originally Posted by Fotia

Yeah but we need the pros to fill us in!

True, but there are always new teachers/pros on Bhuz who enjoy a discussion.

And us oldsters haven't gone away. I don't participate in *every* thread any more, but I still dive into old topics every now and again, when it feels like fun again!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Rather than retype my whole explanation here, I hope you don't mind if I just refer to the article I have online on Baladi.

Belly Dance Stuff: Styles -- Egyptian Baladi


Let me know if it's confusing or unclear.

Another excellent article! Thank you Lauren.

Wow. Thanks for posting this on your site, Lauren! I thoroughly enjoy this writing (by the way, I found it through Google because for some reason the link is not working on your page): "Baladi" by Hossam Ramzy

Originally Posted by smuse33

Wow. Thanks for posting this on your site, Lauren! I thoroughly enjoy this writing (by the way, I found it through Google because for some reason the link is not working on your page): "Baladi" by Hossam Ramzy

Thanks for letting me know, I'll take a look at the broken link.

(hmmmm... that's strange, I just checked it and it worked for me?)

Worked for me as well.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

and probably a baladi fried steak somewhere.

..l;,..l;, Yum! I want to try one!

Originally Posted by JeanneLF

..l;,..l;, Yum! I want to try one!

You know, I was thinking the same thing!

Short article by Hadia: Venus - beledi

Originally Posted by elljay

Short article by Hadia: Venus - beledi

Good article.

Western dancers like to interpret the word "baladi/beledi" in a tighter context than the word is actually used in Arabic. Students get confused by the vague nature of the concept and try to restrict it to a very specific style of contemporary Egyptian folkloric/social dance, but it is much more than that. It certainly can be representative of that particular style, but it can convey a much broader sense of "down home" that also carries a lot of pride in one's traditions and ethnicity. Not to open another huge can of worms, but one of the reasons students get so lost in discussions of what is the difference between "baladi" and "sha'abi" is that natives sometimes use the words interchangeably. If you look at the Hossam Ramzy article, you can see that he is going back and forth between the way dancers understand those terms himself.

For the purpose of dancer conversations, "baladi" is more like the social dance than the ballet-influenced, high orientale style. If you step outside of that context, you will find that the word can be applied across the Arab World to any dance, music, cuisine, style of dress, etc. that regular people enjoy/use. As such, the word can be applied in a good context ("salt of the earth," "unpretentious," "everything I love about my people") and also in a pejorative sense ("old fashioned," "unsophisticated," "country bumpkin"), so you can see why it makes little sense to fixate on only one meaning.

Originally Posted by smuse33

I'm a little confused as to what Baladi or Beledi is. I think I embarrassed myself in front of a friend who is a long-time dancer when I stated I was going to learn Baladi or Beledi as my next dance. My former teacher stated that she was going to teach us a Baladi dance but I moved before she could get to it. Sometimes I see it used as a way to describe whether a dance is social in nature, then I look up videos on baladi and see that it is a distinctive dance type within Egyptian. I remember reading about it and hearing it referred to as an "emotional" dance...I think of it as more languid and danced to a distinctive song. So...what is Baladi?

Part of the problem is that "beledi" is a loose word with several meanings. Literally it means belonging to the community - that might be local or national. It also has overtones. If you are a beledi person - solid workingclass or a peasant - being beledi is something to be proud of (think "born in the USA"). If you are more middle class then it may be seen as something noble as in our glorious peasants standing proud for our great nation, or it could be a put down like "rube" or "hill billy". So say someone is "so beledi" is usually in this category.

So beledi dance is the local dance. The broadest definition is all Egyptian dance is "beledi" - including raqs sharqi (I have certainly heard Yousry Sharif espouse that). The next defintion uses it to mean all dance except raqs sharqi. This would include social dance throughout Egypt plus folkdance plus dance from the awalim. Using this shaabi is a type of beledi - as is sa`iidi, fellahin, etc etc

In a narrower definition it is just the dance of the urban working class - although personally I'd call that "urban beledi". Or it could be dance in this style to any beledi music. Or it could be an interpretation of a beledi progression - which is only one type of beledi music.

Originally Posted by smuse33

Okay, I'm really confused now. Lol. Can someone please post a video of actual raqs beledi?

Which style ..g.: it is many styles - but if you exclude raqs sharqi - which I think is the most useful definition - then Egyptian dance which does not have what raqs sharqi added ie posture, tight technicality and isolation, floor patterns, ballet moves etc. It will also be in the music ie the meaning of the words will influence the interpretation.

Not all dance has useful video clips unfortunately. But look at dance by Fifi and Dina to start with.