Thread: Do you know who Ibrahim "Bobby" Farrah was?

Do you know who Ibrahim "Bobby" Farrah was?

Do you know what his contributions to American bellydance were?

Do you know what his dances looked like, what was his choreographic style?

I do! Only because, having heard of him online and in articles, I bought a video of his work. I remember it was insanely expensive ($60 or $70) as many bellydance videos were then. The choreographies didn't suit my taste and I sold it used here on Bhuz.

Was that "A Journey" ? That's not exactly ... well, it's just different.

Who would like to know more about this legend?


and who can tell me how to fix the thread title because I actually spelled "DO" wrong ... /facepalm.

to fix click on edit and advanced, then you can change the thread title.

Originally Posted by aziyade

Was that "A Journey" ? That's not exactly ... well, it's just different.

Ayup. That's the one.

I've scoped around and there are a few Farrah choreography video clips online now.

I know who he was and I'd be interested in learning more about him. Why are you asking?

I do remember him. In fact, I had a workshop with him a long, long time ago. He was very influential back in the 70's and 80's. He made a whole crop of dancers who are still teaching and performing. Plus there was the magainze Arabesque.

Of course on #1, some on #2, and sadly not much on #3. I have also taken a workshop with his cousin, who often appears on the local PBS station (not as a dancer, but she used to be a professional dancer way back when, dancing at local restaurants). And, being a proud Pittsburgher, I consider him a local; he was born and laid to rest in SW Pennsylvania.

Yes.

To a degree.

Not really.

Absolutely :-)

He was very popular and influential on the East Coast, particularly the New York area. He spawned a generation of dancers (of which my instructor was one). All of the older instructors in my area learned primarily from him. Many of his protege's now live and teach in NYC, including the VERY talented dancer and choreographer Samara (she is one of my favorite choreographers--I never tire of her choreos), and the lovely dancer Phaedra.

Bobby's focus was folklore, and I believe (but could be WAY wrong) that his oriental style was mostly Lebanese (big movements, etc...). He created some brilliant theatrical Ghawazi choreos, among many, many, many others. He founded the Near East Dance Troupe (I think that's the correct name), which was very well known at the time (70s).

I used to have a lengthy article about his life. He died fairly young, and some of the students who knew him best still mourn the loss.

Here's a link to his website (still kept up with) that has video footage...
Ibrahim Farrah

Originally Posted by aziyade

Do you know who Ibrahim "Bobby" Farrah was?

Do you know what his contributions to American bellydance were?

Do you know what his dances looked like, what was his choreographic style?

Somewhat. One of the teachers that I've worked with was a protege, and she has a video released of herself, performing almost all Bobby choreographies. She worships the ground he walks on.

On the other hand, my other teacher studied with him as well and has the complete opposite opinion on him.

However, I'm not quite sure what his contribution to American bellydance is other than being a grandpappy so to speak to me through the teachers I'm learning from. It seems like he has a different take on Arabic dance - it's different than modern cairo or golden era or Yousry. I think of it as being more Lebanese but I don't know.

So now that you asked, are you going to share what you know?

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

So now that you asked, are you going to share what you know?

It's not what I know; it's what I'm trying to organize.
(without getting sued - lol)

Chumming the waters, so to speak...

Where is Latifa (bintBeled) at right now? I believe she studied with him....

I'm not clear--are you asking to gather information about Bobby or to survey what sort of profile he carries in the current dance community? From the responses, it looks more like the latter....

1. A teacher and choreographer of Lebanese descent, based on the East Coast of the US during the heyday of the AmCab club scene. Mentor to many prestigious dancers during that era, and one of the first instructors to teach on a workshop circuit.

2. One of the first significant dance academics who traveled to the Middle East to gather information about folk dances and traditions, and who wrote and published extensively in the name of raising cultural awareness and knowledge for dancers. Also a musician whose finger cymbal playing has been preserved on a number of classic albums of American belly dance music from that time.

3. His style is roughly divided into two phases. His early period formed much of what was the classic East Coast AmCab style--primarily Lebanese with influences from Egyptian, Turkish, and Western dance forms. His later period showed a much stronger influence from theatrical Western dance, although it still maintained a stronger connection to its ME roots than what one might find in contemporary interpretive American belly dance today. I heard that Phaedra, who was one of his first-wave dancers, had his archives and was planning to eventually sort and publish them.

My current teacher studied with him for 10 years. She told me she learned Orientale as well as Saidi, Zaar, Beledi, Guedra, and other folkloric dances from him.

Based on people who knew him "in the early years" ie: when he started.
Yes, he was Lebanese descent, but he started learning dance here in the US. Right here in the DC area actually. He learned first from Adriana of DC.
Andriana of DC Premier Belly Dance Insructor for the DC Maryland and Virginia offering all levels of belly dance training in Belly Dancing
Her style was AmCab. So, he started learning Am Cab when he was a busboy in the restaurant she worked in (this info from current prominent dancers who studied with Adriana at the same time and who knew him at the time).
It was after he started learning here as a young man that he went back there to research etc.
As he started LEARNING AmCab during the "heyday" of the American scene, it wasn't until a little later that he started having more influence.
Tourbeau, he didn't form the Am Cab styles- he learned the style (first from an American) and carried it on. He then DID have a lot of influence on many American dancers and certainly contributed greatly to the scene.
He was very charismatic and focused primarily on choreography. As a charismatic and strong male teacher he was very influential on the East Coast scene.
I'd love to see his videos, as I never have. Arabesque was certainly a wonderful contribution to the dance.

Samira, the link I posted above in my response contains video footage. :-)

Originally Posted by Sonja2

Samira, the link I posted above in my response contains video footage. :-)

I checked, but only find a link to the DVDs for sale.

I'm curious to see how much interest there is in learning more about him and his style.

For those of you who DON'T know about him, do you want to?

Many of my teachers in NYC were his proteges. A short list of dancers who studied with him are Samara, Tashira Wadiya, Riskalla Rayid, Aszmara, Jehan Kamal, Gamila El Masri, Yazmeen El'Qahira, Shoshanna (of NYC), Elena Lentini, Phaedra and more I can't currently think of off the top of my head. He has influenced the NY scene to a great exent and Samara and her dance company "Mosiac Dance Theater" currently still perform his choreographies.

He was big on teaching Cane, and though he is credited for bringing cane the the US there is no verified proof. I have see "A Journey" and I don't think it's an accurate representation of his dance or his work. I am lucky enough to have seen hafla videos of him that are currently hidden in private stashes of dancers who used to work/perform for him and they far exceed "A Journey." He appeared to be a charismatic and jazzy style dancer. I wish there were more opportunities to see his dancing but Phaedra has been very protective of his image and videos.

we still use his music, alot for cane. we use his zar instruction.he had doris duke as a patron too.he is on several of his albums.

Bobby Farrah protegee, checking in!

I have to run in to DC but will be back later if there are questions.

I had the pleasure of meeting him and taking a workshop with him in the '90s; don't remember what year, but it must have been not too long before he died. I didn't know that much about his choreographies until recently; I saw video of some of his dances a couple of years ago. Nice, although not necessarily what I want to pursue myself. I've always had the impression that many people considered him a very influential figure, though.

I was able to study with some people who studied with him and they all had beautiful styles. I would love to see his legacy preserved.

Originally Posted by _Tanya_

Many of my teachers in NYC were his proteges. A short list of dancers who studied with him are Samara, Tashira Wadiya, Riskalla Rayid, Aszmara, Jehan Kamal, Gamila El Masri, Yazmeen El'Qahira, Shoshanna (of NYC), Elena Lentini, Phaedra and more I can't currently think of off the top of my head. He has influenced the NY scene to a great exent and Samara and her dance company "Mosiac Dance Theater" currently still perform his choreographies.

And here in the Midwest, he's the mentor of Jasmin Jahal :)

Originally Posted by Lesgemini_Zafirah

And here in the Midwest, he's the mentor of Jasmin Jahal :)

Also Leila Gamal and Ruby Jazayre.

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Also Leila Gamal and Ruby Jazayre.

Oh, Gosh, YES! Jasmin Jahal in Illinois, and Leila Gamal & Ruby Jazayre in Indiana!!! I've had the pleasure, privilege & honor of studying with the first two (who are absolutely *wonderful* dancers/instructors, absolutely top-notch in technique & conveying break-downs of movements & choreo.; I imagine that is a common "Bobby" characteristic among his protegee:))--would love to study with Ruby in the near future :)

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Also Leila Gamal and Ruby Jazayre.

And Mona N'wal and Maleeha.

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Tourbeau, he didn't form the Am Cab styles- he learned the style (first from an American) and carried it on.

I know Bobby didn't invent the East Coast style, but I think of him as being was one of the figures who scooped up a handful of the primordial ooze from the East Coast club scene in the 1960s and helped to shape it into the dance we know now. Up until that point, learning the dance was sort of an ad hoc apprenticeship, and he was one of the people at the forefront of encouraging a more organized approach to studying the dance.

Bobby didn't spring fully formed into the dance world any more than Morocco or Bert and Jamila or anyone else from that era did. They all traveled a long path of learning from other dancers and musicians, and then armed with their own innate creativity, went on to train an extensive and impressive lineage of dancers in the styles that have come to be representative of their respective geographies.

Originally Posted by tigerb

And Mona N'wal and Maleeha.

And I believe Donna Diva and Jawhara also studied with him.