Thread: What style is this and how can I learn it?

Please help me out. I'm reasonably familiar with styles and can distinguish Turkish from Egyptian, ATS from fusion, etc, but I've been seeing a certain style over and over again that I LOVE but I'm not sure exactly what it is.

This style seems to always be a solo. In vintage Egyptian film clips it is often danced within in a small area, often enclosed by a crowd or by tables. Even when it is danced on a stage it appears that the dancer is dancing for and to an imaginary crowd. The dancer seems to travel constantly with layered traveling steps, visiting many people in the audience and stopping occassionally to perform a few stationary moves. Even if is IS choreographed, it never, ever, LOOKS choreographed. It looks like the dancer is making it up on the spur of the moment and having a grand time while doing so.

Here's a classic Nagwa Fouad clip as an example...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuALxe26wLU]YouTube - Nagwa Fouad[/ame]

So, I'm thinking, "Yup, it's Egyptian," but what specific Egyptian style is this and what DVDs and performers would you recommend to learn how to do it?

how to say: this is not a "style". She is JUST DANCING with the music for the people around her...
Practice style and basic moves, develop grace, fluidity and so on, and alongside develop to go and flow with the music. Dance for people. Remember that you are dancing TO PEOPLE LOOKING AT YOU - from the right, the left, the front or elsewhere. Use music you like. Enjoy dancing.

Give it another foot wider, and this is our dance space in the place we perform. No traveling between tables, just an ally way with patrons on both sides. Imagine my shock when I first mounted a real stage.

Oeee, seeing that just made me want to dig out and watch this here kick-ass compilation one more time. Hoo-ha!
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qwiorV-a6I&feature=related]YouTube - Eygptian bellydancers[/ame]

Great compilation...somebody knew what they were doing!

Hmmm, there's something wrong with the music in that second video. Regarding the first vid, lovin' the woman with the big head bow. She's crazy.

I normally hate to see video of dancers where the music is not what they were actually dancing to. That one's an exception. Someone created quite a labor of love in putting that together.
R

Originally Posted by Rosette

Oeee, seeing that just made me want to dig out and watch this here kick-ass compilation one more time. Hoo-ha!
YouTube - Eygptian bellydancers

This is a heavenly video! That's the look I want! Happy, free, a smile and a wink and a quick turn around the floor...

Jungleflowers, you mention the question of whether the Nagwa Fouad performance is choreographed. I would think not, and probably much of what you see in the compilation video is not either. That relaxed, spontaneous, "oh-this-is-nothing-I-do-it-all-the-time" quality is part of what makes it so wonderful.
R

I would call that style Classic or Golden-Age Egyptian Orientale. Hossam Ramzy has a set of videos of the great dancers that contains that clip and many others, if you are looking for performance footage. I'm not sure there are a lot of instructional DVDs on the market specifically for that style, because this goes back to a time before video was widely available, but dancers like Hadia, Nourhan Sharif, and Zahra Zuhair who have solid, general-instruction DVDs might be useful. What you are mostly looking for is someone who has been around for a while and who has a presence that is not too heavily styled as Modern Egyptian (not a lot of Dina influence), and who isn't primarily known as a performer of choreographies (not too BDSS). The spontaneity of the classic style was heavily dependent on live music, so you might seek out teachers who have club experience with bands (as opposed to performers who only work with recordings), because they would be able to help you cultivate a dynamic, informal vibe to your dancing. There are a few teachers who give workshops on the subject of Golden Era dancers--Leila Gamal is one of them. Ranya Renee also has a Classical Oriental DVD in the pipeline that should be very good.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Ranya Renee also has a Classical Oriental DVD in the pipeline that should be very good.

Yes! I've already ordered the beledi set, and I can't wait to get the classical! :)

Thank you for your guidance; I will be sure to look up those other teachers/performers.

Two more names to add to your list: Sahra Saeeda and Roxxanne Shelaby.

Great Clip Rosette!..g.:

Doesn't Sausan base her style and teaching on these movie dancers? I don't know of her personally, but that's what I've heard.

LOVE this style. Go for it, we need more dancers who do this!!! The music selection is a big part of the style, as usual with raqs sharqi.

Originally Posted by Rosette

YouTube - Eygptian bellydancers

Thanks for posting this!

Originally Posted by Rosette

Oeee, seeing that just made me want to dig out and watch this here kick-ass compilation one more time. Hoo-ha!
YouTube - Eygptian bellydancers

Wow, awesome video! What great editing, it's like they all were actually dancing to the same song!

Golden Era! I love this style, probly my second favorite Egyptian style. The dancers had class and elegance, just gorgeous. I could watch them all day and night and not ever get sick of it.

I just watched a performance video of Sahra Saeeda last night. Loved both videos above, yum

Video # 2: I want ALL of those costumes. Just sayin'.. :)

^_^ ^_^ i love this style. ^_^ ^_^
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM_E3ca7Rs8&feature=related]YouTube - Tahia Carioca[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg4Y_ZHr130&feature=related]YouTube - Samia Gamal[/ame]
the clip you posted is from a DVD full of performances like this. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Legends-Belly-Dance-1947-1976/dp/B0014E3B3O/ref=pd_cp_d_2"]Amazon.com: The Legends of Belly Dance 1947-1976: Samia Gamal, Nagwa Fouad, Soheir Zaki, Fifi Abdou Tahia Karioka: Movies & TV[/ame]

Originally Posted by Rosette

Jungleflowers, you mention the question of whether the Nagwa Fouad performance is choreographed. I would think not, and probably much of what you see in the compilation video is not either. That relaxed, spontaneous, "oh-this-is-nothing-I-do-it-all-the-time" quality is part of what makes it so wonderful.
R

But just because it doesn't look choreographed, doesn't mean it isn't, especially the movie scenes. Those are most likely to be very choreographed. Most of Samia's are choreographed. The dancer is playing a character, and the dance scenes are part of the plot playing out, so they had to be at this spot for this camera shot, or had to do a certain move for another character, etc.

Nagwa danced choreographies. The clip above looks at least partially choreographed.

Nagwa is a little later than the first "Golden Age" of the movie greats like Samia. I wouldn't doubt she was inspired and learnt form them but she very much brought a new emphasis to the dance. Her film characters look a lot less "sweet". IN some clips her moves are bigger and earthier although of course she was very graceful at times. She was a consummate performer and all rounder and when I spoke to an Arab friend, he claimed her a his great favourite because of her TV shows. Yasmina of Cairo recently wrote a piece on the Golden Age for our mag and when I asked her to do so...she said "Which Golden Age?"..g.: With Souheir,Nagwa,Fifi,and so on you have a continuum of the glories of the 40s stars. I was so sorry to have missed Nagwa when she came to the UK(I was on a booked holiday) as I looking closely at her dancing at the present. I 've had film clips of her for many years and always found her very distinctive.

Originally Posted by dunyah

Doesn't Sausan base her style and teaching on these movie dancers? I don't know of her personally, but that's what I've heard.

LOVE this style. Go for it, we need more dancers who do this!!! The music selection is a big part of the style, as usual with raqs sharqi.

Re: Sausan: Yep, that's right...and she's got a whole enormous collection of DVDs featuring these dancers and more...

Sausan Academy of Egyptian Dance

She does weeklong intensives and weekend intensive "introductions" to her technique. I did a weeklong and it was a real paradigm shift for me. Recommend highly if you like Old School Egyptian.

I am so glad I asked. You ladies have such great info! :)

I've also seen it called the "I'm too sexy to exert myself' style here on Bhuz. ..l;,

Bahaia is also a great dancer in this style.

Originally Posted by Jungleflowers

Please help me out. I'm reasonably familiar with styles and can distinguish Turkish from Egyptian, ATS from fusion, etc, but I've been seeing a certain style over and over again that I LOVE but I'm not sure exactly what it is.

This style seems to always be a solo. In vintage Egyptian film clips it is often danced within in a small area, often enclosed by a crowd or by tables. Even when it is danced on a stage it appears that the dancer is dancing for and to an imaginary crowd. The dancer seems to travel constantly with layered traveling steps, visiting many people in the audience and stopping occassionally to perform a few stationary moves. Even if is IS choreographed, it never, ever, LOOKS choreographed. It looks like the dancer is making it up on the spur of the moment and having a grand time while doing so.

Here's a classic Nagwa Fouad clip as an example...

YouTube - Nagwa Fouad

So, I'm thinking, "Yup, it's Egyptian," but what specific Egyptian style is this and what DVDs and performers would you recommend to learn how to do it?

Some clips of Nagwa I love better than others... But i really love this one

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I've also seen it called the "I'm too sexy to exert myself' style here on Bhuz.

I prefer to think of it as "I don't need to overdance my music." The beauty of this style is that you know they weren't obsessing over a need to make their dancing more complicated in order to impress their audiences. Western students sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that in order for a performance to be good, it has to be insanely intricate, and it doesn't. Their dancing doesn't look effortless because they spent hours and hours practicing elaborate sequences of moves so they would come naturally. It's because the dance itself is elegant in its simplicity.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I've also seen it called the "I'm too sexy to exert myself' style here on Bhuz. ..l;,

Bahaia is also a great dancer in this style.

Bahaia is *Phenomenally* Fantastic in this style (while still also being her own unique self, of course!:))...AND she's here this coming weekend (Jul 24-25!:)) in the Chicagoland area for Weekend full of workshops & a Gala Show!!! :)

Originally Posted by lizajuk

Nagwa is a little later than the first "Golden Age" of the movie greats like Samia....Yasmina of Cairo recently wrote a piece on the Golden Age for our mag and when I asked her to do so...she said "Which Golden Age?"..g.: With Souheir,Nagwa,Fifi,and so on you have a continuum of the glories of the 40s stars....

I've always called Samia, Katie, Tahia, Naima etc "Golden Age" (relating to the Golden Age of Egyptian cinema, which they all appeared in).
The later greats- Mona, Souheir, Fifi, Nagwa etc- I call "Classic" Egyptian.
Then Dina, Randa etc Modern Egyptian.

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

I've always called Samia, Katie, Tahia, Naima etc "Golden Age" (relating to the Golden Age of Egyptian cinema, which they all appeared in).
The later greats- Mona, Souheir, Fifi, Nagwa etc- I call "Classic" Egyptian.
Then Dina, Randa etc Modern Egyptian.

ooo, that is helpful ^_^ thank you