Thread: Saidi Dance- Without the Cane!

So I was thinking the other day about Saidi cane dance and that there must be stylization where one can dance without the cane, and what would it look like. I have not seen anything like that around my area or anyone doing it on video that I can remember. Well, today I was on Youtube going through some videos and found a video of such a scenario.

I LOVE it!
She starts out with zills at first and I adore the movements she is using. And her arms!

I want more though. Post your videos of a saidi without cane!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCtuLTTXK6c"]YouTube - Autumn Ward: Egyptian Dance[/ame]

Also, does anyone know where I cane learn this sort of thing, like DVD's?
For clarification, I understand that this video is not exactly Saidi cane dance, more like a traditional mix, but I love the folkloric feel of it.,r:;

Saidi dance can be done with or without a cane.

With a cane it's called Raks Al Assaya.

Adishakti's Saidi dance to Hanady is one of my favorites. Very traditional Saidi movement vocabulary, but no cane.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXaDoGgH0pw]YouTube - Adishakti - Ya Hanady[/ame]

I've got a whole article on Saidi and Raks assaya on my site that might clarify the overlap a little (or confuse matters more?) Belly Dance Stuff: Styles -- Egyptian Saidi and Raks Assaya

Thanks for the link, I think I will share with my fellow students. The article was superb.
Unfortunately the video in your post had a choppy playback for me even though I let it load completely.,f::

I still don't think any of the instructors in my area teaches Saidi dance and not just Raks Al Assaya...cr.:

Any good Saidi cane instructional should give you some ideas--just look for the things that aren't about the cane. Most of the moves that are framing with a cane can be adapted for non-cane dancing.

Obviously Mahmoud Reda teaches non-cane Saidi, since he's largely shaped what dancers think of as that style, but any dancer who does a good, solid Saidi with cane will have insights into how to dance without one, too: Sahra Saeeda, Nourhan and Yousry Sharif, Hadia, etc. You might even find some useful material on Ranya Renee's baladi DVD. Traditional baladi is "Saidi in the City," so there's some stylistic overlap.

Did you see this thread? http://www.bhuz.com/forum/belly-danc...hout-cane.html

Don't know of any instructional DVDs etc but I think its good advice to mimic the essense of the movements done with the cane (eg. flat feet, large moves, the footwork) I usually see Saidi done with more stationary arms (no flowing arm work and snake arms etc).

I'm absolutely in love with Aziza's:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUZTn_HOxQ0]YouTube - Aziza- Eilat festival 2009- Saidi[/ame]

yum yum yum, love these

If I had a cane with me I would have used it, but as I didn't I had to work with what I had. The glory of working with live music!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntndYqeiXqQ]YouTube - Norma, Detroit Belly Dancer, Tabla Beledi[/ame]

Originally Posted by EzmaSiddiqah

yum yum yum, love these

Ditto. Thank you for sharing!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Saidi dance can be done with or without a cane.

With a cane it's called Raks Al Assaya.

Adishakti's Saidi dance to Hanady is one of my favorites. Very traditional Saidi movement vocabulary, but no cane.

YouTube - Adishakti - Ya Hanady

I've got a whole article on Saidi and Raks assaya on my site that might clarify the overlap a little (or confuse matters more?) Belly Dance Stuff: Styles -- Egyptian Saidi and Raks Assaya

Hey thanks, Lauren! I loved dancing this. Such a fun piece of music! How did your choreo pan out?

wonderful thread! I've been wondering the same thing. I love this saidi piece called "You Make Me Blush" from Angelika, but I've never used a cane before. Now I know I can work on it!

There are certain key steps you can always use with saidi - the little back step, the back jump, the skips, the horse type steps, the duck step - that you use regardless of whether or not cane is present. I use 3/4 down a lot - I don't know if it's "officially' saidi but it gets used for saidi here often.

Originally Posted by Adishakti

Hey thanks, Lauren! I loved dancing this. Such a fun piece of music! How did your choreo pan out?

It turned out terrific, Adi. I did wind up with the big hip circle where you used yours, but without the arm movement, since we did have canes.

Mostly we used Karim Nagi's Raks el Assaya movement vocabulary. It was a LOT of fun!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVSBpv5p5f0]YouTube - Egyptian belly dance - Saidi[/ame]

SOLD!

I reeeally love those videos. Thanks!

I'm absolutely in love with Aziza's:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUZTn_HOxQ0]YouTube - Aziza- Eilat festival 2009- Saidi[/ame][/QUOTE]

I love watching the Saidi clips, but really didn't enjoy this one and turned it off halfway through. Aziza is a beautiful oriental dancer, but she carries over too much of the ballet like flowy movements into the Saidi dance and it just ends up looking choreographed and 'yawn'........boring after a while. Adishakti and Autumn were wonderful.

Ranya has the earthy, raw, flat footed, sensuousness that makes me 'want' to watch.

Just my opinion.

I often feel like this.. ..l;, so for my next performance next week I am ditching the cane altogther.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE8-nt0Cjcc]YouTube - Randa Kamel Saidi Tableaux Part 2[/ame]

I love this Oriental Moon/Mamdouh Salama costume too ..g.:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_WTDfV6ho]YouTube - Classical lebanese belly dancer: Amar Kamel (1)[/ame]

Originally Posted by caroline_afifi

I often feel like this.. ..l;, so for my next performance next week I am ditching the cane altogther.

YouTube - Randa Kamel Saidi Tableaux Part 2

I love this Oriental Moon/Mamdouh Salama costume too ..g.:

As I was watching Randa's video clip my six year old son, who was looking on exclaimed 'Wow, she is good! Is she in Egypt?' ..l;,

I think he liked the backdrop.

If Tina Turner were a bellydancer this is the costume she'd wear. ..g.:

I'm very happy to see saidi done without the cane...at certain venues they just won't work or it's fun to do something different. Thank you for starting this thread!

Heh, your welcome Doozer

I'm totally diggin' this! Thank you everyone for sharing.
Norma, I agree about the live music. You did a fantastic job!

I can't believe there was a clip of Aziza that I have never seen. She did bring alot of the ballet influence but I think that Aziza was just dancing how Aziza dances. Her softer personality really shined in that clip. To me, at least...l;,

Also, I'm not a huge fan of Randa Kamel but I enjoyed the performance that was posted.

I'll see if I can sucssesfully learn to dance without cane by studying Youtube videos much like I did my Isis wings before they were so popular (jeez, there mught have been about five Isis wing videos at the time) and NOBODY did them in my area. People still ask me for my Isis wings, so it must have worked.

Thanks again!

We did exactly that in the Saidi workshop with Mohamed El Hosseny this weekend. He had us shout "Aiwa!" a few times as an accent. No cane and it was a lot of fun. (Not that canes are not fun... *g*)

Here you go, Orit's Saidi without cane. In a couple of months I will be able to post her group cane choreo to the same song. We are rehearsing it now for a show in November.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzb-v31Xlj4]YouTube - Orit Maftsir Saidi- Russia 2010[/ame]

double post, sorry about that

Originally Posted by sophie

Here you go, Orit's Saidi without cane. In a couple of months I will be able to post her group cane choreo to the same song. We are rehearsing it now for a show in November.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzb-v31Xlj4]YouTube - Orit Maftsir Saidi- Russia 2010[/ame]

how did your show go? I'm looking forward to seeing the group dance!

I

Originally Posted by Kalirah

how did your show go? I'm looking forward to seeing the group dance!

It was awesome!!! I will post a video of the cane dance when Orit uploads it.

My first teacher and mentor was just talking with me recently about doing Saidi dance with an "air cane." In other words, dancing as you would do with a cane, including most of the same movements and positions of the arms and hands you would use with a cane, only it's an invisible/imaginary cane.

Since actual canes have NOT been my forte thus far, I was pretty excited about this idea...l;,

But seriously, she said this was an authentic approach, and she demonstrated a bit, and yeah . . . it worked and looked good.
Rosette