Thread: Costume for Nubian dance

So, I'm inspired to explore Nubian dance further and put together a number for my troupe. Found the piece of music and a handful of videos to inspire the movements. Now, I need to know what costume to wear.

It is very important to me that traditions and cultures be respected. That being said, I'm looking for a modern twist. I noticed Leila wears a basically regular skirt and bra costume (but in neon green with neon accents) when she does her Nubian number on her DVD. Then, on the Masters of Egyptian Choreography DVD she wears an equally modern costume. She is always accompanied by 2 Nubian guys, which our troupe is sadly lacking! I've also notice Lotus wore a bra and skirt set too with big and bold floral print.

What have you worn? What have you seen respectable dancers wearing? THanks for sharing!

Sahra's former troupe Ya Amar used to do a Nubian number. The costume was an A line tent dress with full sleeves and basically a 1/2 circle veil as a head dress. The dress had a slightly uneven hem line - higher in the front than back, since so much of the Nubian dance was forward leaning. This helped the dancers to avoid stepping on the hem of their dresses.

I believe you can see these on one of Sahra's videos.

{{{HUGS}}}

Yes, thank you. I have that video. I was hoping to find out more about the modern versions of Nubian costumes. Maybe there isn't one? Dancers are just doing Nubian in Raks Sharqi costumes for convenience?

Look, I just found this clip of Lucy. She seems to be wearing a baladi/saidi dress. Interesting.

Most of the clips seem to show the women in dresses similar to the nightgown-y style worn for fellahi numbers (maybe a little straighter cut, but long sleeves, and a ruffle at the bottom). A head covering seems to be more common than bare-headed with long braids.

Since you brought up the importance of doing the culture justice, it might be worth mentioning that in the past, Morocco (Aunt Rocky) has been critical of what she calls "shuckin' and jivin' Nubian." I think what she meant is that the defining image of Nubian dance in the belly dancing community comes from the Reda portrayal, which may not always be perceived and re-implemented properly. Reda was already using his own artistic license, and sometimes when foreign students get a hold of his ideas, buoyed by their enthusiasm, they can inadvertently exaggerate Reda's version to the point that they are parodying Nubians without realizing it. Fortunately, YouTube gives us a wider window into things than just Reda's view. To that end, I'd recommend poking around a bit in Arabic to see what is out there that isn't coming from Western dance students. (I'm sure if you could search in a Nubian dialect, that would be even better, but that's beyond what I can help you with....) The only caution is to be suspicious of everything, and run as much of what info you can find through a translator program, since things can be taken out of context, and sometimes the difference between staying on the trail and getting lost is reading the comments and looking at where the person who uploaded the video is from. I assume that you can be Sudanese but not Nubian, so that's another thing to take into account. Here are the words for dance (رقص), Nubia (النوبة), Nubian (النوبي), wedding (زفاف), party (حفلة), and Aswan (أسوان), and a few videos to get you started. A lot of the street party videos will be guys dancing, but you can compare how the regular people dance to Reda that way.

Here's a Nubian performance troupe that appears to be based in Europe. This channel has a bunch of different videos from their shows. This one is from some sort of cultural event in Bratislava. I haven't seen the costumes with the lace overlays before.



Here's a different troupe on Sudanese television. Those costumes are probably a little too authentic.



This clip is tagged "Nubian Dance" and it looks like a wedding party. Pay close attention to the traditional folk dance they're doing here--the Electric Slide?! Still, it's useful for getting the vibe of their posture and carriage.

the current stage shows in Egypt usually have either a Saidi section or a Nubian section as part of a full length show that also has Raks Sharki, beledi, drum solo etc. These sections are part of full stage show featuring just one dancer. They usually have one or two traditional elements in their glitzy stage costumes that they use for the Nubian section, or as you have observed they just stay in the original costume. Since it is part of a continuous show that is not specifically a folkloric show I think this has become more acceptable. I prefer to see costume changes that correspond to the type of music.

Traditional elements might be a head scarf or sleeves that are long and drapy. I tried to find a picture of the costumes the Reda troupe wore for a Nubian number that were almost traditional but were prettier and more flattering than the "Mother Hubbard" traditional costume but only found Saidi costumes.

I found one with costumes I think could be modernized by making them more form fitting and glitzy.



This one below is obviously a stage show, she has a glitzy costume with drapy sleeves, I actually like this one a lot.



I actually like the traditional costume best and when you have a troupe all in the traditional costume it is quite striking and entertaining.


Here is another (if the embedding works, been fighting with it) that has traditional type costumes that could be modernized

for some reason the video I want to link to here keeps showing up as the wrong one! go to you tube and search for Reda Yassin Folkloric Troupe Nubian Finale, hopefully that will bring up the right video.

Marya

If you look at the YouTube clips for the Nubian singer Mohammed Fawzi (search on النوبي محمد فوزي so you don't get clips of the Golden-Age Egyptian singer with the same name), they seem to be uploading anything and everything to go with his songs. I'm willing to believe it makes equal sense to dance to his music in Islamic modesty clothing and hoochie clubwear, but everybody knows you can't put a talking cheeseburger on aluminum foil in a microwave!

I agree with others who say what we belly dancers see as "Nubian dance" in an Oriental Dance context is more Reda Troupe style than anything else. There is a ton of diversity in northern Sudan and southern Egypt, and we probably have no way of knowing diversity (or even style) of movement without going there ourselves. I think it is totally fine to do Reda Nubian, just be aware it is just a glimpse of one (or maybe a mixture of a few) style of a male dance from the past. Does that make sense? With that perspective I think a Reda style costume makes sense (large dress with a yoke and a ruffle and maybe a chiffon overdress (jarjar?) and a pretty long tarha (head scarf). But it is sort of a fantasy, albeit with a real reference point.

I think dancers in Cairo who add Nubian do so because they have Nubian band members. Sahra Saeeda said Dina had (has?) a really fantastic Nubian singer for a while, and she would reference and play with Nubian style movement a lot when he sang. Would she have added Nubian to her Cairo show if he had not been part of it? Who knows, of course, but maybe we can assume not.

Today a majority of Nubians are in Sudan ("Upper Nubia"), so you might research there (of course there may be a Sudan split coming, who knows how it will go). One other idea is to look for terms that people actually call themselves! It can be really complex, political, messy and confusing. :) But there is a ton of current dance happening in upper Egypt and northern Sudan. It would be so cool to learn more about what is really going on in terms of dance!

Oops, two more things I thought of right after I hit 'post' above! ;)

The Aswan Dance Troupe may be a little more modern being in the actual Egyptian/Nubian (but it may not!). Anyway, a place to start!
ASWAN ART

Also, this little dancer certainly gives the spirit of some of the style, no? I am always happy to share his video!

Originally Posted by Hala Jamal

Yes, thank you. I have that video. I was hoping to find out more about the modern versions of Nubian costumes. Maybe there isn't one?

Do you want Nubian costumes or not? If so, no, a version of bedleh is not "traditional". Unfortunately the women's traditional costume is not sexy - the one below is a "modernized" version I created from information from Denise Enan and sketches of traditional dress from the Aswan Museum (it appears the traditional costume is sewn from three lengths of fabric sewn horizontally - each a little longer than the one above and gathered into it). I've slimmed it down and used modern fabrics - much more fiddling and it would cease to really be "Nubian".


As you travel further south the costuming becomes more like Sudanese - a long length of fabric draped around the body and over the head - very hard to dance in!!

Thanks for all your posts and ideas, bhuzzers!

The Reda Troupe came to Calgary (the closest big city to me) last year. I'm glad I went because now I can say I saw the famous Reda troupe dance live. I got to see the Reda style up close and personal. I'm also glad I went because now I can officially say that I don't like it. It's pretty, well-choreographed and tight, but very repetitive (not in a good, folky way), sterile and stiff. Just not something I gravitate towards all the while respecting the reasons people DO like it.

Anyway, yes, I understand the Reda approach to folklore (part fact, part theatrical fiction). While I wouldn't use Reda as a primary source for something like Nubian (or anything, really), I understand the deep and unconscious impact the Reda style has had on dancers from all over the world for decades and decades.

In terms of costuming, I will clarify that I'm looking for a happy medium between traditional and modern styles. I know Melaya Lef is all theatrical and no traditional (expect that it's been a satire done for the stage for decades) but the melaya lef dress has evolved over the decades. When dancers do melaya today, they can choose the wear the older Alexandria style (salsa type dress??), a baladi dress, a "little black dress", or I've even seen an outfit that looks like it's from Forever 21. The feeling behind the dance and the movement vocabulary remain.

Nubian dance would be different because we're talking about real dance steps from a real culture. But, surely, like everything else, it too is changing and so is the costuming. Dina, Leila, Lucy and other Egyptian stars using it in their shows and doing it in bellydance costumes. I don't want to go that far away from tradition but I also can't help but notice that that seems to be "okay." (judging from the lack of public outcry and the positive audience response????).

So, what does a modern "traditional" costume look like? (sounds like a silly, contradictory question but you know where I'm coming from ;-) Thanks to those who've posted what they chose. Keep it coming!

I think the challenge you are running into is this: there is no "modern Traditional" Nubian costuming per se. Yes, most dancers do it as part of their stage shows, but most don't change into a different costume because there isn't anything to change into. It's a bit like putting a polka on during a hoi-poi wedding reception: the MotB isn't going to run out and put on a Polka dress. She's going to dance it in her MotB dress. My understanding is that when the Headliners perform it as part of their set, it's not a long enough part for them to justify going out and changing.

My suggestion is that if you don't want to do a full on Nubian dress, you might want to look at a modern Galabaya. I believe that this is what Leila Haddad used when she toured several years ago.

{{{HUGS}}}

If I might make a suggestions:

https://turquoiseintl.com/store/prod...e9288726879040

Originally Posted by Wallowa

This one below is obviously a stage show, she has a glitzy costume with drapy sleeves, I actually like this one a lot.

So, this is a Nubian song? It appeared in at least 2 clips posted here. I've heard another version of it before, and I wouldn't have known. Do you know the name of this song? What are some other popular Nubian songs?

this is a good album with both traditional and modern music

Mambo El Soudani - Salamat - Piranha Musik & IT

Not everything on this album is Nubian, but there are some wonderful Nubian songs on here.
Amazon.com: Music of Upper & Lower Egypt: Various Artists: Music



For classic (not folk dance) music there is always Hamza al Din, wonderful, wonderful music.

Here is a clip of my favorite song from Mambo el Sudani

Here's a pic of Sahra Saeeda when she did her Nubian dance at the JtE show last year. She was fantastic, I'd never seen Nubian before but it was one of my favorites from the whole show:

Originally Posted by yameyameyame

So, this is a Nubian song? It appeared in at least 2 clips posted here. I've heard another version of it before, and I wouldn't have known. Do you know the name of this song? What are some other popular Nubian songs?

This is not a Nubian song. The title is "Sabri Aleel" (could also be spelled "Sobry Alil"), and the singer is Shereen. (Sometimes spelled Sherin, Shareen, etc.) It was on the top of the pop music charts around 2003-ish. I like it a lot, and sometimes dance to it. You can find the translation on my web site.

My favorite Nubian pop song is "Shamandora" by Mohammed Mounir. (He's Nubian.) I think it was on the pop charts around 2004, so it's kind of old, but I still like it a lot. That one too is translated on my web site.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

This is not a Nubian song. The title is "Sabri Aleel" (could also be spelled "Sobry Alil"), and the singer is Shereen. (Sometimes spelled Sherin, Shareen, etc.) It was on the top of the pop music charts around 2003-ish. I like it a lot, and sometimes dance to it. You can find the translation on my web site.

I don't know enough about Nubian music to say for sure, but this may be considered a Nubian rhythm. Natives hear these subtle variations in their music that can be very hard for non-natives to discern. We could probably have a rollicking discussion about whether the songs Mike Nesmith wrote for The Monkees had a slight bluegrass flavor that turned his Texas C&W influences into something more like Bakersfield than Southern-Fried, and it would be completely lost on an Egyptian who thought The Monkees were a bubblegum band. ME singers are always playing with variations in dialect and rhythm that require years of knowledge (or good album reviews) for cultural outsiders to identify. I can't find the file now (probably lost two hard drives ago), but I thought I had read "Wala Leila" by Amro Diab was considered a Nubian song. Even if it is, it wouldn't be my first choice for representing Nubian dance, because that's not what Amr is known for. Once you start venturing off the beaten path, you can do more damage by confusing your audience than you help them by introducing them to new ideas.

My favorite Nubian pop song is "Shamandora" by Mohammed Mounir. (He's Nubian.)

Mohammed Mounir sings a lot of songs that are not ethnically Nubian. Sometimes his music is straightforward/traditional Nubian, sometimes he sings Nubian fusion, and sometimes his records are just Pan-Arab World music. Occasionally he sings lyrics with religious themes that could be deemed inappropriate to dance to. He has also been socially branded a loose cannon and a crackpot for his obstinate refusal to kowtow to religious conservatives who find his ecumenical, let's-all-get-along-because-Allah-loves-everybody philosophy culturally offensive and personally sinful, so you have to do your research before using his music. Having said that, "Ahmar Shafayif" is an amazing album. If you're only going to own one Mounir album, this would be a great choice.

BTW, the "Shamandoura" on the "Mambo El Soudani" album Wallowa linked is the same "Shamandora" song as this one, just a different version.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I don't know enough about Nubian music to say for sure, but this may be considered a Nubian rhythm. Natives hear these subtle variations in their music that can be very hard for non-natives to discern.

Hmmmm, I see why you say the rhythm might align with Nubian. I guess I tend to think that it takes more than a rhythm to make a song fit a certain genre. For example, Jeremiah Soto's band "Solace" and Alan Bachman's band "Desert Wind" have both created their own original compositions that use Middle Eastern rhythms, but their songs don't sound Middle Eastern to me. I like both bands, but they both sound quite American to me.

In deeming Sobry Alil as "not-Nubian", my thought process was that it doesn't give me the same vibe as Nubian folkloric music, or Reda-flavor-of-Nubian music, or Nubian pop such as Mohammed Mounir and Gawaher.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

ME singers are always playing with variations in dialect and rhythm that require years of knowledge (or good album reviews) for cultural outsiders to identify. I can't find the file now (probably lost two hard drives ago), but I thought I had read "Wala Leila" by Amro Diab was considered a Nubian song.

Hmmm, I'm not familiar with "Wala Leila". It almost makes my brain explode to think of anything by Amr Diab being considered Nubian, though!

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Mohammed Mounir sings a lot of songs that are not ethnically Nubian. Sometimes his music is straightforward / traditional Nubian, sometimes he sings Nubian fusion, and sometimes his records are just Pan-Arab World music. Occasionally he sings lyrics with religious themes that could be deemed inappropriate to dance to. He has also been socially branded a loose cannon and a crackpot for his obstinate refusal to kowtow to religious conservatives who find his ecumenical, let's-all-get-along-because-Allah-loves-everybody philosophy culturally offensive and personally sinful, so you have to do your research before using his music.

Thanks for that background! I'm not familiar with very many of Mohammed Mounir's songs, and I appreciate your taking the time to provide some background!

Originally Posted by Hala Jamal

Thanks for all your posts and ideas, bhuzzers!

In terms of costuming, I will clarify that I'm looking for a happy medium between traditional and modern styles. I know Melaya Lef is all theatrical and no traditional (expect that it's been a satire done for the stage for decades) but the melaya lef dress has evolved over the decades. When dancers do melaya today, they can choose the wear the older Alexandria style (salsa type dress??), a baladi dress, a "little black dress", or I've even seen an outfit that looks like it's from Forever 21. The feeling behind the dance and the movement vocabulary remain.

Nubian dance would be different because we're talking about real dance steps from a real culture.

I wanted to point out that there is no Meleya Leff dance - this was a Reda invention where he imagined if women were to dance with their melayas, what would they do? What if they wanted to flirt with their melayas by wrapping and unwrapping them? Even when Reda came up with the melaya dance, they were on their way out of fashion, and only older women or lower class women wore them.

So, he and Farida imagined the salsa type dress that many people have copied - so for melaya, there is no distinct dress that you can pull from. Wearing the Reda dress is kind of a nod towards Reda's original melaya leff dance. No one has worn a melaya in probably 50 years, so you can wear whatever you want (if you wanted) and Walid Tafouk even does a "new melaya" dance - a fusion where you use a melaya made from netting!

I know you know this, Hala, but wanted to point this out in the thread to anyone who comes across it since melaya costumes comes up a lot. So I guess it is different, in that there is a distinct Nubian traditional dress, but a "melaya dance" has no cultural tradition to pull from other than women used to wear them over their everyday clothes.

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

I wanted to point out that there is no Meleya Leff dance - this was a Reda invention where he imagined if women were to dance with their melayas, what would they do? [...] So I guess it is different, in that there is a distinct Nubian traditional dress, but a "melaya dance" has no cultural tradition to pull from other than women used to wear them over their everyday clothes.

True. I think from our point of view, it is fair to say that the "traditional" Melaya Leff costume is the Reda costume, since the "traditional Melaya Leff dance" IS Reda's Melaya Leff. In other words, there was an independent tradition of women wearing a melaya in Egypt, but the tradition of doing this dance, in this way, in this outfit, is effectively contained within the dance community. Whatever history and habits have since come to be associated with it all originated with and built on Reda's artistic vision, not the larger culture of Egypt. Reda didn't invent Nubian culture as a creative concept. His Nubian pieces were inspired by what Nubians were already doing.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

Hmmmm, I see why you say the rhythm might align with Nubian. I guess I tend to think that it takes more than a rhythm to make a song fit a certain genre.

I remember once being in a workshop when someone asked just that "What makes it a Nubian song?" - the answer included rhythm, tones, background of musicians, and language of the singing! Very hard for non-Egyptians (or even many Egyptians I suspect) to pick.

Somewhat OT, but I've been meaning to bump this thread to clarify something I wrote earlier. With the changes in Egypt, Mohammed Mounir has recently been riding a wave of so-far pretty sturdy popularity. He was one of the first singers to come out with a song that was sympathetic to the demonstrators' agenda, and since they were successful in driving Mubarak out, this has been a real boost for him. Normally, a lot of people would have rolled their eyes at his Western, multicultural optimism, but there really was a period not too long ago when Egyptian Muslims and Christians stood shoulder to shoulder in brotherhood with dreams of equality and freedom. You might argue that it looks like things are already starting to fray at the seams (the referendum election was pretty divided among sectarian lines and people are starting to worry about what's going to happen in the upcoming elections), but for now, Mounir is one of a handful of celebrities still being taken seriously for his position on the Tahrir Square protests.

If you're not following it, the Middle East has been flooded with "revolution music," to the extent that very little apolitical entertainment music has been released since the end of January. There's been some criticism of celebrities who climbed on the bandwagon too late (after it was clear that destiny was not on Mubarak's side), and even more criticism of the ones who made complete fools of themselves in hindsight by rallying enthusiastically around Mubarak in January, but Mounir has really been able to capitalize on current events in a sincere, organic way. He's been in the right place, with the right message, at the right time.

I was just in Aswan, and the Nubian ladies there wore A-line, floor length, long sleeved black lace overdresses with a series of tucks at the hips, along with a headscarf. They wore these when outside on the street--I did not see them in the village, and not inside at the hotel. The dioramas at the Nubian Museum also showed women in these dresses, and the antique store had one (at a terrible price), though i scoured the souk and could not find one.

I have attached some pics from the Nubian museum, but they are very dark (and the first one is sideways). In the first, a woman is being readied for her wedding--under her lace dress, she wears a sparkly red dress of the galabeya persuasion, but I couldn't get a good look at it. The second is a detail of the tucking.

P1030240.jpgP1030241.jpg

PS, Much Nubian music uses a pentatonic scale. Once you get used to hearing it, you can recognize it fairly easily.

I just came across a short version of a Nubian dress on a major costume site yesterday (I've been trolling for days) and now I can't find it.

Originally Posted by alia t

I was just in Aswan, and the Nubian ladies there wore floor length, long sleeved black lace overdresses with a series of tucks at the hips, and a ruffle at the bottom, along with a headscarf. I have some pics from the Nubian museum that I will post a bit later.

Depending on your audience, a something like a sheer black jarjar as described here could be worn over a regular dress or modest costume, or you could just opt for a bright beledi dress (orange and/or neon green) of some sort and add a head wrap with large jewelry.

Originally Posted by nasila

Depending on your audience, a something like a sheer black jarjar as described here could be worn over a regular dress or modest costume, or you could just opt for a bright beledi dress (orange and/or neon green) of some sort and add a head wrap with large jewelry.

I am doing research for the booklet to Hymn to Hathor. The album has 2 Nubian songs - Benat an-Nuba and Waili. In Benat an-Nuba the lyrics refer to girls dressed in "Jurjaar." Nasila, is this what you refer to as a jarjar? In Tourbeau's video above of the Nubian troupe dancing in a hotel lobby, the women wear sheer lace dresses over red under-robes. The lace dress is the jurjaar? Can anyone help me locate more pictures of this?
Any help greatly appreciated.
Yasmin Henkesh

Hi Yasmin, I just saw your post! Yes, it's the black sheer overgarment.

There is a photo here:
Kalabsha Temple & Nubian Museum Tour from Aswan in Luxor - Aswan, Egypt | View Pictures

and some here:
Archive Photos from the Nubian » AlNuba egypt

and a video here: