Thread: Desperately Seeking Sahar Hamdi

Hello All,

I currently creating an original choreography for Dandesh's Manga song where she imitates other dancer! Having fun doing it BUT I can find NOTHING on Sahar Hamdi. I need to see clips of her dancing but I can not find one!

Does anyone know where I might be able to find her??

Wow. You have reached the end of the Internet. According to arz.wikipedia (Egyptian Wikipedia), her name is spelled سحر حمدي in Arabic (ويكيبيديا - سحر حمدي). Her elcinema page lists four movies (السينما - سحر حمدي), none of which turned up anything on YouTube. That's all I found...

Yes, I looked it up in Arabic as well! NOTHING. We really have reached the end of the internet.. Maybe there is a video she is on?

THANK YOU THOUGH!

There is footage of her out there, but it is a little hard to find (though some of it is on youtube). Your best bet is to try to find a copy of "Sahar Hamdi From Cairo Concerts" put out by (the now defunct) Saut Wa Soora company. It was VHS # 1207, and I am not sure if they released it on DVD like they did for some other titles. Some vendors may actually have old copies, maybe try Artemis Imports in southern California.

You also my find her on some random VCDs or DVDs from Cairo. I know people have had luck on eBay, maybe they'll chime in.

You also may be able to see her if you find you tube clips (or videos/DVDs) of singer Samy Ali, they worked together a lot. Also drummer Gamal Gomma was in her band at some point.

I'll never give up my Sahar Hamdi videos. She was a wild woman--in the best sense of the term thank you very much!--and a slice of belly dance life that is hard to find these days! I hope you can find something.

Hmm, I'm still not seeing anything. If I look under Sami Ali (سامي علي), I see the same links to record covers or photos with music, no live performance. Doesn't mean the videos aren't out there--they may be under the song titles or something....

Isn't it refreshing that not everything can be found online? I'm showing my curmudgeonly side, perhaps, and it feels a bit ironic to write on an online discussion board, but I always find it a bit of a relief when there is still some undiscovered, untracked, wildness in the world that we need human memory and direct experience storytelling for.

Sorry, having a moment, back to topic. ;) I shared some leads I know of, hopefully others can add more.

Originally Posted by Monica

There is footage of her out there, but it is a little hard to find (though some of it is on youtube). Your best bet is to try to find a copy of "Sahar Hamdi From Cairo Concerts" put out by (the now defunct) Saut Wa Soora company. It was VHS # 1207, and I am not sure if they released it on DVD like they did for some other titles.

Yes they did, because I've got the dvd. I got it from the now defunct bellydance marketplace ebay vendor.

This is coincidence because I am working on exactly the same thing-there was one clip on youtube now defunct and this article
A sweet face, naughty moves, and Gulf money: A biography of Sahar Hamdi | Arab Washingtonian
I have a video of her which doesn't really do her justice

Yasmin (DC) had the great fortune of working with her and staying with her in her apartment at times. She has footage that is AMAZING, but I've never seen it anywhere else.
Yasmin wrote an article that is here, ironically enough inspired by a Bhuz thread:
Sahar Hamdi

I've got some footage of her but no way to show it to you :(
This is Gamal Gomaa druming for Sahar Hamdi. The poster of this video is Donavon from Studio Iqaat.
Her dancing has been clipped out, only to show Gamal. But this means Donavon may have the original footage too. You can ask him.
http://www.iqaat.com/home.html

This music is attributed to her. Can give you some of her "flavor":




IMO she was high energy, saucy and naughty with a sweet smile. Gah! I wish I could show you the video

I assume you are trying to imitate signature moves of Sahar Hamdi for the Dandesh piece?

She danced very wide legged with large pelvic movements. She often raised just one eye brow and also did a fish-face - sinking in her cheeks and moving her lips. The way Dandesh imitated her was with large thoracic drops. She often did lunges and had a way of pointing to one hip with her hands in a suggestive manner.

Her most well-known piece on film is when she got up from the audience and danced with Shokookoo in a gray silk pantsuit and cowboy boots. Unfortunately she was drunk, so it is not her best dancing.

Yes..Sahar Hamdi! what a character

This was my tribute to her.. it was not meant to be an imitation as such but more about the flavour and character of her endeavours.

YouTube - ‪shaabi/Baladi Caroline Afifi‬‏

I think we are in a minority liking Sahar Hamdi!

I have the Sahar Hamdi in Cairo video but I also have another chunk of an even less well known video that is very degraded and has completely lost colour but it is absolutely the best! I recorded it off my teacher back in the day of that's how you got your videos, and she recorded from the drum solo and the section where she lip synchs to a few songs.

If I manage to transfer it to the computer as it's still on tape, I'll upload as much as I can as it's such fabulous and rare footage, I don't see much point in it rotting on my shelves, just wish I had original footage.

I suspect here are people with more video of her out there but because some well known dancers have made it very well known that they don't approve of her, I think people are keeping quiet about owning up to the footage.

I have private video shot by a friend at a wedding. It shows Sahar as a good dancer who went out of her way to be vulgar.... My friend says it was her claim to fame and that she capitalized on her vulgarity.

One of my favorite moves from this video occurs when she is facing back, then jumps to face front, legs apart, pelvis thrust forward, and shimmies. She seems to be reveling in the crowd reaction. In this video she's wearing a white bedlah with a full skirt, slit on one side, and a white lace legging on the exposed leg. The costume tones down her wide-legged stance.

Originally Posted by mafadalo

I think we are in a minority liking Sahar Hamdi!
... I suspect here are people with more video of her out there but because some well known dancers have made it very well known that they don't approve of her, I think people are keeping quiet about owning up to the footage.

Who? I LOVE Sahar Hamdi. What's not to love? The ghawazees were raunchy, too! She was following in a long line of baudy entertainers. She was good at what she did. Her baby face was a perfect foil for all that ... stuff. I'm just curious. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, of course. I guess the dichotomy falls in what you expect of the dance - technical perfection or being entertained. You have to remember, Egyptians love to joke, and particularly about sex.

Originally Posted by beafarhana

Yes they did, because I've got the dvd. I got it from the now defunct bellydance marketplace ebay vendor.

Same here. So maybe there's still copies floating around out there. I'm not sure my copy had any title beyond just Sahar Hamdi.

I enjoy her dancing--don't think I'd emulate it, apart from having made the same attempt everyone eventually makes to do the Dandash routine , but I enjoy watching her.

Originally Posted by beafarhana

Yes they did, because I've got the dvd. I got it from the now defunct bellydance marketplace ebay vendor.

Originally Posted by Serpentine

Her most well-known piece on film is when she got up from the audience and danced with Shokookoo in a gray silk pantsuit and cowboy boots. Unfortunately she was drunk, so it is not her best dancing.

I have two DVD:s from the seller Bea mentions(had VHS that´s now too watched to work)

One has the clip (along with Shushu Ameen,Lucy,Aida and others)Serpentine mentions-and that´s not representative for her dancing!
She has a really sweet face full of crazy expressions and very graceful hands in the other DVD that *only* features her.
Naughty dancing;yes indeed but good (with much audience contact)!
Must be the Saut Wa Soora "Sahar Hamdi from Cairo Concerts".

Originally Posted by emma-bessa

She has a really sweet face full of crazy expressions and very graceful hands ...Naughty dancing;yes indeed but good (with much audience contact)!

That's what I remember of her. That's what my private footage shows. Her hands and face were remarkable. Of all the dancers I saw in the 1980s, she had the best hands and wrists. Without even trying. People were very thrown off by her wide legged stance (old-fashioned street dance / Mohammed Ali Street / ghawazee style). But it got the job done on her shimmies. Audiences loved her drum solos.

I also own the footage you've mentioned. On the tape of only her, the second performance is better than the first. She looked very nervous and rushed for the first show, particularly for her entrance piece. It must have been a bad night for her. She was a very hit and miss performer. If she wasn't comfortable with the audience, she would just go through the moves. The second show you can see that she's enjoying herself.

I wrote this article a while ago. Sahar Hamdi
The pictures are from some of my private footage. They illustrate what I'm talking about.

Originally Posted by Serpentine

Who? I LOVE Sahar Hamdi. What's not to love? The ghawazees were raunchy, too! She was following in a long line of baudy entertainers. She was good at what she did. Her baby face was a perfect foil for all that ... stuff. I'm just curious. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions, of course. I guess the dichotomy falls in what you expect of the dance - technical perfection or being entertained. You have to remember, Egyptians love to joke, and particularly about sex.

I think unless you are actually interested in Egyptian culture (not just the dance) it is very easy for people to miss this one.
There is a general view of the ME as being ultra conservative and everything has to be 'respectable'.. but, it is all about keeping up appearances.
Humour is an essential part of life in Egypt and dancers never took themselves ultra seriously.

Originally Posted by caroline_afifi

... Humour is an essential part of life in Egypt and dancers never took themselves ultra seriously.

YES!

Originally Posted by caroline_afifi

There is a general view of the ME as being ultra conservative and everything has to be 'respectable'.. but, it is all about keeping up appearances. Humour is an essential part of life in Egypt and dancers never took themselves ultra seriously.

Forgive me veering off-topic for a moment....

This comment makes me remember the time I saw Fifi Abdo in a 1999 performance in one of the 5-star nightclubs (I forget which) full of Gulf Arabs. At one point in her show, she was looking directly at the Gulf Arabs, said something in Arabic, and grabbed her own breast. I sure wish I understood Arabic to know what she said!

Back to Sahar Hamdi....

I like her spark/personality. But I can't escape thinking that although I like Sahar Hamdi, I'd be very offended to see a generic U.S. dancer doing exactly the same thing in front of a U.S. audience of the general public!

Context is everything, of course. Sahar did what she did for an audience of people that she knew would get the joke. In the U.S., we have a very different cultural dynamic. And this brings to mind a comment I'm fond of making.... "Just because an Egyptian dancer did a certain thing doesn't mean it's a good idea for YOU to do it!"

Originally Posted by *Shira*

...Context is everything, of course. Sahar did what she did for an audience of people that she knew would get the joke. In the U.S., we have a very different cultural dynamic. And this brings to mind a comment I'm fond of making.... "Just because an Egyptian dancer did a certain thing doesn't mean it's a good idea for YOU to do it!"

I totally agree. I know very few Western dancers that could pull off her ... sense of humor.

The only point I am trying to make here is that I believe Sahar Hamdi has been grossly misunderstood by the West (and the "well known dancers" mentioned above). Since I seem to be the only one who actually knew her, I am trying to defend her "worth" as a dancer - in her own culture, to Arabic speaking audiences. She was not a dancer for Western tourists. But she did A LOT of weddings. She was appreciated by her own people.

When she was off, people laughed at her. When she was on they laughed with her. But she was on far more than she was off.

Originally Posted by Serpentine

The only point I am trying to make here is that I believe Sahar Hamdi has been grossly misunderstood by the West (and the "well known dancers" mentioned above). Since I seem to be the only one who actually knew her, I am trying to defend her "worth" as a dancer - in her own culture, to Arabic speaking audiences. She was not a dancer for Western tourists. But she did A LOT of weddings. She was appreciated by her own people.

When she was off, people laughed at her. When she was on they laughed with her. But she was on far more than she was off.

And I'm really glad you're bringing that context into this thread. So often, we dancers outside the Middle East see these videos of dance performances without any context. We don't know WHY they did what they did. We don't know WHO their audiences were, or WHAT those audiences would be likely to appreciate in their entertainment. The dancers who became stars BECAME famous exactly because they understood what their target audiences wanted, and they delivered it. But we often don't have the context to understand the big picture.

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Serpentine

I totally agree. I know very few Western dancers that could pull off her ... sense of humor.

Sense of humour does not have to mean they are a comediene! lol

Nor does it have to be about being saucy and grabbing your bossoms.. but, you dont have to look like you have come out to dance with a broom up your backside taking yourself ultra seriously as an 'artist'.

You can smile and enjoy the moment with the audience, relax and have some fun. I know quite a few people who were raised in the West and are good at this.

I guess it is about balance at the end of the day..know yourself and know your audience.

Sorry, I think my comment came out the wrong way, but there have mainly been Western dancers (not you Yasmin, I really don't want to go into who they are and it's not necessary) who have made it quite clear they find her vulgar and tasteless and there have been heated arguments over her dancing. I think this is one of the reasons why she isn't as well known as many of the dancers around that time.

I have to agree though, I've been to Egypt plenty of times, I've known many Egyptians and I can never get over how people layer this level of conservatism over them as I just can't see it whenever I've been around Egyptians. Yes, obviously there are conservative Egyptians but I don't think I've ever met any!! Of course, there's the public and private faces which is maybe why people can think they are more conservative than they are??

I don't consider and have never considered her vulgar, to me she is bawdy more than anything, but since I consider that a pretty typical trait amongst Egyptians that I've met (obviously not all of them) it never crossed my mind that she could be considered anything else. I've known dancers that were performing through that era that Sahar was performing and yes she did do some questionable things, but as you said she was an entertainer first and foremost if she didn't entertain, she wouldn't be working.

I just re-read your article Yasmin, and I forgot to thank you as I think you were a breath of fresh air and more importantly, you gave back Sahar's humanity as it's so easy to attack someone who isn't here to defend themselves.

Apologies if I've explained this badly, I think my mind says more than my fingers can type. And I'm knackered today so I suspect I have written some garbage but never mind...

Originally Posted by mafadalo

I don't consider and have never considered her vulgar, to me she is bawdy more than anything, but I consider that a pretty typical trait amongst Egyptians that I've met...

I like the word bawdy. That is what she was. Personally, I haven't met many Western dancers who are bawdy, hence my comment above - but then again, I don't get out much on the circuit.

As you said, many dancers don't like to watch Sahar because they think she's "vulgar." Can we just take a minute to break down what makes people think this? I believe there are 3 elements:
- her bawdy gestures
- her crude language or spoken innuendos at times on stage
- her very wide-legged stance

I would like to address the third factor. Ever since I started dancing for Arabs, I was told to keep my legs together while I danced, and preferably in a "mermaid" or "cheesecake" position. Because ... only lower class Mohammed Ali dancers danced with their legs apart.

Why was this?

Because the old style ghawazees, untrained in the arts of Hollywood seduction, danced like that around the turn of the last century. And why did they dance like that? Because it was easier to move and isolate their hips. They wore long, bulky one-piece robes that were generally not see-through (except for the assuit). They didn't have to worry about their audiences seeing through their dresses. But with the new Hollywood style sheer costumes, all of a sudden everyone could see everything...

This clip of Nabawiya Moustafa shows the generation before Sahar - the generation Sahar learned to dance from. This is her influence. Look at Nelly Fouad. She dances like this as well - with a wide stance. She too was frenetic, like Sahar's intros. But when they got to lip synching and feeling the music both women slowed down.

Watch Nabawiya's facial expressions. They are like Sahar's (when she wasn't drunk). What's not to love? She was a contemporary of Tahia Carioka - but worlds apart. I'm only trying to throw out some food for thought.

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Serpentine

I like the word bawdy. That is what she was. Personally, I haven't met many Western dancers who are bawdy, hence my comment above - but then again, I don't get out much on the circuit.

I dont know too many who I would describe as 'bawdy', I know a few who use a slightly bawdy attitutude to deal with people in a light way.
I also know people who are 'bawdy' in real life then turn into an Oriental Princess on stage! lol

As you said, many dancers don't like to watch Sahar because they think she's "vulgar." Can we just take a minute to break down what makes people think this? I believe there are 3 elements:
- her bawdy gestures
- her crude language or spoken innuendos at times on stage
- her very wide-legged stance

I have mentioned this before but, the exported version of the dance is usually interpreted by the receiver... a bit like a lover. We often take the aspect we are drawn to and either seek to change or reject the rest blaming it for being all wrong.

The whole 'Sha'abi' discussion is encompassed by the same debate and issues.

A few random thoughts:

* Foreigner dancers are hesitant to push the bawdy element with good reason. Being bawdy is an inside joke. You have to be very comfortable with a culture before it would make sense to start cracking blue jokes (either verbally or physically). Natives sometimes get offended or embarrassed by the implication of an outsider behaving off color (ranging from "Are you trying to say we're all that crude?" to "That's a very impolite thing. Do you actually understand what you're doing?"). You have to be immersed enough to practically "pass," and they have to be used to thinking of you as one of them before bawdy works. From the sheer logistics, it's prudent for 99% of us to not go too far down that road. Honestly, a lot of these jokes (in word or deed) really are lost on us, so it's best for us not to attempt to go there.

* Foreign students who care about cultural authenticity are coming into the dance with a different mind set. In a lot of ways, we're encouraged to take ourselves too seriously. You can't cut loose if you're constantly hyper-analyzing yourself. Not many dancers value learning how to incorporate authentic coarseness. Mostly, we emphasize working the "unpolished-ness" of being foreign out of our dancing.

* How much of the reason why "lost" dancers like Sahar and Nabawiya are so misunderstood is due to fact that their careers preceded the formalizing of the dance as an academic business? Neither Fifi nor Dina is in danger of winning the "Most Ladylike" crown away from Souheir Zaki, but they live in a world where students buy their videos and travel across the country to take workshops with them for their authenticity. Sahar and Nabawiya didn't have the same chances to capitalize on the commercialization of the dance. How much would this conversation be different if their careers had peaked while Miles was pitching "authentic," learn-how-to-dance-like-a-brassy-Egyptian-dame videos through his distribution channels?

* What about the evolution of "standards" of vulgarity? When I see old reruns of "Match Game" on GSN, I still can't believe some of the things they said on the show, but compared to Chris Rock or Sarah Silverman, those awful double entendres sound quaintly obscene. How does this style of burlesque-esque performing fit into a world of Internet porn and performers who think that shocking with vulgarity is a substitute for talent? In the US, we don't have quite the same religious backlash issues that they have in the ME, so our level crudeness can get pretty wild, but then again, their cultures traveled against the tide of religious conservatism to get from al-Sitt al-Kull to Haifa and Sandy, so how does this aspect fit into the discussion?

ONE OF MY STUDENTS JUST FOUND SAHAR HAMDI!
YouTube - ‫

I have to study it so see exactly what they're saying, but it seems to be about how a female artist can redeem herself in the eyes of God. There are other artists there with an imam. Very chaste setting. Sahar is the woman all covered in blue.
لقاء يجمع فضيلة الشيخ محمد المسير رحمه الله وعمنا الشاعر الكبير أحمد فؤاد نجم والفنانات المعتزلات .. الراقصة سحر حمدى و الفنانة شهيرة والمطربة حنان.. الخ
فى برنامج قبل ان تحاسبوا على قناة إقرأ
تقديم بسمة وهبه
Ahmad Fouad negum
Sahar Hamdi
Shaheera
Singer Hanan

It appears to be the first part of a 5 part program uploaded by "alsabbaghblog", she speaks in other parts as well, here are the links:

http://youtu.be/UiBgcSc60Dg

http://youtu.be/xJla377neEI

http://youtu.be/H2yC0b8pCvo

http://youtu.be/05_yF2URD6Y

Originally Posted by Serpentine

I like the word bawdy. That is what she was.

Just curious -- would you compare Sahar to an American entertainer like Bette Midler, who was considered shocking in the 70s for performing in gay clubs and using the word "tits" in her show?