Thread: Basket Dance: What can you tell me about it? Any good clips?

Our troupe wants to do one. I've never heard of it or seen it at any shows I've been to (but I mostly live under a rock so that doesn't say much )

Anyhow,

Origins?
Music?
Tempo?
Meaning?

Also if there are any faovrite clips out there I'd love to see them. Thanks

Usually, it's a water jug although I have seen baskets:

Saidi Fellaheen, Egyptian Folkoric, Water Jug and Stick Dance - YouTube

Noora (

It's an Egyptian folkloric dance. I can't think of a classic video with a basket vs. a water jug but I'll think on it. In the Noora video they are singing the song El Maya. Maya means water.

If it 's a basket, it's more related to bringing in the harvest, vs. the water. But typically, the girl is going to the village well or square to get food or water and there she is seen by the cute guy and she flirts.

Most of the modern videos I've seen with tribal dancers kind of miss the point with the music. But I'm not an expert on folkloric dancing by any means so I will defer to those who are.

The basket dance I'm familiar with is Nubian. I don't know about any clips but there are pictures here of a traditional costume and the type of baskets used. I bought a basket at a little import shop in Pike Place Market in Seattle that sold Nubian stuff and it has a really cool design inside it so it would be very showy on stage

Here's a clip of a Fellahi basket dance done to a Metkal Kenawi song about fetching water from the village well...
Al Fayyum Dancers - Fellahi - YouTube
another one where the dancers enter with baskets...
Fellahi dance (Aida Nour choreography) - YouTube

Originally Posted by banatsusan

The basket dance I'm familiar with is Nubian. I don't know about any clips but there are pictures here of a traditional costume and the type of baskets used. I bought a basket at a little import shop in Pike Place Market in Seattle that sold Nubian stuff and it has a really cool design inside it so it would be very showy on stage

Oh!! do you mind if I ask where? I live near there!

Originally Posted by Bahtya

Oh!! do you mind if I ask where? I live near there!

It's been a couple of years since I've been up there. The best I can remember is that the shop was in Post Alley, I think on the backside of the triangle building. I just saw a Nubian basket the other day and I've trying to remember where...had to be either World Market or Ross-I was in Olympia at the time.

Here's another clip:
Fallahi at Dance of love 2010 - YouTube

I like the Reda Troupe clip, sans basket or water jug!

Reda Troupe perform a Fellahi dance - YouTube

Basket dances used to be more common, and were generally more of a made up dance than anything else. Consequently a variety of music was used from Turkish to Tunisian. They were generally presented in a folkloric manner with an appropriate type costume (long dress, head scarves) But I have seen ATS troupes do them too in full regalia. Balancing the basket on the head is always entertaining.

Marya

I believe most are fantasy folkloric. The Reda Troupe did some - and some with jugs (jug dancing is traditional in Tunisia but totally made up as far as I can tell in Egypt). They express the idea of Egyptians as "modern" while looking back fondly at a rural tradition that never existed. Done in tableau with some story - women are always portrayed as young, innocent, pre-sexual girls (even if they are in their 40s). Ditto the men. No shimmying for men - and little if any for women. Colourful big dresses in jewel colours.

Katia (Nordgren) is the teacher I learned the basket dance from. It was presented as a Nubian Women's Basket Dance. She studied with the director of the Nubian Folklore Troupe in Aswan (Antar el Tary). The dance uses a flat no handle basket approx. 16" in diameter, like a large round trivet. The dance we learned was choreographed to a Nubian field recording of the song Be-lay, performed in a bright colored cotton long full dress with fitted bodice, long sleeves with contrasting trim, and a circular veil headress. Two main steps used for the most part...flat R, ball L or the reverse and done to the fast Soke rhythm and a step R, touch L with arms forward on the step and back on the touch done to the Arageed rhythm. I've seen similar movements used in the Nubian dances done by dancers in Cairo during their sets, Leila of Cairo has some of this on her videos, you can also see it in some of Dina's you-tube clips -but not with a basket, just talking about the traditional steps.
Katia has done some research on folkloric dance and has an article about it. I'm not sure if it's on her website or not but she writes about folkloric dances of Morocco,Tunisia,Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. She writes of the ballous dance or dance of the water jug as being an Egyptian dance from the Aswan area. I know Mahmoud Reda "collected" lots of folkloric dances and then theatricalized them and made some up. My understanding is that the candle/tray/backet/and jug dances all have roots in Ancient Egyptian tradition.
Other than that I can't say if it is real or fantasy as I haven't done my own research...just thought I would pass on what information I do have