Thread: Getting serious about comedy

I honestly believe that comedy is the most difficult dramatic skill to carry off and even more so in dancer. I want to find examples of successful comedy in belly dance and I do mean intentional ..I am sure we have all managed at one time or other, to unintentionally cause hilarity aongst our audience.
But can you find anyone...from any era, any platform who has successfully been funny and belly danced at the same time?

pretty sure 99% of all thriller bellydance performances are comedy's :D

Bellydance Thriller - Rakkasah Spring Caravan 2010 - YouTube

there was a hysterical one... an outdoor halfa with like kitchen stuff and noodles replacing swords and veils. It was really funny and well done.

Liza Laziza was here early October to do a show. She ended with a shaabi number where she went out into the audience, put her boobs in a mans face, kissed another mans shiny shaved head, tried on a mans glasses while sitting on his lap etc etc. Outrageous and hilarious.
An amazing mix of "forbidden" and "don't give a d*** what anyone thinks" while still remaining in control of the situation. She could pull this off and walk away with her integrity intact.
It was fantastic to see. And I had pain in my stomach for laughing so much.

This clip remains one of my favorite comedy bellydance performances because it hits on all kinds of bad dancing cliches, but then every so often the dancers synch up in a way that reminds you they actually do know what they are doing!
Trio Oriental - belly dance comedy - Bauchtanz - YouTube

And, of course, Meissoun's famous laundry dance, which might be the most brilliant comedy bellydance clip of all time!
Comedy Bellydance - die Bügelnummer mit MEISSOUN - YouTube

Yeah, good bellydance comedy is hard to find. The kind of comedy that attempts to make fun of beginners and other dancers' faults does not work for me at all. Instead, I tend to enjoy pieces where the performer laughs at something about herself.

In that spirit, I very much second Meissoun's B"ugelnummer!

I had the great pleasure of watching my friend Nina doing her Kitchen Karsilama at Folktours 2011: Nina Amaya, Folk Tours 2011 - YouTube

And, here is a German comedian doing her take on belly dance. I am not sure how well it comes across to those from a different cultural background, but as a German, I can't help but laugh out loud at the image of the German bellydance student who took an adult ed class at the local community college :-) Gertrud Schneider - Bauchtanz - YouTube

And, here is a wonderful example of men dancing - I can't help but laugh out loud at how these guys have the best time on stage: Priscillas Danza del ventre - YouTube

Alexey Riaboshapka's parody of famous dancers is pretty funny: Belly Dance Stars Parody

You could get argumentative about whether it was belly dancing or not, but I saw this piece once on one of those US compilation DVDs - I think the dancer is called Sa'Elaysah or something like that (but I can't find her online so I probably have it wrong), and she did a dance as Mata Hari playing Cleopatra in a silent movie. The whole thing was costumed in black, white, silver and grey, down to the makeup, and it was HILARIOUS.

Similarly I once saw a very po-faced Pharonic piece by Dr Mo Geddawi and his dance company, which was disrupted by some charleston dancers and turned into a very funny dance.

Generally speaking most of the BD "comedy" I've seen is in-jokey. I don't think non-BDers would necessarily get it.

Zum, you just reminded me of this really hilarious piece done by Desert Sin called "Ode to the Silent Era," also featuring black and white makeup/costuming to give the appearance of an old movie. It starts with a group of flappers dancing to Betty Boop kind of music, until an evil magician enters and hypnotizes them and then makes them bellydance. When I saw it at EEMED it had the entire house roaring with laughter. It showcased some fine (and very controlled) dancing in an extremely funny context which would appeal to any viewer, dancer or otherwise. I used to have the video saved in my favorites, but it has been moved to "private" and I can no longer find it anywhere online. I guess you have to buy the DVD to see it.

Originally Posted by steffib

Yeah, good bellydance comedy is hard to find. The kind of comedy that attempts to make fun of beginners and other dancers' faults does not work for me at all. Instead, I tend to enjoy pieces where the performer laughs at something about herself.

In that spirit, I very much second Meissoun's B"ugelnummer!

I had the great pleasure of watching my friend Nina doing her Kitchen Karsilama at Folktours 2011: Nina Amaya, Folk Tours 2011 - YouTube

And, here is a German comedian doing her take on belly dance. I am not sure how well it comes across to those from a different cultural background, but as a German, I can't help but laugh out loud at the image of the German bellydance student who took an adult ed class at the local community college :-) Gertrud Schneider - Bauchtanz - YouTube

No. I am not into so called comedy bellydance which is about BAD bellydance. Taking the proverbial is any easy way out and I am searching in vain for ME bellydancers doing comedy. I have on video somewhere..is it Samar Hanmdi in her black satin catsuit. I have Nagwa and Fifi doing womanly earthy stuff which provoles smiles. I sawe Dandesh doing her take-off of the well-known and she seems to be very capable of making us titter .
Belly dance does aim to be sensual/elegant/energetic/dramatic and I suppose to be funny seems alien. I have attempted it a few times and i think it worked but I'd love to see examples of really clever comedy especially from the lands of dance.

Originally Posted by Basha

pretty sure 99% of all thriller bellydance performances are comedy's :D

Bellydance Thriller - Rakkasah Spring Caravan 2010 - YouTube

there was a hysterical one... an outdoor halfa with like kitchen stuff and noodles replacing swords and veils. It was really funny and well done.

Comedy yes but not bellydance. I do mean oriental not tribal dance.

Belly dance does aim to be sensual/elegant/energetic/dramatic and I suppose to be funny seems alien.

Well, I don't know. I've seen footage of Egyptian dancers that looks like it's pretty funny, if you understand the language. It's certainly a playful dance as well as all those things.

Comedy yes but not bellydance. I do mean oriental not tribal dance.

you didn't specify-

and like it or not- tribal, tribal fusion and goth are forms of bellydance- (obviously you can go way off the deep end OUT of the BD world- but that doesn't mean it is all NOT BD) they are doing all the same elemental moves as oriental-music and costuming is different and its obviously different- but I fail to see how it isn't "bellydance"

And to be honest I think you are going to find a lot more comedy outside the traditional oriental world- tribal/goth people don't take themselves to seriously.

Originally Posted by ssipes

Alexey Riaboshapka's parody of famous dancers is pretty funny: Belly Dance Stars Parody

i love that video- it makes me laugh every time.

Originally Posted by Basha

you didn't specify-

and like it or not- tribal, tribal fusion and goth are forms of bellydance- (obviously you can go way off the deep end OUT of the BD world- but that doesn't mean it is all NOT BD) they are doing all the same elemental moves as oriental-music and costuming is different and its obviously different- but I fail to see how it isn't "bellydance"

And to be honest I think you are going to find a lot more comedy outside the traditional oriental world- tribal/goth people don't take themselves to seriously.

"I want to find examples of successful comedy in belly dance " I did specify!

Yes think there are examples of successful comedy in fusion and goth dance. Maybe not so much in tribal (ITS/ATS) and not so much in belly dance. I'd love especially to see examples for the lands of dance: Satire included. Of course comedy doesn't always translate across national boundaries and certainly not between individuals.
Farce is particularly difficult and requires a lot of skill. I recently watched a series of what proported to be comedic belly dance and found it purile,infantile,tasteless and at times insulting to this dance. Which is why I'd love to see Egyptian dancers having a laugh!
Although I can consider I have an over-develped sense of humour, I realise as a Brit..it's particular and as a Scouser peculiar

Originally Posted by Zumarrad

Well, I don't know. I've seen footage of Egyptian dancers that looks like it's pretty funny, if you understand the language. It's certainly a playful dance as well as all those things.

Yes playful is the word and quirky and cheeky but I've found little that is downright "in yer face funny"
Of course comedy can be nasty/sharp/hard/have a message/political and that would pose a problem in translation.

Originally Posted by lplmuk

No. I am not into so called comedy bellydance which is about BAD bellydance. Taking the proverbial is any easy way out and I am searching in vain for ME bellydancers doing comedy.

Here are three examples from people who are not just dancing badly for cheap laughs. I suppose you could argue that Ranya Renee's clip is really more akin to performance art, and the Jim Boz/Titanya/Dondi collaboration is lighthearted fusion, as opposed to comedy belly dance. Of the three, I think the country clip works the best as a straight dance performance, though.

Ranya of NYC & Maqamikaze company- "Alf Leyla w'Leyla" - YouTube

Dondi as "Marilyn" FoliesBergere Paris, France, 2004 - YouTube

DVD Bellydance Live: Dondi, Titanya & Jim Boz.avi - YouTube

Bellylicious promo - YouTube

here you go.. Galit!

Um. Whatever. You missed it.


Since my first clip obviously didnt qaulify as bellydancing.... You won't think this one is either.... But its still funny and obviously well recieved and everyone else here can chuckle. I was looking for a diffierent clip of an ITS group from bellyjam last winter. Bohemien rhapsody was their 3rd song and their entire show was hysterical.

But shakra is great too... :)
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

This one makes me laugh - it's not exactly Oriental, but it's inspired by Oriental:

Water-In-My-Ear - YouTube

Thinking on comedy in general....

Although there are certainly playful performances with mischievous notes (such as Hasani's pulling her rib cage upward with an imaginary puppet string), I think it's difficult to craft a normal Oriental performance with comedy as its primary message. As with any other fusion, it's important to start with music that has a comedic element.

I've been known to dress up as a black cat and do a comedy dance, but I expect you wouldn't consider those performances to be "belly dance" since the music wasn't Middle Eastern, nor (obviously) was the costume. You can ask Caroline to tell you what her impressions were - she saw me perform it in Las Vegas a year ago.

I think most dancers from "over there" separate the comedic bits from their Oriental dances. I've seen Dina and Fifi both stop dancing, pick up the microphone, and say stuff that garnered laughs from the Arabs in the audience. So in this case, the comedic parts of their shows were talk-based, not dance-based.

I saw Lucy do a comedic performance as part of her show at the Parisiana several years ago - around 2003 or 2004, I think. The problem was that I didn't know the song and didn't understand enough Arabic to know what it was about. So I didn't understand why Lucy was being chased around the stage by a guy wearing a tarboosh waving his stick at her. I wished I understood the song so that I could be in on the joke. This performance probably wouldn't meet your criteria of comedic belly dance, though, because it was a skit with almost no dancing.

Reda Troupe has certainly done some comedy, but Mahmoud Reda doesn't consider Reda Troupe's work to be "belly dancing", and I agree with him.

Another factor that makes comedic belly dance difficult is that many attempts rely on some kind of "acting", a skill which I have noticed is lacking in many people who attempt comedy. Any piece that relies on some kind of comedic interplay between the dancers will fall flat if those dancers don't possess enough acting skill to "sell" the story.

Comedy is such a subjective thing. The dances that make me laugh are the ones where the dancer goes round the audience and the humour is in that interaction, but those are the hardest to catch on video. There are in jokes like Dandesh's "Manga" routine, or Beata and Horacio's melaya lef (can't find a video, sorry) that you have to be a bellydancer, or have watched a lot of bellydancing, to fully appreciate.

The comedy performances that are based on "Let's dress up as....and dance to....it'll be HILARIOUS" (see the Thriller and cowboy videos) aren't that funny to me because the joke rarely progresses beyond the outfit and the music choice, and then you've got to sit through the rest of it. I get the impression that it's much funnier for the people involved.

I'm not totally devoid of humour, honest I like to try and include funny stuff in performances and I'm pretty sure people are laughing with me and not at me! But as I said at the start, it's a subjective thing.

I think comedy has different definitions to different people- and I guess I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for.

I love the tongue in cheek humor that dancers like Nour and Nadia Hamdi use regularly in their dance. When you asked the question, that's what popped into mind. That's not the same as making a comedic statement, which I agree is harder on a number of levels, not least of which is deciding what that message will be!

I am working on a piece right now to Ya Hanadi- I danced to this solo a long time ago, but I would call my dancing more tongue in cheek, even tho the music video put out with the song is more of a light hearted commentary/tableau. This time, I've got a group and we're going for all out vaudeville style schtick, but still within the context of dance. I hope we can pull it off- but I wouldn't ever categorize it as a traditional ME dance performance, even tho we are doing Egyptian style dance throughout.

One of my favorite past performances with a former troupe was the Alaskan jug dance- we took what we understood at the time of the jug/water carrier dance and tweaked it with pantomime from the Alaskan water hauling culture. Very much a fusion dance/skit and the audience absolutely loved it- because it was an Alaskan dance audience and they were "in" on the joke. Would it have flown outside the local dance community? probably not. & sorry I don't have videos of any of this- don't have a VHS to digital converter at my house- I'm so behind the times in getting things transferred!

I think part of the reason comedy isn't done so much in Belly Dance is partly a cultural divide. If I do such & such, will it be perceived as comedy, or as making fun of the culture, or as disrespectful? Can I tap into the universal human condition enough that this will be seen as funny and not condescending? How can I tell if I don't really understand the culture from the inside? Some of us obviously can't help ourselves & just have to hope it will be taken in the spirit with which it was conceived.

Ranya Renee did a hilarious theatrical piece at Rakkasah East 2009 (I think) where she parodied different styles of belly dance (including Egyptian, tribal fusion, goth, and some others that I don't remember). There was even a costume malfunction in there somewhere, and we all thought it was for real (that's how good her acting was)! I wish it was on youtube somewhere, but I've never been able to find footage of it.

Yes think there are examples of successful comedy in fusion and goth dance. Maybe not so much in tribal (ITS/ATS) and not so much in belly dance.

I think what I am missing is this while seperation deal.

I dont understand why... In "tribal dance" its there and "goth dance" but "not so much in ATS and not so much in belly dance." I dont understand. Tribal as in this context is tribal bellydance and goth in this context woukd be gothic bellydance. Ane one of these subgenres are.capable of comedy but the more you venture into comedy land the more fusion you are likley to encounter. But just because you arent wearing a fringe monster dancing to Om Kalthoum doesnt make you less of a belly dancer.


And as someone else said.... "not exactly at this point sure what you are looking for"

I know it's an old argument/discussion but tribal dance and goth and fusion dancing is not bellydance.

In my and many other people's opinion..bellydance is not a set of moves and needs trhe music and the culture behind it.I asked for examples of comedic bellydance . I've seen lots of good funny fusion and Goth acts but I haven't really seen any "traditional" ITS/ATS comedic dance and that's what I mean by tribal.
I am not anti-tribal/fusion dance. I have danced the style for almost 10 years and I have bellydanced for 14. They are in 2 seperate boxes. The latter is the dance of Egypt and I dance it to Egyptian music and the former is a Western/Wrld hybrid which I dance to anything I fancy and I don't consider it bellydance. It may use similar bodily movements but I but take awy the culture and you don't have that specific dance. You can find South American and Carribbean and African dances using similar movements.
I am "of the school" that would rather watch good fusion than bad bellydance so I have respect for talent in whichever field. But I am concerned to find bellydancers who successfully carry off comedy whch is very very difficult to achieve for all kinds of reasons. It is also as rare as hen's teeth!

I noted the "um whatever " which I felt was uncalled for. Maybe across the pond it wouldn't be seen as rude and dismissive but it is here . I will respect you come to belly dance in a different way to myself and confine to explaining my stance without being rude. I dare say you have your take on his dance and I have mine and you'll have to settle for that!

I know it's an old argument/discussion but tribal dance and goth and fusion dancing are not bellydance.
In my and many other people's opinion..bellydance is not a set of moves and needs trhe music and the culture behind it.I asked for examples of comedic bellydance . I've seen lots of good funny fusion and Goth acts but I haven't really seen any "traditional" ITS/ATS comedic dance and that's what I mean by tribal.
I am not anti-tribal/fusion dance. I have danced the style for almost 10 years and I have bellydanced for 14. They are in 2 seperate boxes. The latter is the dance of Egypt and I dance it to Egyptian music and the former is a Western/Wrld hybrid which I dance to anything I fancy and I don't consider it bellydance. It may use similar bodily movements but I but take awy the culture and you don't have that specific dance. You can find South American and Carribbean and African dances using similar movements.
I am "of the school" that would rather watch good fusion than bad bellydance so I have respect for talent in whichever field. But I am concerned to find bellydancers who successfully carry off comedy whch is very very difficult to achieve for all kinds of reasons. It is also as rare as hen's teeth!

I noted the "um whatever " which I felt was uncalled for. Maybe across the pond it wouldn't be seen as rude and dismissive but it is here . I will respect you come to belly dance in a different way to myself and confine to explaining my stance not being rude I dare say you have your take on his dance and I have mine and you'll have to settle for that!

I do think there is a great deal of humor in bellydance. Think of Aziza's drum solos. Or Virginia! They both have funny or cheeky moments that they put into their dances. I guess I find "comedy" easier than any other kind of acting - I can't act to save my life, but I sure can make people laugh. So I find it easy to have a sense of humor also when I dance. It's your face, it's what you do, it's your smile, your eyebrows ... it's what you feel. You can have a beautiful dance without a sense of humor, but I think that just as, say, a veil piece might call for a distant serious beauty, maybe a drum solo or a baladi calls for a light and playful mood.

I _have_ seen people do outright comedy but typically it was in the context of theatrical dance, and I don't know if that's what you meant. Like, in my show - Raks Nativity - we have a bit of slapstick humor in the Shepherd scene where the shepherds are having to chase around and herd the recalcitrant sheep who won't stay in place.

Interesting thread. I agree with lplmuk about what is and isn't bellydance, but leaving those arguments aside I think the cultural background of what you are talking about is absolutely central to how it might or might not work to add comedy.

If the city fat cat banker slips on a banana skin it's funny (OK, let's just pretend for now...) because we the audience a) know he's supposed to be dignified, not sat on his a&*e in the mud, and b) have a common hatred of fat cats right now. If the LOL-at-beginner-bellydance skit works, it's when the audience share a cultural understanding of World Of Bellydance. Comedy fusions are funny when we know they are incongruous. The funny is in subverting the rules and expectations.

I've laughed (in a good way) at lots of belly dance - cheeky characters, knowingly naughty flirting, brazen outrageousness, even just a performance that's so full of bounce and fun and so in the music that, well, you can't help yourself. But for me there's a difference between that and playing-it-for-laughs comedy. Yes it's subverting rules in some cases - maybe that's why I laugh? - but I think they are different rules; the dancer is not behaving like a "respectable" female should and she is in control. They are society's rules she's pushing, but she is not subverting any rules of "what a belly dancer is".

IMO it's a different kind of comedy to turn it on itself and play with what a belly dancer is. If the cultural understanding is that you are "meant" to be a glamorous exotic creature of the East, then there's scope for comedy when your veil persistently misbehaves, or you can't help shimmying to the muzak in the supermarket (or doing the ironing, or bust out the saiidi with a broom). The dancer is no longer in control (within the context of the performance) - she's the victim of the rogue prop or incongruous situation.

Caroline mentioned Galit - she does this in her Bellylicious shows (more clips). Now I think about it the belly-dance-with-funny-bits is done with a very light touch - it's more the fusiony dance and the stand up that carries the comedy along, with "straight" belly dance and the characters within that keeping up the energy. Though she might well think I'm an idiot for thinking that... <sigh>

I have no idea how this kind of subversion would play in somewhere like Cairo with a different expectation of what a bellydancer is.

“Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.”

If it isn't dissected yet, I have probably TL;DR'd it to death

I love that Gertrud Schneider clip BTW. She is spot on.

Originally Posted by kozmique

Zum, you just reminded me of this really hilarious piece done by Desert Sin called "Ode to the Silent Era," also featuring black and white makeup/costuming to give the appearance of an old movie. It starts with a group of flappers dancing to Betty Boop kind of music, until an evil magician enters and hypnotizes them and then makes them bellydance. When I saw it at EEMED it had the entire house roaring with laughter. It showcased some fine (and very controlled) dancing in an extremely funny context which would appeal to any viewer, dancer or otherwise. I used to have the video saved in my favorites, but it has been moved to "private" and I can no longer find it anywhere online. I guess you have to buy the DVD to see it.

Sa'Elayssa is in Desert Sin - just fyi. They're awesome.