Thread: Interesting video clip.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY2kPFDIHHI]YouTube - Natalia Strelchenko And Latifa[/ame]


I've been watching this today and I find that I'm more comfortable with what the girl in the Spanish costume is doing, simply because the music sounds Spanish to me. I've been flirting with Zambra Mora recently, so I'm
interested in the way that bellydance moves fit into that, but in this clip the bellydancer's costume and moves don't seem to fit the atmosphere of the music.(IMHO)

So, as was raised in another thread, does the music define the dance? I think for me it does.

Oh! Thanks for posting this - Even though I really like Natalia's dancing I agree with you about the costume fiting the dance - which is what my teachers have always drummed into my brain, "make sure that your costume matches what music you are dancing to!"

Edited to add: Just did some research and found this:
The costuming for this (flamenco/bellydance) zambra, is blouse tied under the bust, with a skirt with frills on the edges, a scarf tied around the waist; danced barefoot, (Morocco, Nazeem Allayl Belly Dance Studio for belly dancing Atlanta, GA et al) and danced often with zills/tambourine.

If you want more info on this here is a link to a tribe.com member who also has a "myspace" account. She's done some research on this.

The Zambra Mora (also known as Danza Mora) - tribe.net

I love, love, love this song, it's a remake of La Historia de un Amor by EL Trio Los Panchos. But, I'm not sure what it has to do with Zambra Mora the song isn't even from Spain, isn't there a specific music to go with Zambra Mora?? Or is ZM now used for any Spanish-Arabic fusion?? I'm asking because I don't know much about Zambra Mora other than it's related to Flamenco and it has Moorish origins. Anyway, in this case they just used Arabic lyrics for a Spanish song the way Kiss Kiss has been translated into a number of different languages.

Thanks for the clip.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsowBLNIJMU]YouTube - Historia De Un Amor - Eydie Gorme Y Los Panchos[/ame]

Hmmm... I agree that it doesn't exactly fit- but I like it! It offers a nice contrast between the bellydance and flamenco. Two different dances in the same spirit!

Regarding the origional posted video, isn't that a rumba rhythm?

Lol. That's crazy! I've heard this song my entire life but never in arabic.
We call this rhythm "balada" in spanish. That's usually the style that Trio Los Panchos sings. I LOVE that arabic version though. Wonder what CD that's on?

Regards
Priscilla

My Arabic sucks, but the vocalist screams Moroccan to me. Maybe?

jasani, thanks for the info, I shall follow it up.

Athallia, I don't think this has anything to do with Zambra Mora, I think that style may be Andalucian. What I meant was that through starting to learn that style I am familiar with the idea that bellydance moves may be used with Spanish music, but I hadn't expected that it would be in bellydance costume. Also, I just knew that the music would turn out to be something other than what I thought, but to the uninitiated it sounds Spanish because of the rhythm. It's good to be able to compare the two dancers though.

I dont think Amaya will mind if I cut and paste her stuff here. She has traveled to Spain and is a great resource if you are interested in this style of dance. She has several videos for sale dealing with the subject. It is my understanding that Zambra Mora actually predates Flamenco. I may get flamed here...but the softer female Flamenco style (which is a sister to Zambra Mora) has given way to the more masculine, angular, and theatrical style used today by both sexes.

AMAYA - Internationally Acclaimed Dance Performer

[COLOR="Red"]Danza Mora
Historical information by Amaya

The history of Oriental Dance is intertwined with that of gypsies of Andalucia or Southern Spain. Called Gitanos in Spanish, many of them worked as musicians and dancers. From the 8-15 centuries, Southern Spain also known as Andalucia was dominated by Islamic Moors. The gypsy nomads, horse traders, fortunetellers, and smiths came into contact with these "Moriscos." Gitanos were sometimes also called "Moor" or "Moros" because both were brown skinned. The Gitanos & the Moors intermingled and influenced the existing Spanish culture in all areas such as architecture, language, poetry, music and dance. During this time the Christian population of Spain accepted Arab song and Muslim musicians were employed in the Christian courts in Castille and Aragon.

The close of the 15th century brought about the Reconquista and these Moorish/Islamic people were expelled by the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand -- the very people that financed Cristobal Columbus to "discover" the Americas. Many of these people migrated back to North Africa. Still, many Moors and gypsies continued to live and intermingle throughout the Andalucian countryside.

Granada, Spain is well-known as the center for Gypsy/Gitano Dancing. Long after1492 when the Moros (Moors) were defeated and Granada fell, Moorish dancers and singers continued to entertain throughout Spain and even Portugal.

There is a definite kinship between the early flamenco forms and the music of the Orient. Over a thousand years ago some of the first fusion music was being composed and performed at the Royal Courts of Granada and Cordoba. The Arab people of Spain with influences from Baghdad were formulating the beginnings of Andalusian music. From earliest time to today, the music of Southern Spain is very Arabic flavor, much like the prayer chants of Islam. The very word "flamenco" comes from Arabic. Almost 10% of the Spanish language comes from Arabic, especially words that begin with "al,"-- algarabia (gibberish), almohada (pillow), algazara (Moorish battle cry, uproar), algodon (cotton), alba (dawn), alfombra (carpet), ojala (hopefully, if God wills it) and many more.

Wow. In my studies of flamenco and linguistics, I've never heard of anyone proving beyond a doubt that the word "flamenco" derives from Arabic.

Jahbie, thanks for posting this lovely clip. To me, the dance works brilliantly as a fusion of Spanish and Arabic dance. The music is a fusion of Spanish and Arabic, therefore the costuming and dancing of the performers is perfectly in synch with the piece. I don't know enough about flamenco to be definitive but I don't believe the "Spanish" dancer is doing pure flamenco or zambra mora. Both dancers appear to be doing a fusion of Arabic and Spanish dance. I think it rocks.

Maybe Maria will tell us more about the flamenco/zambra mora aspect of it.

Hmmmm...... not the world's best communicator am I? (Where's that tongue tied icon when you need it?) I shouldn't have mentioned Zambra Mora at all, I thought I was mentioning that in passing, but it seems to have become the main topic

All I meant was that I personally found it odd to see a dancer in cabaret costume dancing to Spanish- sounding music. (See how cleverly I've got round that now that Ive found out that it's actually sung in Arabic!). I know it's a good representation of styles and I was careful to say that it's just a personal opinion.

By the way, where do you find all the smilies if you're using the "Quick reply" function?

To me it didn't look odd to have the cabaret costumed dancer dancing to Spanish sounding music, because the she and the dancer dressed Spanish-style were doing the same moves. I thought it was a very clever way of presenting the fusion.

I love love loved it! Beautiful, graceful dancing. They danced so well together. I liked the contrast. Very entertaining and just visually appealing overall. :) Thanks for posting. :)

I can't view youtube clips at work ,m:: But here are three articles from Habiba's site that might interest everyone - here's the description -

Andalusian music and dance from the Arab perspective: The living tradition of Andalusian Music and dance as found in North Africa. Habiba discusses the legacy of Ziryab, the history of the Arabs in Spain, the invention of the poetic form, the Muwashsha, and the musical form, the Nuba. Also, the role of women in Andalusian music and dance, the legacy of Andalusian Spain in Tunisia, and costuming for Arab-Andalusian dance.

The Habiba Studio- Articles by Habiba (articles are under the heading "Musk and Amber"

Thanks for this info. I have Amaya's Gypsy Fire and have got as far as performing her first choreography a couple of times' (Duly credited of course)
So with all the info that I've got from this thread I'll be able to find out more about the style. Thanks everyone.

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

I can't view youtube clips at work ,m:: But here are three articles from Habiba's site that might interest everyone - here's the description -

Andalusian music and dance from the Arab perspective: The living tradition of Andalusian Music and dance as found in North Africa. Habiba discusses the legacy of Ziryab, the history of the Arabs in Spain, the invention of the poetic form, the Muwashsha, and the musical form, the Nuba. Also, the role of women in Andalusian music and dance, the legacy of Andalusian Spain in Tunisia, and costuming for Arab-Andalusian dance.

The Habiba Studio- Articles by Habiba (articles are under the heading "Musk and Amber"

Originally Posted by jasani

Regarding the origional posted video, isn't that a rumba rhythm?

Yes, this song is a bolero which uses the rumba rhythm.

Originally Posted by jahbie

Athallia, I don't think this has anything to do with Zambra Mora, I think that style may be Andalucian.

Not Andalucian, but yes Spanish as in it came from a Spanish-speaking country, Mexico. Well the bolero is originally from Cuba, but the group who originally sang this song was from Mexico.

Originally Posted by jahbie

What I meant was that through starting to learn that style I am familiar with the idea that bellydance moves may be used with Spanish music, but I hadn't expected that it would be in bellydance costume. Also, I just knew that the music would turn out to be something other than what I thought, but to the uninitiated it sounds Spanish because of the rhythm.

Bozenka does a gawgeous interpretation of this song, all bellydance moves in a BD costume. Also let us not forget that the rumba rhythm is used in Egyptian BD music. In this case it makes total sense to dance it in a BD way.

Originally Posted by jahbie

I have Amaya's Gypsy Fire and have got as far as performing her first choreography a couple of times' (Duly credited of course)

Is this video any good?? Is it performance or instructional??

Hi Athallia,

There are two Gypsy Fire videos, parts 1 and 2. You can get them both together on a special deal that she offers. The first one tells the history of the dance and there are some nice scenes of dancing in the caves. Amaya teaches a few Zambra moves on this one. I found it very enjoyable, but on the other hand I did read somewhere that someone thought that the dancing in the caves wasn't authentic Zambra Mora.

Part two is mostly instructional, she teaches two choreographies and there are five performances. I found the instruction very easy to follow and I enjoyed dancing to the choreography, it made me feel quite joyful, which is always a good thing, although I don't think myaudience felt the same way!
You can see clips on her website, I looked at that today and she seems to have a new one where you have to register.

So in my opinion the content of both videos is very good. However, I did buy them on the new Maxcast online system and I wasn't happy with it. They were much cheaper than normal because there is no shipping cost, which matters if you have to have international shipping, but on balance I feel that I would have been better off buying the DVDs.

However, that's something that probably needs a new thread and I shall start one........tomorrow.....when I've recovered from today's horrendous session with the dentist!

it was a very cool clip. i am going to be taking a zambra mora workshop tomorrow and i am so looking forward to it!

Originally Posted by anala

Almost 10% of the Spanish language comes from Arabic, especially words that begin with "al,"-- algarabia (gibberish), almohada (pillow), algazara (Moorish battle cry, uproar), algodon (cotton), alba (dawn), alfombra (carpet), ojala (hopefully, if God wills it) and many more.

Sorry to digress and hijack this thread, but this part was sooo interesting and relative to me personally: I'm Filipino, and we have a whole third (geographically speaking, the southern largest island of Mindanao) which is predominantly Muslim. We call them Moros. And with the Philippines having been a Spanish colony for 500 years before becoming our own nation, in addition to the strong Spanish influence of being predominantly Roman Catholic in religion, I'd guesstimate that maybe 20-25% of our language(s) has Spanish words or some derivation in it (e.g., trabajo, lapiz, mesa, "Kumusta Ka?" means "How are you?", like "Como estas?"). With that in mind and by extension, we also have some Arabic influence linguistically: "Salamat" is "Thank You (Thanks be to God)", and "Bahala na" means "Leave it to the will of God". Again, sorry for going off the original topic, but that part totally fascinated me on a personal level.