Thread: Hale Sultan: Turkish Belly Dance

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAjqYzp8-Us&feature=related]YouTube - Turkish Belly Dancer Hale Sultan[/ame]


hadn't seen any of her videos, she sometimes frequents bhuz.

I would love to see some Turkish dancer dancing to Turkish music and not trying to copy Egyptian dancers.

Has anyone put together playlists of such?

I got tired just watching her!

I thought she was really good. But because she is so thin, those pants in the last part didn't suit her well. Yeah, and I do notice that many Turkish dancers dance to Egyptian music. What's up with that? Nothing wrong with it, I just thought when when someone is a certain type of bellydancer (can be more than one of course), you usually stick with that type of music. But I could be wrong. What do you think?

I have recently attended a workshop with Hale - and I gotta tell ya', SHE ROCKS THE HOUSE!! The DVD this youtube clip is taken from does her little justice, and, to my eye, is much, much 'better' now (sorry-better is a dumb word. Way past my bedtime). She is a firecracker live, impossible to drag your eyes from. If you do - you'll miss something! Don't quote me on this, because I can't remember her exact words, but she loves both Turkish and Egyptian dance, and has had training with some egyptian masters. To my utter shame, I cannot remember who she named.....
Anyway, she is VERY dynamic!!

Originally Posted by khalilaNZ

I have recently attended a workshop with Hale - and I gotta tell ya', SHE ROCKS THE HOUSE!! The DVD this youtube clip is taken from does her little justice, and, to my eye, is much, much 'better' now (sorry-better is a dumb word. Way past my bedtime). She is a firecracker live, impossible to drag your eyes from. If you do - you'll miss something! Don't quote me on this, because I can't remember her exact words, but she loves both Turkish and Egyptian dance, and has had training with some egyptian masters. To my utter shame, I cannot remember who she named.....
Anyway, she is VERY dynamic!!

could you share any clips?

I've assumed she's studied with egyptians since she has modelled costumes for, mmmm, I think sahar? I've also hear anecdotally that she's been at some of the Egyptian festivals, etc. In any case, I thought there was definete Turkish movements in the performances caught on that clip.

She taught at Folktours' recent Istanbul camp/trip/whatever (can you call it camp if it's in a hotel in Istanbul?), and she was just great in every way - fantastic teacher, really nice and funny person, excellent choreographer and performer. She was my favorite of all the Turkish teachers on that trip, in fact. She taught a terrific choreography to Sezen Aksu's "Rakkas", among other things. She struck me as being a dancer's dancer, with a great ear and a real ability to connect with students. She is a very gracious and genuine teacher.

Her style felt very Turkish at times, more Egyptian-influenced at other times. She told us that she's studied there, and she used Egyptian music in her performance. But unlike some other dancers I saw in Turkey, she knew how to work it. To explain - we saw some dancers in a fancy tourist nightclub who used Arabic pop remixes, but had no idea how to dance any particular Arabic style. One of them thoroughly insulted a cane for an entire Tunisian pop song. Then, when she was finished, she simply flung the cane away over her shoulder. It was pretty hilarious. In contrast, Hale really knew what she was doing and why - an intelligent dancer. I hope she comes to New York sometime, 'cause I'm a total fangirl now!

- Leela