Thread: performing for Arab audience question

I posted this over on Tribe but someone suggested I might get better input over here so here goes.
..g.:
The lady who runs the gym I teach at called me Tuesday. She said a member asked her if I might be interested in performing at a birthday party for her boss who is an Arab. Now, I have danced at festivals, a retirement home, the Juggling Gypsy (an eclectic restaurant/hookah bar), and birthday parties but never for someone from the Middle East. I haven’t called the lady yet because I guess I’m trying to decide what I want to do. I’m really torn. I’d love to do this but I don’t what to accidental offend him or him be disappointed because I might not dance "perfect Egyptian style". Not that I'm a terrible dancer! lol. I just know you have to be very careful.
I guess I’m throwing this out to get a little input or any experience in a similar situation anyone is willing to share.

i think it is all in the music you choose.i love the fact that everyone sings along with my sets when i dance for any middle eastern sect.that is who i dance for most.

My friend Amy sent this to me about 3 or 4 years ago. She could not remember where she found it. I am copying and pasting it here.
I thought their was a discussion about this on bhuz a few years back.

Here is what I have...
When dancing for Arab people you should try especially hard not to do something offensive or crude. An American audience will have a completely different idea of what offensive or crude is.

To portray the dance in the best possible way to an Arab try to follow these suggestions:

1. Wear a body stocking to cover your stomach. (Yeah, I know it doesn’t technically cover much of anything but remember that Arabs tend to think of dancers as prostitutes. So, as much covering as you can do is best).

2. Don't do a lot of chest locks or rib lifts/drops all at one time (their the equivalent of the American "showing" (i.e. thrusting the pelvis forward.)

3. Don't do a lot of "in your face", "here I am" things (being modest and discreet is a virtue among Arabs.)

4. Although it is quite common to have the audience stuff money in your belt
Here, it is sometimes a sign to Arabs that you are more promiscuous then
Other dancers or that you are a dancer of a lower quality. If you decide to
Allow tips in your belt then only allow tips to be put in certain places such
As the sides of the hip belt and the shoulders but reserve the shoulders for
Female members of the audience, if someone should try to put it somewhere
Else stop and tell them that that is inappropriate and that they are to put the Tip where you signal them to put it. You may lose a couple of tips, but you Will be helping to raise the quality of which they view dancers. The best
Thing to do is to have a container with the message tips for dancer on it and Place it next to the stage or cash register.

5. Try to make yourself as scarce as possible before the performance and
Cover yourself up with an abaya , caftan, etc. Not only will it be
Less offensive but you will be able to save the surprise and mystery of what You will be wearing for the performance.

6. Cover yourself back up with an abaya, caftan, etc. before you come out after your performance.

7. Try to keep your conversation from being too personal, talk about the performance, costuming part, etc

it's a good idea to find out his background (egyptian, lebanese, turkish, moroccan..........) that may help with musical choices.......age of party goers, mix, how many...........what i've found if it's mixed ages, musically they like a mix of old classics and of pop.......especially mid age or older LOOOOOVE oum kathoum at least as ONE song.......

what i've noticed is they HATE the current remixes and music for BDSS....more than once i've heard them complain LOUDLY when a dancer uses anything from those cd's other than GOOD remixes of classics.........'what is that music, turn it off.........', and they don't understand any of the tribal styles........

wear an elegant, well fitting costume (another consideration in the make-up of the goers, how conservative are they? would a 2 piece be ok or are they conservative and a dress more proper?), appropriate props (cane, veil), and be respectful, elegant, proper..........

and yeah, zamora hit it on the head.........if they love you, they'll clap, smile, sing with you, some may be open to dance...........especially to pop or saidi

I would suggest to stick to Egytian classics, orchestrated versions.
Do not dance to pop music.
Don't do props - you may enter with a veil, but don't do a long American style veil piece, don't do candles, sword, double veil - none of that stuff.
If you can do cane, they will love it.

As far as using a body stocking - I have always danced in a traditional two piece bedlah, just like most people, and I don't think it's being associated with being more easy, etc.

Confidence is very important among Arabs. When you dance, be sweet, be modest, but also have confidence and let that show. It's also good if you can bring a little humor in it - not so much of the cheesy stuff, more like spontaneous humor. (but don't force it, because then it's cheesy).

You don't need to overthink it: choose good music, wear a pretty costume, be confident, relax and have lots of fun! You don't need to feel that "oh my, these are Arabs, this will be the ultimate test", Middle Eastern parties are the most fun, I feel the most relaxed when I dance for Arabs.

It is good if you can find out their background, so you can choose a few popsongs at the end - we usually use Egyptian, and that would work for all of them, but if they're Lebanese for example, and you include 1-2 Lebenese pop songs, they will like it.

I had a long post written out but got distracted so I'll just say - I agree w/everything Marianna says! Because our local hangout is more of a dance club type atmosphere they really like hearing the current megahits. SO I keep up on what new songs Nancy Ajram has out, etc. Of course they still go crazy for Om Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez, etc.

well, i did raks dallah, and my party just lost it!
they made me do again, so i disagree with the non pop .
we also never wear body stockings, but that is a more "egyptian" thing here.
the younger ones love the hakims, and a slow old song for veil for the old country adults works well here
AS ALWAYS ...it depends on where you are! as one can see from the diff posts
my clients ask for cane, sword....and have never balked at a veil section

we've got a regular group of arabic folk at one hookah lounge.........aged between 25 and 50, as long as your sets included oum, abdel halim, nancy, hakim, amr, etc, and a good combo of them, they'll go out of their minds and drown out your music with singing.........at a recent party, the wife who hired me was quite young, and melted when oum came out, and started dancing with her husband to shereen..........but i usually save the pop for the end....entrance always to something cool and orchestrated..........LOOOOVE to use saidi right before the drum solo, they love it........

Originally Posted by nazneen

I posted this over on Tribe but someone suggested I might get better input over here so here goes.
..g.:
The lady who runs the gym I teach at called me Tuesday. She said a member asked her if I might be interested in performing at a birthday party for her boss who is an Arab. Now, I have danced at festivals, a retirement home, the Juggling Gypsy (an eclectic restaurant/hookah bar), and birthday parties but never for someone from the Middle East. I haven’t called the lady yet because I guess I’m trying to decide what I want to do. I’m really torn. I’d love to do this but I don’t what to accidental offend him or him be disappointed because I might not dance "perfect Egyptian style". Not that I'm a terrible dancer! lol. I just know you have to be very careful.
I guess I’m throwing this out to get a little input or any experience in a similar situation anyone is willing to share.

Honestly, you don't have to be very careful, just reasonably sensible. Arabs love music, dance and celebration and a dancer ends up as more of a fun facilitator than someone being analyzed for cultural authenticity. Dance up to grandma and let her clap and "aiwa" you, give grandpa your cane and dance with him imitating his steps in a girly way, find a flock of children and encourage them to dance around with you.

Western dancers are way more obsessed about Perfect Egyptian Style than any Arab client you will ever have.

Want a crash course in "authentic" Egyptian style? Do it the old school way: Watch some classic performance vids, write down some descriptive words of what you're seeing (eg: "happy, flirty and cute" "smooth, flowing and elegant" "ecstatic, powerful") and dance to express those.


Nanda's short and sweet guide to dancing for Arabs:


1. Dance and Dress family friendly

2. Be joyful and expressive in your dancing... An Arab party is a celebration!

3. You're safe with Egyptian classics and popular modern, avoid re-mixes and some of the rougher shaabi songs. Get the music right and they don't really care what you do to it.

Originally Posted by zamora

AS ALWAYS ...it depends on where you are! as one can see from the diff posts
my clients ask for cane, sword....and have never balked at a veil section

Yeah... I have had Arabs insist on veil and sword and I have had Egyptians that have never heard of Shamadan. So don't sweat the "authenticity" too much if it ain't your bag.

I suggest you call the potential client and talk to him about what he would like from you. Ask what his country of origin is, and whether he'd like more traditional or contemporary music. Ask if he has any special requests like a line dance with the guests or a favorite musician he'd like you to include.
I do this with all my clients, ethnic or not.
I get calls from greek families, turkish, armenian, lebanese, egyptian, iraqi...I try to tailor each show to my audience's requests.
p.s. when in doubt, always go for the more conservative costume w/a tummy cover. Better to be overdressed than underdressed. If you're a fabulous dancer, no one will care if you have a mesh tummy. Plus you can always bring it and not put it on if the party looks more open.

Of course, as always you can't put all Arab audiences under one umbrella and say "this is what they like - dance like this". When I meant don't do props, I meant it especially for your first time for them, it's just better not to have swords / candles, and other stuff. Veil is ok, but I think it's better short or to faster music.
Like others pointed out, Arab parties are celebrations, and they want to be happy, dance, enjoy the dancer's presence; in my opinion they are not really interested in seeing your absolutely fantastic award winning artistic interpretation or you going through an emotional crisis over Umm Kalthoum songs. (don't get me wrong, use Umm Kalthoum songs, but not the extremely slow and sad ones).

Props can work well if you have danced for them a few times, you get a feel for how they are, even talk to them, and now you want to do something different. I always feel that sword impresses guys more than candles, so I do use it, even with Arabs, but not the first time.

But like others - and mysef said - just relax and enjoy it. They will love you. Just dance :)

Please don't wear a bindi ;)

Originally Posted by shahravar

Please don't wear a bindi ;)

Ha ha .. are you serious?? (please dont tell me people wear bindis for Egyptian dance!! ..g.:

Just remember, you cant please all the people all of the time.

There is some good advice here. Choose a varied set with something for everyone. This will help change your dynamics too and make it more interesting and varied.

the fusion dancers here wear a bindi to buy milk!

What Nanda said!! I've danced primarily for Arab audiences over the years and agree with her observations and her "short and sweet guide".

Originally Posted by NandaDncer

Honestly, you don't have to be very careful, just reasonably sensible. Arabs love music, dance and celebration and a dancer ends up as more of a fun facilitator than someone being analyzed for cultural authenticity. Dance up to grandma and let her clap and "aiwa" you, give grandpa your cane and dance with him imitating his steps in a girly way, find a flock of children and encourage them to dance around with you.

Western dancers are way more obsessed about Perfect Egyptian Style than any Arab client you will ever have.

Want a crash course in "authentic" Egyptian style? Do it the old school way: Watch some classic performance vids, write down some descriptive words of what you're seeing (eg: "happy, flirty and cute" "smooth, flowing and elegant" "ecstatic, powerful") and dance to express those.


Nanda's short and sweet guide to dancing for Arabs:


1. Dance and Dress family friendly

2. Be joyful and expressive in your dancing... An Arab party is a celebration!

3. You're safe with Egyptian classics and popular modern, avoid re-mixes and some of the rougher shaabi songs. Get the music right and they don't really care what you do to it.

What a nice and usefull thread this is !
Gloom of shimmy theory thread has vanished ... aaaahhh!
I am happy again.

If you are good at zills, go for zilling !

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the fusion dancers here wear a bindi to buy milk!

..l;, ..l;, ..l;,

I am not pro and so don't get the opportunity to dance for Arab audiences very often. But the other night a local dancer put on a hafla at a hookah bar owned by an Egyptian. The audience was about 1/3 dancers and dancer friends, 1/3 regular customers, and 1/3 Arabic folks. Following suggestions here I wore a classy Madame Abla and danced to a fully orchestrated Egyptian classic that included an accordian taqsim, and played sagat. I had a great time and the Arabic audience members were clapping and have a good time too. So fellow Bhuzzers, thanks for all your great suggestions.

Souzan

Souzan, that's awesome !!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo! congrats!

I want to thank everyone for all the wonderful advice. You gals are great! And don't worry, I'm NOT going to wear a bindi. lol
I called the lady up and she was really nice. She said they were planning a luncheon May 8th for her boss Ravi, whose home country is Sri Lanka. They just wanted me to dance one dance which is fine. He's turning 60. She said he likes to listen to a lot of upbeat music like Tarkan's "Kiss, Kiss". One of his friends is going to email me with suggestion for music.
So after finding out the details I now know I was stressing over stuff I didn't need to. I'm looking forward to doing this. I think it will be a lot of fun!
..g.:

Ok, I just got an email back saying picking something from Amr Diab or Tarkan would be a safe bet. Anyone have any favorites from these artists? Just wonder.

My personal opinion: even if he prefers to listen to pop songs, - if it was me - I would still dance to an orchestrated song suited for belly dancing. Especially if they only want 1 song. I like to listen to Tarkan here and there, but I would never want to perfom to his Simarik (Kiss, Kiss) song. All you can do is wiggle your butt, and dance to the monotonous beat. Pop songs are made simple so anyone can enjoy them and dance to them. You as a professional, would wow him by dancing to a more complicated song with a lot of intricate patterns on the tabla. You can put on an Amr Diab pop song after that, so if he's in the mood you can dance to that, or exit and leave it on for him.

Of course this is just what I would do, you should go with what you feel comfortable with.

I really don't want to dance to "Kiss Kiss" because I agree I'd just be wiggling my butt. lol

One song? that's pretty quick. Even if they think they want just one song perhaps you should tak on an oriental entrance on the beginning and a short drum on the end with exit music. I would also have some extra music on that cd or on an extra cd just in case, of course I don't know how your charging etc

For music, just check out Tarkan's latest album and pick something you like off it... it'll be pretty easy to check up on lyrics. Amr Diab too, just pick something recent or go for one of his popular classics like 'nour el ain', but that is from 10 yrs ago.

Tarkan here and there, but I would never want to perfom to his Simarik (Kiss, Kiss) song. All you can do is wiggle your butt, and dance to the monotonous beat.

I beg to differ....we have danced to this for 6 years now as a troupe and it's a wonderful choreo. I hated the wiggly version danced by Dondi on the Awards series. If you only stay with the drum it is very basic, but our lead choreo lady, Betzi, made a luscious job of it following the vocals.

Originally Posted by leylalanty

What Nanda said!! I've danced primarily for Arab audiences over the years and agree with her observations and her "short and sweet guide".

Leyla ..... I read through these posts & got really nostalgic about Cleopatra's -- remember Sunday nights at Sami's? ...... live music with Nazir and others every weekend.......those were "good days", weren't they! I miss that time.......more than I can say...........no tricks or props necessary......they enjoyed our dancing because they knew WE loved the music.....Abe & the guys were almost protective of us........so sad that ended.....cr.:

Originally Posted by Marianna

I would suggest to stick to Egytian classics, orchestrated versions.
Do not dance to pop music.
Don't do props - you may enter with a veil, but don't do a long American style veil piece, don't do candles, sword, double veil - none of that stuff.
If you can do cane, they will love it.

As far as using a body stocking - I have always danced in a traditional two piece bedlah, just like most people, and I don't think it's being associated with being more easy, etc.

Confidence is very important among Arabs. When you dance, be sweet, be modest, but also have confidence and let that show. It's also good if you can bring a little humor in it - not so much of the cheesy stuff, more like spontaneous humor. (but don't force it, because then it's cheesy).

You don't need to overthink it: choose good music, wear a pretty costume, be confident, relax and have lots of fun! You don't need to feel that "oh my, these are Arabs, this will be the ultimate test", Middle Eastern parties are the most fun, I feel the most relaxed when I dance for Arabs.

It is good if you can find out their background, so you can choose a few popsongs at the end - we usually use Egyptian, and that would work for all of them, but if they're Lebanese for example, and you include 1-2 Lebenese pop songs, they will like it.

I agree with everything you said ...... ("overthinking it" will show in your performance, trust me, they will read it in your body language")..... even if you're scared to death, act as if you've been doing it for years....relax. If you truly love the music, you'll be fine........

Anala... I understand what you're saying and of course there are ways to make a bad song sound good (that's how you know a dancer is really good, right?)
But the reason I am against to use Tarkan's song, especially in this case, is because this is your one chance to show how you dance. (not you in particular, but the poster) Why not let it be represented by a good, orchestrated song? as opposed to a cheesy (but fun, I admit) pop song.

It's different to use that pop song in a set at a restaurant where you have performed a thousand time, and now it's just something different. And also different to use that as your only song (or one of the two songs)