[kamilia]

Regarding sword dances and Arab audiences, I just had a sword epiphany last night! I just saw "A Glass and a Cigarette" (Sigarah wa Kas) last night, with Samia Gamal, Dalida, and the singer Kouka.

Kouka is known for singing old Bedouin-themed songs (about star-crossed lovers, etc.). In one of such songs, she starts doing a little dance with a sword (emphasis on little). I thought it was interesting as, though the sword is not a traditional part of Egyptian belly dance per say, the clip does show that the sword can be used effectively with traditional Arabic music.

I think you could get some ideas from watching Bedouin and Bedouin-inspired dances with swords (like in Saudi Arabia and the like). A DC dancer does sword dances to khaliji music that works very well with Arab audiences: she mixes some the same floorwork you would do in a shamadan routine with Bedouin-inspired things as well as standard American sword moves. The possibilities are endless!

Has anyone heard of a womens' sword dance in Algeria? Someone told me about this being traditional, and I just wanted to know if anyone else had heard this or knows anything else about it?