Thread: Coptic Egyptian?

I just got a contract back from a new client for a wedding gig, and it said "the groom is Coptic Egyptian, if there is a style or music that fits this genre, we would like that."

So.....I did a quick google of Coptic Egyptian and see that it has to do Christianity in Egypt....is she telling me the groom is Egyptian and Christian?

Do I need to know that? I mean - the Egyptian part helps me determine my set, but the Coptic part? Are there songs or styles that fit better for Coptic Egyptians, or should I just structure my set as if I were just dancing for an Egyptian crowd? (knowing that there will likely not be any strict Muslims in attendance). It doesn't sound like she (bride) really had anything in mind, but maybe she knows something I don't?

Thanks for your help!

Yes, Coptic is a kind of Christianity...kind of like Greek Orthodox. But, the groom being Coptic Christian shouldn't really have anything to do with music choices, as far as I know. I would think it would be safe to approach this similarly to the way you would approach a wedding for Muslim Egyptians.

I'm curious to hear others' thoughts on this, though.

The Coptic Christian Egyptians in my town like you to dress a bit more modestly. And actually, a few years back we were asked specifically to dance to represent them, and they very specifically said they did not want belly dance, only folklore. That was after they died and went to heaven because we did some saidi cane.

A lot depends on how conservative or not the individual is, so, just the same as Muslim, only you won't see women in scarves.

some of the traditional egyptian wedding songs sing of the holy deity blessing the couple, from an islamic perspective. so perhaps she wants to exclude those?

Ask the bride about favorite songs,and how they would like you to dress!

Every family is different,in my experience the Coptic weddings haven´t been very different from the Maronite weddings...maybe a *little* more conservative.

So bring out your shamedan,finger cymbals,mileya and cane(ditch the sword,tea tray and poi),
and use all the knowledge in folk styles that the GP think is "boring".
In other words:go folkloric on them;D

You´re going to meet a lovely audience at that wedding,
who really appreciates the Egyptian style of bellydance.

My best friend, who is also a dancer, is Coptic Egyptian and she just dances Egyptian style. She tells me when there's any cultural subtext to dance/music choices. She's never once told me of any Coptic element to this dance.

So I would just go for full-on Egyptian styling.

Also, just because the groom's family is Coptic, doesn't mean they won't have Muslim Egyptian guests at the wedding reception. There seems to be a strong sense of community with Egyptians, in this country, certainly, with the Egyptian-ness being a binding force, regardless of religion.

A lot of the staff on the Nile cruise we were on last year and the guide were Copts and seemed emmersed in all aspects of Egyptian culture. The crew clapped and cheered belly dancing wether their name was Michael or Mohammed. This year our hotel was Christian owned and everything seemed just very...Egyptian!

There is Coptic Orthodox, Coptic Catholic and lastly, Coptic Evangelical which is Protestant.

If I were you I would ask the family what they have in mind.

Eh...funny because we have a contract for a full-fledge AmCab show - wings, veil, sword, the works.

The bride is American, and from the wording of her request, it sounds like the groom is pretty Americanized too. I'm going to email her and ask if I can sub out sword for cane instead....we'll see.

Originally Posted by danielabellydance

Eh...funny because we have a contract for a full-fledge AmCab show - wings, veil, sword, the works.

The bride is American, and from the wording of her request, it sounds like the groom is pretty Americanized too. I'm going to email her and ask if I can sub out sword for cane instead....we'll see.

Aha,it´s from her request-
I´m ready to make a bet that you will have both sides of the family eating out of your hand,at the first beat!

Like Bea said:there will probably be egyptians from any religion/secularized.

tip:Don´t leave "Gana el Hawa" out when choosing music:)

I wonder if she just wanted you to know he's Egyptian?

She may be in the habit of saying 'Coptic Egyptian' so people know he's not Muslim -- that may feel important to her.

(I'm personally about to start referring to my boyfriend as an 'Atheist-raised-Catholic Pakistani' because I'm SO tired of the automatic assumption that he's Muslim and may be a terrorist. Grrrr.)

That's probably it, Lauren. I emailed her yesterday to see if she would be ok with me subbing out sword for cane, we'll see.

The fact that she asked me to use whatever "style or music that fits that genre" leads me to believe that niether one of them probably know what type of style that might be! But I'm sure relatives will know, which is why I want to cater to the crowd!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

(I'm personally about to start referring to my boyfriend as an 'Atheist-raised-Catholic Pakistani' because I'm SO tired of the automatic assumption that he's Muslim and may be a terrorist. Grrrr.)

Loool, Lauren: my predicament exactly with my !COPTIC! Egyptian man. Did I mention he's COPTIC?

Our neighbors stopped talking to us when they found out he was Egyptian. God knows if that's the reason why, but still...(sigh)

Daniela, I agree that neither one of them might know what to ask for. That happens even when they're not "Americanized"! Help them out.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

(I'm personally about to start referring to my boyfriend as an 'Atheist-raised-Catholic Pakistani' because I'm SO tired of the automatic assumption that he's Muslim and may be a terrorist. Grrrr.)

Loool, Lauren: my predicament exactly with my !COPTIC! Egyptian man. Did I mention he's COPTIC?

Our neighbors stopped talking to us when they found out he was Egyptian. God knows if that's the reason why, but still...(sigh)

Daniela, I agree that neither one of them might know what to ask for. That happens even when they're not "Americanized"!

I got a response from the bride - I had suggested replacing the sword with cane (explained the difference between one being an "American" prop and one being an "Egyptian" prop - more eloquently, though, of course) and she asked for the more Egyptian show. So, that's what I'll be doing!

Please update us after the gig:)

BTW:I absolutely LOVED the picture where you dance with a group of girls at an arabic wedding!