Thread: Help! Good english songs for belly dance to lip synch

We have been asked to paticipate in a lip synch show and we want t do a nice belly dance show but we are having trouble finding a good catchy song in English that we can lip synch. Please Help us.
..c::

All the good ones are really clichéd now. The best one I can suggest is Natacha Atlas, I Put a Spell On You. But it's kind of old hat these days.

Does the song have to be in English. Why can't you lipsynch to Arabic (or whatever) lyrics? You can find a lot of BD song lyrics transliterated online.

What about "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf. Cliche but fun and easy to dance to. Or "Witchy Woman" by the Eagles. It's not "belly dance" but it could be fun. Have everyone in red and make it fairly accessible to the GP.

I would go w/ a ME tune for which the lyrics are available - I am just not a fan of bellydancing to Western music. Istemem Babacim is always good, as is Uskudara.

Desert Rose seems like the obvious choice to me... or Hips Don't Lie. Although many bellydancers would roll their eyes at Hips Don't Lie, it's still pretty popular with the GP.

ETA: Wait! My very first choice would surely be Leila, the duet by Hakim and James Brown! Such great energy, always a HUGE crowd pleaser, and it's hard not to lipsynch the James Brown part...

I feel good!

So good!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmkK70c6Htc"]YouTube - Arab's fun - Hakim James Brown[/ame]

What about Rock the Casbah! Or Red Elvis' I Wanna See you Belly Dance.

I was totally about to suggest Red Elvises!!! Love that song!

That old 60's Brit song..Stop, stop all the dancing...give me time to breath...cant remember the title, but it is about a mans fascination about a belly dancer.

Red Elvises is a great idea! There are several versions of that song available for download on their website, too.

"Lebanese Night" by Chris DeBurgh with Elissa might be another option. It features some lyrics in Arabic by a Lebanese pop singer.

The first time I heard this song was at a presentation about the civil conflict in Lebanon that ended more or less in 1990.

Here's a promo video for the song:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T33QJf2z7zA]YouTube - Chris De Burgh & Elissa - Lebanese Night[/ame]

Lip-syncing with belly dance sounds like a fun challenge!

If you want a little camp, there's "Istanbul (not Constantinople)".

this is a cute video from a hafla of a couple of women dancing to it (being silly, of course).
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdpcueBkRjU]YouTube - C'est Istanbul....again[/ame]

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Desert Rose seems like the obvious choice to me... or Hips Don't Lie. Although many bellydancers would roll their eyes at Hips Don't Lie, it's still pretty popular with the GP.

ETA: Wait! My very first choice would surely be Leila, the duet by Hakim and James Brown! Such great energy, always a HUGE crowd pleaser, and it's hard not to lipsynch the James Brown part...

I feel good!

So good!

YouTube - Arab's fun - Hakim James Brown

Thread hijack - I must have this song! Didn't see it available for MP3 download on Amazon. Any other trusted site have it available?

Originally Posted by anala

That old 60's Brit song..Stop, stop all the dancing...give me time to breath...cant remember the title, but it is about a mans fascination about a belly dancer.

The Hollies, "Stop Stop Stop" ..g.:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNASOqW0Hlg]YouTube - the hollies stop stop stop[/ame]

Originally Posted by DancingRuya

Thread hijack - I must have this song! Didn't see it available for MP3 download on Amazon. Any other trusted site have it available?

I don't see it as a download -- it's actually spelled Lela, if that helps.

I have it on this album, but it looks like this one is out of print and only available used?
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/El-Yomen-Dol-Hakim/dp/B00026WSCU/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242709353&sr=1-9"]Amazon.com: El Yomen Dol: Hakim: Music[/ame]


But this new CD has it -- sounds like the same version from the clip but I can't be certain:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lela-Hakim/dp/B000G5R8UE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242709277&sr=8-3"]Amazon.com: Lela: Hakim: Music[/ame]

And of course there is Harry Saroyan singing Miserlou. And if wanted to have a little fun throw in some of Dick Dale's Miserlou.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I don't see it as a download -- it's actually spelled Lela, if that helps.

I have it on this album, but it looks like this one is out of print and only available used?
Amazon.com: El Yomen Dol: Hakim: Music


But this new CD has it -- sounds like the same version from the clip but I can't be certain:
Amazon.com: Lela: Hakim: Music

shokran! i just ordered it yay!

Originally Posted by steffib

I would go w/ a ME tune for which the lyrics are available - I am just not a fan of bellydancing to Western music. Istemem Babacim is always good, as is Uskudara.

Ooooohhh- Eartha Kitt's version of Uskudara would ROCK

I also like Trust in Me (Kah's song from the Jungle Book)- can't remember which sultry singer covered it tho...

Originally Posted by DancingRuya

shokran! i just ordered it yay!

I love that Hakim albumn. Has so many danceable songs AND in addition to the James Brown duet there is also a song featuring Stevie Wonder playing harmonica. It starts out with Stevie saying "Yo Hakim. This is Stevie!" Pretty cool.

What I think is really neat about Lela is that James Brown is singing what he is going to do at night and Hakim is singing a modern, upbeat layali (night, o night). Hakim is so cool about throwing a little mawaal or layali into many of his songs. A little nod to tradition I guess.

Souzan

havent read the thread, someone might have mentioned it already

look for "dont climb the piramids" by the maniacs... a whole cd with english language bellydance rock songs ;-) i love the cd. i like it cause it is really a collaboration with some egyptian musicians, and not just a "hey, this might be cool/sell well" "ethnic sauce" thing...

Thank you so much ladies. You are Great.

duh, how could i forget - Hakim w/Cleopatra "Walk Like an Egyptian". it's on one of the desert roses albums as track 1.

i listened to the hakim/stevie wonder clip & it sounds nice, a definite 'stevie' flavor to it from what i heard.

this is a fun thread :)

although "ojos asi" is overused if you like that song you can do the english version, "eyes like yours."

Leiber and Stoller's Little Egypt (Elvis did it) and Teach Me How to Shimmy are fun...

Originally Posted by anala

That old 60's Brit song..Stop, stop all the dancing...give me time to breath...cant remember the title, but it is about a mans fascination about a belly dancer.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" by The Hollies.

If it's not too late, how about "Kashmir" either the original by Def Leppard or Ofra Haza's cover. Both are in English.

I agree with Ruya - Walk Like an Egyptian. The Beatles recorded it a long time ago too.

Isn't there an old Monkees song about a belly dancer?

Originally Posted by TexasRuya

If you want a little camp, there's "Istanbul (not Constantinople)".

this is a cute video from a hafla of a couple of women dancing to it (being silly, of course).
YouTube - C'est Istanbul....again

Hey, it's two of my favorite local dancers, Kelly (white) and Lane (red)! Aren't they adorable?

Originally Posted by spicedjellybeans

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" by The Hollies.

Sorry, Ruya! I didn't see your post clarifying this, even though I searched for one.

Originally Posted by Fotia

I agree with Ruya - Walk Like an Egyptian. The Beatles recorded it a long time ago too.

Turns out Henry Mancini recorded a version. Now I must find an audio file so I can hear it. Can't wait!