Thread: Your list compared to Dahlal's

Picking up on Latifa's thread looking for other versions of "Kariat El Finjan", how does your list of "Songs Every Dancer Should Know" compare to Dahlal's?
http://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?n=20.1

Opening
1. Zay el Hawa
2. Aziza
3. Leylet Hob “Love Night”
4. Hani
5. Set el Hosen
6. Mashaal
7. Batwanness Beek
8. Tamr Henna

Midsection
1. Hebbina
2. Hizzy ya Nawaem
3. Ah Ya Zein
4. Nour el Ain
5. Zeina

Finale
1. Touta
2. Ayoub

I'm not sure what would belong on the top 15, but surely there are more that deserve consideration. Alf Leyla? Enta Omri? Lamma Bada? Lessa Fakir? Gana el Hewa?

Ooh, Kiyaana, thanks for posting this thread! Can't wait to see what others have to say.

Me too!! I suffer from "I know this song but I don't know what it is called" syndrome - it really sucks!! I know most of the songs "every dancer should know" just from watching a lot of dance - but not all dance shows come with a program, so I don't know the names of anything!!!

That's me too. I've always been that way with any music, I never know the name and artist, well unless I performed it say in band (where you see the sheet music EVERY day).

Originally Posted by danielabellydance

Me too!! I suffer from "I know this song but I don't know what it is called" syndrome - it really sucks!! I know most of the songs "every dancer should know" just from watching a lot of dance - but not all dance shows come with a program, so I don't know the names of anything!!!

A couple of years ago I used the list from Dahlal's site for a class and my students liked it so much they asked me to do another, so I made up a list of my own (just 10, though). It was hard to do and so many of my favorites were still left off!!! Here are Kat's 10-besides-Dahlal's-15:

1. Alf Layla Wa Layla

2. Ala Nar

3. Ya Mustapha

4. Misirlou

5. Aya Zein

6. Cleopatra

7. Rompi Rompi

8. Lissa Faker

9. Mastika

10. Intra Omri

How about those of you who dance often with live music? What do the bands play?

This is the song list that the local band of our live music showcase plays:

1. Lamma Bada (samaii in 10/4)
2. Longa Shahnaz
3. l’Ataba Gazaz
4. Hala Lala Layya (Lebanese)
5. El Samir
6. Il Hilwa Di
7. Raqs Al Hawanim
8. Aziza
9. Rajin Y Hawa (Feirouz song)
10. Touta
11. Bint Al Balad
12. Laylat Hobb
13. Zeina
14. Tamra Henna
15. Hebbina
16. Ana Fi Intazarek
17. Egyptian Medley: Salem Allay, Ala Hisbi Atchanya Sabaya, Il Hinna, Y Khuli L-Ginayna, Ah Ya Zain

Originally Posted by kiyaana

How about those of you who dance often with live music? What do the bands play?

One of the bands in the IN area who often plays for dancers is Salaam. I attended a recent hafla where they provided the music -- here's their song list:

Aziza
Jamil Jamal
Saba Samir
Ya Habbaibi
Rompi Rompi
Al Ain Mulaytein
Arap Chiftelli
Ya Della
Jajouka
Bir Demet Yasemin
Siselar
Al Henna
El Hilwa
Parfum du Gitane
Ya Teyra Tiri
Inta Omri/Alf Layla Wa Layla jam
Zeina
El Hajil
Jemilah
Motherhood
Kadife
Saidh
Exmerim
Bessaha Tla'anya
Anwar
Misirlou
Hijaz Semaii (Sufi)
Lamma Bada
Ya Jamil
An Nadda N'Nadda
Aya Zain

I'm a Virgo, so I'd have to overanalyze the whole thing and come up with a complicated rubric. (I don't even know exactly what a rubric is, but being a Virgo I love them).

Surely Tribal dancers don't need to know any of these songs, so they'd get their own list. Same with Goth/fusion dancers.

Egyptian-style dancers: I'd add a whole category for
- Umm K (alf leyla, inta omr)
- Golden era film songs (tamr henna, Aziza)
- baladi-style (bint el balad, tahtil shibbak) -- maybe Saidi?
- Pop classics (Harramt Ahebek & other Warda pieces, Nour El Ayn, etc)
- Orientale pieces, maybe? Mashaal, Eshta ya Amar? Maybe not.

Amcab dancers would need their own list (Jemillah, Rompi Rompi...Eddie Kochak, Setrak, etc)

Turkish dancers would also have a list (Mastika, Keman Karsilama, Rompi, Tarkan)

Then I suppose there needs to be one fully distilled list for American Mongrel Style dancers like me, who do a bit of everything.

oooh, AMS (American Mongrel Style). I like it!

I appreciate the threads that Shems has started for recommendations for her students such as the recent one on Egyptian dancers to know.

Anyone have any songs to add to this thread? Dahlal's list helped me several years ago when I started getting serious about dance.

Good suggestions above. For me when I used to dance to a live band the music changed frequently. These were my personal favorites then of course the band would seguey between each song with their various taxims:

Openings
Ma'ashaal
Sit el Hossan
Sahara City
Nagwa
Mihrajan
Ala rimsh ayouna
Lama Rah Alsaber

Middle-almost anything /classic (sometimes I had 2 middle pieces so I would pick one medium pace or fast piece than a slower Oum Khoulsoum song or vice versa.)
Gana el helwa
Neptidi M'neim el hikya
Lissa Fakir
El Leila Helwa
Yalla bina yalla
Selamat om hassan
Zay el helwa
Habibi Inta
Aboua Radi
Btwanees Beek
Leilet Hob
Inta Omri
Tigi nigsim il amar
Sawah

Saidi or Beledi
Habibi ya eini
Bint el Sultan
Al ain muleytain
ahleflak, ahleflak
Some other song I never knew the name

Finale
Touta
Ayoub

Drumsolo

I know I'm late on this thread but, what great information.
I also suffer from "know the song-don't know the name". Does anyone know were I could get short clip of the song with the name? Or, even better, a compilation album of the top 10 (er...15)?
PEACE - Audie

Duh.. I just checked the Dahlal link with the song and the name.
Now does anyone know of a site that has lyric translations for them????????
Thanks.

I am more with Lauren on this - it all depends on where in the world one lives and what one's focus in dance is. In my neck of the woods, the Dahlal list would not get me very far - but I can identify, name and hum many Turkish/Armenian classics.

Currently, this is my favorite site for translations: Arabic Song Lyrics and Translation

Several other sites, such as Shira.net, have many translations, too. I'm building a site and have a page with lots of links for finding translations: Song Translations

If you click on "Songs" on the site I'm building, you may find several of these well-known songs. Each has its own page with links to where you can download them (sites that also allow you to hear a clip). It's a work in progress!

Originally Posted by audie

Duh.. I just checked the Dahlal link with the song and the name.
Now does anyone know of a site that has lyric translations for them????????
Thanks.

Hollywood Music Center a compilation of "10 Songs Every Bellydancer Should Know": https://www.hollywoodmusiccenter.com...guage=english&

ah, Kiyaana, I was just coming to post a plug for that CD since Mher promptly produced it when I told him it was very much in need. :)

Got the CD, it's a nice collection songs for new students or the I-can't-remember-song-names dancer.

I'm glad you revived this thread.

Even though I think I have those exact same tracks from other HMC CDs, I will probably buy this CD anyway. It's only $9.99 plus it's nice to have those particular songs all in one place. AND I'd like to support HMC for putting it together. (When I was first exposed to Dahlal's list several years ago, it took me a while to assemble all of those songs and make my own "songs every dancer should know" CD.)

Originally Posted by nasila

ah, Kiyaana, I was just coming to post a plug for that CD since Mher promptly produced it when I told him it was very much in need. :)

Got the CD, it's a nice collection songs for new students or the I-can't-remember-song-names dancer.