Thread: Song Suggestions for Fairy Tale themed show?

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone knew any songs that would be appropriate for a fairy tale themed show? I was invited to perform amongst burlesque dancers who are doing fairy tale songs, but I am curious to know if there are any songs out there that would work for bellydance and what character would be good to portray?

I'm a little stuck!

Wish apon a star

(I think)

I can't think of the name of the song! It'll come to me!
(In my head I hear a woman singing...I'm trying to remember the words)

ooohhhh sounds fun!!!!
Giacomo Bondi - Gardens of Delight on Electric Oasis 2 is a remix of a song whose title I am going to badly mangle - sekhab bil habib(??)
Lala Song Player - Gardens of Delight by Giacomo Bondi
Anyhoo, the song has a wonderfully dreamy quality to it. I would steer you to do a bit of research into Middle Eastern fairy tales to find a character to portray. Talk to Roula about it.
Show me the video when you get it!
xoxoxoxo
Hannan

Or how about a classic, from Fantasia?

Originally Posted by hannan

ooohhhh sounds fun!!!!
Giacomo bondi - gardens of delight on electric oasis 2 is a remix of a song whose title i am going to badly mangle - sekhab bil habib(??)
lala song player - gardens of delight by giacomo bondi
anyhoo, the song has a wonderfully dreamy quality to it. I would steer you to do a bit of research into middle eastern fairy tales to find a character to portray. Talk to roula about it.
Show me the video when you get it!
Xoxoxoxo
hannan

I loved that music!

Ooh thanks for the suggestions everybody, I am taking these down :) Very excited about this !
And Hannan, I will definitely send you a video ! I like the idea of looking into Middle Eastern fairy tales as well :)

1001 Nights (Alf Leyla Wa Leyla)...? It is a collection of stories by Scheherazade...(er, spellings will vary, sorry).

What sort of feeling do you want to dance to?

I adore this song, it's on my "something someday" list...but I think it would work for a dreamy, fairy-like quality, like a glimpse through a door: Al Sahm al Taéh, on the Mozart in Egypt 2 CD (sorry, no MP3 on Amazon).

"Oriental Fantasy" #2 has a music called "Scheherazade and the Golden Slave" which is inspired by the music of Rimsky-Korsakov.

From what you said, I'm not sure if the dancers who invited you were thinking of the Arabian Nights tales, because it's a completely different folklore background from what we generally call "fairy tales" (european folklore substrate). But it's up to you. If you wanna play a real fairy role, you can think of characters such as Morgan le Fay or the Lady of the Lake, for example.

Originally Posted by gothique

Wish apon a star

(I think)

I can't think of the name of the song! It'll come to me!
(In my head I hear a woman singing...I'm trying to remember the words)

The classic music, 'Aquarium' is beautiful, and is used in many movies for fairytale type theme.

The problem with most of the Arabian Nights tales is that most people won't recognize them. You want something very easy for people to "get".

My suggestion would be to appear as the genie of Aladdin's lamp in your prettiest cabaret costume (NOT the I Dream of Jeannie thing, ick). Get a lamp and have the emcee polish the lamp with a cloth before you "appear". Do a dreamy slow entrance, fast section, and ending to the beautiful Arabic music of your choice, and voila! People will love it, I bet.

I haven't had coffee yet so my brain may not be working...but isn't Aladdin and his lamp one of the tales in 1001 Nights?

Does it have to be a specific character from a fairy tale?

Genie from lamp counts, I'm just trying to figure out how fairy tales would be portrayed in burlesque dance too...

Ali Baba and Sinbad are also from 1001 Nights, and are recognizable (though I disagree that it is has to be recognizable at a glance, but that's a personal preference to pick something maybe not as familiar).

Ali Baba had a helper: Morgiana the servant girl (names may vary). She even performed a dance with daggers to kill one of the thieves.

Originally Posted by yaalini

I haven't had coffee yet so my brain may not be working...but isn't Aladdin and his lamp one of the tales in 1001 Nights?

Does it have to be a specific character from a fairy tale?

Genie from lamp counts, I'm just trying to figure out how fairy tales would be portrayed in burlesque dance too...

Ali Baba and Sinbad are also from 1001 Nights, and are recognizable (though I disagree that it is has to be recognizable at a glance, but that's a personal preference to pick something maybe not as familiar).

Ali Baba had a helper: Morgiana the servant girl (names may vary). She even performed a dance with daggers to kill one of the thieves.

Yes, Aladdin and his lamp are from the Arabian Nights tales, and is probably one of the best known stories. I said that MOST of the Tales most people won't have heard of. Western audiences aren't probably going to figure out who Princess Nouronnihar is, for example.

My point is that unless you have a serious performance with extensive program notes that allow you to explain your character and the story, you better pick something that won't make people go "huh?" I doubt that when the burlesque dancer comes out and starts stripping off the red riding hood that people will be wondering who the heck she might be.

Originally Posted by AvivaDances

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone knew any songs that would be appropriate for a fairy tale themed show? I was invited to perform amongst burlesque dancers who are doing fairy tale songs, but I am curious to know if there are any songs out there that would work for bellydance and what character would be good to portray?

If you're performing amongst burlesque dancers, then you could approach it two ways:
A - If you're a tribal fusion dancer, you could choose modern music and bellydance through the lens/character/costume of a western fairy tale that is recognizable to western audiences. This is a fusion of theatricality with tribal fusion bellydance, and you want the audience to understand what's going on.

B - If you're a traditional/folkloric/Oriental/Cabaret dancer, you should emphasize the way that you're already "playing" a character -- that of a bellydancer. I think the suggestion of having someone rub a lamp, followed by your appearance and dancing is a great one! I also have to echo TigerB about the costuming; differentiate yourself as much as possible from the cheesy burlesque imitations of bellydance and go for your best, shiniest, classiest costume. :)

Post video, if you can, of what you come up with!

Originally Posted by AvivaDances

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone knew any songs that would be appropriate for a fairy tale themed show? I was invited to perform amongst burlesque dancers who are doing fairy tale songs, but I am curious to know if there are any songs out there that would work for bellydance and what character would be good to portray?

How about the song "Kahramana" from the Egyptian movie Afrita Hanem? The fairy tale character would be a genie, which is what Samia Gamal's character is who dances to that song in the movie.

If that won't work, pick a song from the Disney cartoon Aladdin, such as "Arabian Nights". You can still be a genie even though the genie in that movie was male - after all, this is fantasy! Or you could be Jasmine....

Or you could go as a zombie.

** Teehee. Sorry. Couldn't resist. **

I seem to remember people dancing to a song called "Sindarella" or something like that, that was about Cinderella but was definitely a piece for raqs sharqi. There was a vocal chorus of men's voices singing or chanting the name Sandarella (it sounded like to me).

Edited to add: it sounded like Egyptian music.

Originally Posted by dunyah

I seem to remember people dancing to a song called "Sindarella" or something like that, that was about Cinderella but was definitely a piece for raqs sharqi. There was a vocal chorus of men's voices singing or chanting the name Sandarella (it sounded like to me).

Edited to add: it sounded like Egyptian music.

This? "Vintage" Album Information I'm afraid this song will be in the same gray area that the audience won't be able to make the connection.