Thread: Point me in the direction of Greek Belly Dance info please!

So I just got booked as a dancer for this great Greek band in my area. We have a few gigs coming up and I'm very excited. They're wonderful people to work with. Now I realize that when I dance in clubs and in shows I rarely use Greek rhythms..w.:

I need to see some more dance done by Greek style dancers and become more accustomed to moving to that style of music.

Does anyone out there have recommendations of music to listen to, or a good Greek dancer to look up on YouTube?

Thanks
~Kat

if you go to the bhuz groups section, there is a greek tsifteteli group
maria has posted a bunch of you tube clips

Most Greek bands will play classic Arabic songs, such as Aziza, for you. It may sound a little different because they use regular drums (the name of them escapes me right now) instead of a tabla. Expect to hear 2/4 and chiftetelli rhythms. The main difference is that you'll find yourself needing to move around the floor more than with Egyptian music, with less focus on intricate, subtle hip movements. They are great for veil and (if you do it) floorwork!

Originally Posted by vilia

The main difference is that you'll find yourself needing to move around the floor more than with Egyptian music, with less focus on intricate, subtle hip movements. They are great for veil and (if you do it) floorwork!

Thank you vilia!

I have been looking for a chance to do some floorwork. Here goes... ..g.:

That's a great community. :-) Thank you for the recommendation!

There's a great article on orientaldancer.net about tsifteteli: http://www.orientaldancer.net/articles/tsifteteli.shtml

It gives some background about tsifteteli, and the author Chryssanthi Sahar has some tsifteteli videos on Youtube.

D

Hi Kat,
If this is going to be a long-standing relationship, thought I would just mention another possibility for learning - in KC there are two large Greek churches, and they each have big dance troupes, and I believe they offer lessons. It wouldn't be strictly Greek bellydancing per se, probably more folkloric, but you probably could learn a lot about the music, rhythms etc. that would translate well into your bellydancing with the band. Just another possible source...

Originally Posted by CFerhat

Hi Kat,
If this is going to be a long-standing relationship, thought I would just mention another possibility for learning - in KC there are two large Greek churches, and they each have big dance troupes, and I believe they offer lessons. It wouldn't be strictly Greek bellydancing per se, probably more folkloric, but you probably could learn a lot about the music, rhythms etc. that would translate well into your bellydancing with the band. Just another possible source...

CFerhat, thank you! That's exactly what I need. I'd like to make this a long standing relationship with the band and am very excited about the prospect of broadening my repertoire too. When you say KC, where is that?

~Kat

Kansas City baby!

OK - I see you are in New York - that would be a long commute. :) See if you can't find a resource in your neck of the woods.

OMG! I Love Rhea! she is from Greece you should Google Her.
I love Greek Music too!!! Fast!!!

Hi there:)
Happy again to see that greek tsifteteli is geting more and more popular :)
You can check some info at the greek tsifteteli group under bhuz, and also Chryssanthi's article is just great.
About Rhea one correction
Rhea (I so much missssssss her she is at States the last months) is not Greek, she is from San Francisco, one of the first students of Jamila Salimpour at Bal Anat, and her hippy traveling's at the 70's lead her under the sacred rock of Acropolis, and since then she lives at the centre of anchient Athens, at Plaka.
Her style is a mix of old am-cab, turkish-arabic and greek tsifteteli and she is the most entairtaining dancer !!! her sword work compined with Rhea's floorwork is unique.

Maria Aya, Athens Greece

Originally Posted by MariaAya

Hi there:)
Her style is a mix of old am-cab, turkish-arabic and greek tsifteteli and she is the most entairtaining dancer !!! her sword work compined with Rhea's floorwork is unique.

...and that's exactly what works best with Greek bands here in the States. Most of them are used to working with the old 5-7 part routine, but if you talk to them before dancing, you can request the format you'd prefer. The folkloric dancing will only be necessary if you want to join in the line dances with customers between shows (which can be a fun way to keep your muscles warm).

This site: www.eworldrecord.com/greekrecords.html
has Greek music, and you can listen to clips of songs!
~Zayna :)