Shems Middle Eastern Dance
Repertoire
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Arabic Dances
Oriental Routine - Egyptian or Lebanese
Arabic belly dance music arranged in a classical
style, with many dramatic changes allows the dancer to enter, greet
her audience and then show some of the range of her abilities. It
is an opening standard of the all the greats of belly dance from
Sohair Zaki to Amani. It is often arrangements of classic Arabic
music, but can also be a new composition.
Cane Dance - Saidi or Lebanese
Cane dancing, also called "raqs al assaya"
is a playful take on a men's martial art dance called the tahtib.
In the tahtib a long stick (assaya) is used as a weapon and points
are given for hitting sensitive spots. The women have taken that
same weapon to show just how dangerous it can be in the right hands.
The woman's assaya dance is very sweet, playful and flirtatious,
done with both a straight stick and a crooked cane.
The Said is Upper Egypt (southern Egypt) and the
Saidi style of cane dancing is very earthy and folkloric. The women
wear a galabia (long dress) and dance to the very distinctive Saidi
music with mizmar and tabla.
The Lebanese version of this dance tends to incorporate
elements from Debke and has a little bit of a showoff quality to
it. It is often performed to music appropriate for Debke as well.
Arabic Pop
Modern and fun, there are several Arabic popular
artists putting out great dance music. This can be just an upbeat
belly dance performance, or a great time to get the audience up
and dancing. If you give me a little notice I'd be glad to incorporate
your favorite song or artist. Some of my current favorites include
Nancy Ajram, Haifa, Nourhanne, Shereen, Hakim, Mohammed Mohie, Turbo
Tabla, Rashid al-Majid, Cheb Jilani. There are also some great techno
remixes of classic Oriental music out there, if that interest you.
I love to discover new artists, feel free to let me know who some
of your favorites are.
Sagat (Finger Cymbals)
Traditionally used in the Middle East,
sagat, also known as zills are small metal cymbals worn on the fingers
of the dancer. She plays these to add a lively and fun accompaniment
to her own dancing.
The Classics
For those of you who love a soulful Om Kulthoum song,
or can't get enough Abd El Halim Hafeth, I would be glad to bring
the classics to life for you. Classic Arabic music is some of my
favorite music to dance to. Some of my favorite artists include:
Om Kulthoum, Abd El Halim Hafeth, Farid El Atrache, Warda, Mohammed
Abdul Wahab, Baligh Hamdi, Feiruz. I also love old folk music. Please
send me your requests.
Taksim
Usually the slow portion of the dance where a solo instrument
improvises and the dancer interprets that instrument. Usually a
part of a larger oriental piece, sometimes it stands alone as a
very moving and beautiful portion of a performance.
Egyptian Baladi Taksim
A Baladi, usually played by an accordion,
starts slow and then works it's way gradually into a frenzy. It
was used at Egyptian celebrations as a good way to get the reluctant
dancers in the family to showing their skills slowly. Hossam Ramzy
has an interesting article about the Baladi
Dance.
Khaliji Thobe Nashal Dance
Khaliji refers to the people of the Arabian
Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE & Oman. The Khaliji dance
I present is a woman's dance, done with a large ornate thobe that
is worn over the top of a party dress. Women of the Gulf dance in
groups to celebrate weddings, graduations and holidays.
Hagallah
The Hagallah is a coming - of - age dance for a young girl (the
Hagallah). It is done by one young girl, dressed in a long kaftan,
whose face & head are totally covered. It is about celebrating a
young girl's reaching puberty, to tell her how beautiful she is
becoming & what a wonderful wife & mother she will make & what a
lucky man the one who marries her will be.
The Hagallah is also often performed at weddings
as a celebratory dance. The Hagallah spread from Libya to Egypt
via Libyan worker migration. Being mostly populated by Libyan immigrants
people in Mersa Matruh region of Egypt often still dress the way
the Libyans did.
One possible translation of the word Haggal means
bird but a bird that flies across the Sinai Dessert and when it
steps on the sand, it does a funny walk because the sand is hot.
Some say that this is the accented shimmy walk imitated by Hagallah
dancers. Another possible translation from Arabic is "to hop, skip,
leap, or gambol."
The Hagallah is traditionally performed without
any music except the clapping and chanting of the men of the village.
The line of men are called "Kefaffin" (clappers).
Mahmoud Reda, a choreographer famous for bringing
folkloric dances to the stage had music composed for his version
of this dance which I use in my performance, my choreography also
draws heavily upon Reda's original choreography. The costume has
also been adapted for stage.
Maleya Leff
This theatrical dance is from Alexandria,
Egypt. A melaya is a large, black shawl made of nylon or silk, in
which the women wrap themselves completely from head to toe. It
is a modesty garment for when they leave the house. The word leff
simply means “to wrap”. The idea behind the dance is the woman is
seeking the local men's attention by flirting from behind her wrap.
A very fun dance
Zeffa
A ceremonial procession, which used to
lead a bride through the streets from her old home to her new, music
and entertainers helping to lead the way. Often a belly dancer leads
the procession playing finger cymbals and wearing a candelabrum
on her head. Now the same procession can be used to lead a bride
and groom around and into the reception hall, often followed by
a performance for the bride and groom.
Basic Debke
Debke is the popular line dance of the
Levant (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria). Choreographed versions can be
very complex and exciting. However, for the general populace a more
simple easy to follow version is quite fun. I can teach a few steps,
and lead a group in a fun and simple debke dance.
Turkish Dances
Turkish Rom
Turkish Rom is the dance of the Roma (Gypsy)
people of Turkey. Earthy and full of energy and humor, it's a wonderfully
fun style of dance.
Turkish Pop
Modern and fun, there are several Turkish
popular artists putting out great dance music. This can be just
an upbeat belly dance performance, or a great time to get the audience
up and dancing. If you give me a little notice I'd be glad to incorporate
your favorite song or artist. I'm still discovering my favorite
Turkish artists. I adore Tarkan and Sezen Aksu. I would love to
hear what your favorites are.
Turkish Folkloric Line Dances
Somewhat similar to Dabke from the Levant,
Turkey has it's own fun and varied line dances. These can be prepared
in a choreographed presentation or simplified to lead a fun and
simple group dance.
Specialty Dances and Vintage Oriental
Vintage Oriental Belly Dance Routine
Put together in the classic American style using Turkish, Greek,
Arabic or Armenian elements in the music. This is a great alternative
to a straight Arabic show, especially to an American audience that
enjoys a little taste of everything. It opens with a lively entrance,
finger cymbals flying, followed by a slow and sultry Taxim with
veil and floorwork, next a fun number to engage the audience, followed
by either another prop (like sword) or a drum solo, and an exciting
exit. This can be configured to include your special requests.
Veil / Double Veil
A wonderful Western addition to belly
dancing. In the Middle East the veil is used for little more than
a frame or cape, which is often quickly discarded at the beginning
of a dance performance. However, Western dancers have made it an
extension of their bodies that often fills an entire piece of music.
Brilliant, elegant movement fills the space around them in color
and shape, as the fabric of the veil adds dimension to the performance.
Drum Solo
Definitely a show off moment for the dancer.
She interprets the dums and teks of the tabla (aka derbeki) and
shows off her shimmies.
Sword Dance
There is some documentation of dances
done by women with swords in the Middle East, but what these dances
looked liked exactly isn't known. One very famous fictional example
is the dance of Morgianna in the Arabian nights where she saves
Ali Baba from the leader of the forty thieves. Modern dancers have
taken the idea and created their own interpretations. The mystery
and power surrounding the sword make it a very dramatic element
of a dancer's performance, where she can show off her balancing
skills.
Floorwork
Outlawed in Egypt several years ago, but still popular elsewhere,
this traditional part of a belly dance performance shows off a dancer's
strength and flexibility as she dances on the floor. This is often
used to demonstrate difficult balancing skills with a prop like
a sword or candelabrum or skills like isolating shimmies and belly
rolls.
Spanish Fusion
Just like it sounds, a fusion of belly
dance and Spanish dances. Elements are taken from Flamenco, Spanish
skirt dances or Latin couples dances and meshed with belly dance
to create a fun Spanish styled numbers.
Fun & Games with the Audience
Everybody loves to have a little fun. We can plan
an audience participation portion, right into the program. Maybe
you'd like to have a little shimmy contest between the different
division heads at the company, a special dance lesson for all your
girlfriends or crafty homemade finger cymbals for the kids to play
along. Depending on the audience, there are all kinds of possibilities.
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