Quote:
Originally Posted by Brea
Hi cathy,
I know that playing zills is difficult (even once you get past the ouch-that-noise-HURTS problem!); my best friend plays them wonderfully. A'isha also mentioned that zill-playing also may only be for beledi. Why, then, would people assume you were not professional if you didn't play them? I have been dancing for nine years...I certainly hope I have attained some level of skill in that time!
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Dear Brea,
This seems to be an area where my teacher Morocco and A'isha differ. Morocco says that playing zills is an integral part of raks sharki (not only raks beledi) and one of the hallmarks of a polished professional and a complete performance, with dancer taking part in producing the music. When she sponsored Nadia Hamdi's trip to the US, Nadia confirmed this too. Also we see evidence that many of the top stars in Cairo from the older days played zills on a regular basis during Sharki numbers. Naima Akef, for instance. We often don't see them playing zills in the films from the 40s and 50s. Morocco says this is because of technical issues in the film business then (synchronizing sound and motion) and also very loud sets but I think A'isha disagrees about this.
I CAN'T PLAY ZILLS and I AM NOT AN EXPERT in the subject of the history of zills and raks sharki or raks beledi by any means but just trying to summarize what I have heard these two authorities write and say on the subject to show that opinions differ. I don't think people who agree with Morocco will necessarily think you aren't a professional if you can't or don't play zills. That would get into the whole issue of what is professional. More like there was a notable hole in your training. I have also heard other (younger) professional dancers in NYC say that lack of being able to play zills has actually prevented them from getting jobs at certain nightclubs. I don't know any more details about that.
Morocco also recommends little "mufflers" on the zills for practice BTW.
Cathy