nicknack

Do we have any cane experts here? I'm trying to find out more about the use of the cane not just in Egyptian dance but other styles such as Lebanese and American (I remember seeing a great video of a Lebanese dancer using a cane somewhere....). I'm having fun with the cane and want to do it justice

__________________
Cause I'm not here to let you down. But the costume makes the clown.

Aisha Azar

Dear Nicknack,
In Egyptian dance, it seems there are many kinds of cane dance. The Ghawazi do one that seems to be a sort of couples dance in which the cane might be balanced between two bodies. (Edwina Nearing has a great explanation of the 7 different Ghawazi styles that she noted). Then there is Saidi style cane and both male and female styles. ( Don't take this as gospel, but I think that perhaps female cane in Saidi style might really be a stagey thing and not part of the normal folkloric style, but I am not certain of this. It's just a feeling. There might be some mime situations in which a cane is grabbed by a female in fun, in the native environment.) Then there is beledi style cane which is more urban in its origins and is often a female dance. This is the more lively version of the female cane dances from Egypt. Fifi Abdou does a really good cane dance and there are several others who do a great job, too.
Re Lebanese cane- I THINK Mark Balahadia is going to teach some of that when he comes to Spokane in September. I am very much looking forward to it.
Regards,
A'isha

Zorba

It was probably the DVD "Nadia Gamal, the Legend", which I can recommend highly - but then I'm "into" Nadia's dancing!

Madeline

Or was it Rindala?



(I hope that’s the right video, as my internet connection is too slow to open it!)

Oftentimes Lebanese dancers use music and steps borrowed from debke.

Outi

And there is cane dance in simsimeya, too. You have not seen it, because there isn't many recordings and I don't know any dancer, who actually put it on the stage before last autumn. I was lucky enough to see the one on the stage and some videos Mahmoud Reda recorded in Suez.

Aisha Azar

Dear Nicknack,
You notice in the clip Madeline gave us, that the dancer is wearing the yummiest peach and gold belly dance costume!! In and Egyptian dance show, the costume would be changed to a more folkloric look. The dancer would probably don gelebiyeh, occasionally even a man's thobe or a "shiftishi" ( naughty dress), shurush,or other type of wear, as opposed tow hat is worn in belly dance. Nadia Gamal also often changed into a different kind of costume to performa raqs assaya, but I think she was very much influenced by Egyptians on many levels. Even among Egyptians, it does not always happen, but mostly. Among Lebanese dancers, I notice they more often stay in belly dance garb, though they sometimes change, too.
Another thing is that I think we often see video of amateur Lebanese dancers because of the television contests they have there.
Regards,
A'isha

janaki

Great post! I am learning a lot here!!!!

Hi A'isha,

Once again great expalnation. Could you pls tell more about baladi style cane dance. I have always thought cane dance is done to saidi rhythm. I have seen a clip on youtube a while ago cane dance done to mizmar taxim also pop songs with saidi rhythm. Can cane dance be done to baladi rhythm? Pls..pls... can't wait for your answer.

Hi Donya,

Where is this Simsimeya? Is it a place name or an ethnic group. This is the first time I have heard about it. I would like to know more info about it. I am a big fan of egyptian dances and I am doing a research(on my own) about the dances.

Cheers
Janaki

Moon

I also want to hear more

nicknack

I think I read somewhere that cane dance is done to both Baladi and Saidi.

__________________
Cause I'm not here to let you down. But the costume makes the clown.

Aisha Azar

Dear Janaki,
Most of what I learned about Beledi style cane dance, I learned from Jodette Silhi and from watching videos of the Egyptian dancers. I also picked up a bit here and there from other instructors. Jodette calls the dance "Binti Beledi" or Daughter of My Country. (She also had a magazine out for awhile by this name... I have a few copies of it around here somewhere.)
Beledi might be called the uptown version of the more folkloric styles. It is a "city" dance, you might say, and borrows from both folkloric dance and from the more sophistocated elements of city. The dance is often done in sparkly costumes and can be performed to either tradtional or modern music. The dance is often used in more complicated ways than in the Saidi style. Also in any style, Egyptians rarely balance the cane on their heads because over there it is not very impressive considering that there are guys who ride around on bikes with trays full of bread on their heads, or ladies carry huge amounts of gorceries on their heads, or whatever. The cane is held in the hands, keeps beat to the music, is swung about in fancy ways, or the dancer uses the cane to accent her movements. There is a lot of posturing with the cane in different positions as well.
My own personal opinion, and this is not fact but my surmise after years of study, is that Assaya went through the same kind of metamorphosis that other dances did and it became Beledi just as the folkloric dances morphed from what they were into a unique new style called Raqs el Sharghi, once the influences of the city got hold of it. Beledi is in fact a sort of catch all for dances that use props. Using finger cymbals is another way to dance Beledi, for example. Egyptian belly dancers rarely use them except for Beledi,though Nadia Hamdi was an exception.
Regards,
A'isha