Khaliji... Is long hair a must? - Page 4

Aisha Azar · 06-10-2008, 02:27 PM

Dear Gypsy,
Thanks for responding and bringing this wonderful video of Etab to the forum!! It actually made me cry a bit. Etab was my hero some 20 years ago, and I wanted to dance just like her. (I still do want to for that particular style!!) . A Saudi friend used to get videos from home and he would keep us occupied for hours by letting Hallah and I park ourselves in front of his Saudi system and watch them. Etab's Space show was one of our favorites, in spite of the bad Egyptian dance, because SHE was so wonderful. She did not swing her head here, but I have seen film of her doing it with her real hair, which was short, and it looked great.
You are a doll to share!!

Dear Lydia,
I think you did an excellent job of telling us about the dance from the UAE point of view and you info is very valuable in helping people to see that the dance has styles specific to countries, villages and towns, as well as being a general dance form. We are so lucky to have you on this forum!

Hugs to you both,
A'isha

Lydia dubai · 06-10-2008, 03:37 PM

hugzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz in return

adiemus · 06-10-2008, 07:12 PM

I've learned so much from this thread - thank you for all your posts everyone! I think we are incredibly lucky to have the range of people and opinions here and from across a bunch of different countries - thanks to having a forum like this across the internet!

Marya · 06-10-2008, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsy8522

the girls chosen to get up and dance in this clip have short hair and they still swing their heads/hair

no hair tossing movements in this video, even though both women have long hair.

Thanks Gypsy, what countries were these videos from?

Marya

Kamilia · 06-12-2008, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_Balahadia

A'isha has seen me do both Ra's Khaleeji and Iraqi Kawaliya, both involving tons of hair stuff. My hair is shorter now but I still can do the movements although it looks a little different. The movement of the head is more important anyway, the hair just follows along!

I have a good friend, Kamilia (DC dancer who seems to be on the forum now!) who does great Khaleeji. Her hair isn't too long, a little shorter than her shoulders and she does GREAT Khaleeji.

The problem with Khaleeji done by foreigners is they lack "the feeling" needed to perform it properly. There are certainly steps and movements you must follow but there's more to Khaleeji than just following a choreography. Most people I see making an attempt don't seem to get this "feeling" and the performance suffers. It's hard to explain but hopefully A'isha and Kamilia can chime in!!!

In fact, I believe from what I've seen already in the US at least, there are only an handful of people capable of teaching real, authentic Khaleeji. Everyone else unfortunately butchers it completely...

Oh, Mark. You flatter me so much, but I learned my most valuable material from the infamous Yasmina, and all the Bedouin adventures she has let me be part of.

(My hair is getting longer, btw! I know we were planning on whispering motivating quotes to it, but I think it's doing fine now!)

I think all of the pro-short hair advice on here is great, but I just wanted to add one more thing: recent trends in migration, specifically that of Moroccan and other North African women to Gulf states, might have had an influence on hair movements in khaliji dance. Some of the fancier head moves, even done by folkloric dancers, look suspiciously Moroccan/North African. Some of the dancers do, too, but anyway...

Yasmina had the fortune of learning this dance from older generations of Gulf women, whose few hair moves consisted of gentle tossing. Like most other people have said here, the key to most Gulf head movement seems to be just that: movement of the head. The hair just seems to go along for the ride.

And I heart Etab!

Mark_Balahadia · 06-12-2008, 09:09 PM

Well, I've learned a lot from you and Yasmina. You guys are my real teachers of Khaleejyyat, although the drunken Saudis, Iraqis and Moroccans also helped me a lot with my Khaleeji

Oh the memories 3ala DC 3arabyya!

You've told to me of the North African/Moroccan influences on modern Khaleeji. There's gotta be a Iraqi connection too but where the Iraqi influence ends and where the Maghrebi (Moroccan) connection beginnings is hard to tell. The "shaking head" thing I've seen in Iraqi and Maghrebi is absent in Khaleeji from what I've seen...hmmmmmmm...

How long is your hair now??? Your hair is probably longer than mine now...although it's coming back, Mashallah!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamilia

Oh, Mark. You flatter me so much, but I learned my most valuable material from the infamous Yasmina, and all the Bedouin adventures she has let me be part of.

(My hair is getting longer, btw! I know we were planning on whispering motivating quotes to it, but I think it's doing fine now!)

I think all of the pro-short hair advice on here is great, but I just wanted to add one more thing: recent trends in migration, specifically that of Moroccan and other North African women to Gulf states, might have had an influence on hair movements in khaliji dance. Some of the fancier head moves, even done by folkloric dancers, look suspiciously Moroccan/North African. Some of the dancers do, too, but anyway...

Yasmina had the fortune of learning this dance from older generations of Gulf women, whose few hair moves consisted of gentle tossing. Like most other people have said here, the key to most Gulf head movement seems to be just that: movement of the head. The hair just seems to go along for the ride.

And I heart Etab!

Kamilia · 06-12-2008, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark_Balahadia

Well, I've learned a lot from you and Yasmina. You guys are my real teachers of Khaleejyyat, although the drunken Saudis, Iraqis and Moroccans also helped me a lot with my Khaleeji

Oh the memories 3ala DC 3arabyya!

You've told to me of the North African/Moroccan influences on modern Khaleeji. There's gotta be a Iraqi connection too but where the Iraqi influence ends and where the Maghrebi (Moroccan) connection beginnings is hard to tell. The "shaking head" thing I've seen in Iraqi and Maghrebi is absent in Khaleeji from what I've seen...hmmmmmmm...

How long is your hair now??? Your hair is probably longer than mine now...although it's coming back, Mashallah!

Yeah, Mark: there are always numerous influences going into these things, and it's hard to tell where one starts and another stops. That's just my personal favorite theory

My hair seems to be morphing into a mullet: the hair on the back of the head is just growing in leaps and bounds compared to the rest of my head. Although mullets seem to be very cool in the Iberian peninsula now, as I'm sure other parts of Europe, I will not stand for one on my head. To the salon!

gypsy8522 · 06-18-2008, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marya

Thanks Gypsy, what countries were these videos from?

Marya

Marya,

These videos are from Kuwait.

gypsy8522 · 06-18-2008, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lydia dubai

I realy dont know enough about all other country style khaleegy i only talk about ,,nash,, i dont know much about the kuwaity and saoudy way of dancing,so i can not realy comment on those styles of khaleegy perhaps i did not explain it properly,i only think of uae khaleegy..lol.... if people ask...but i do know that the local people from the UAE say that if they go to cairo to clubs they are laughing about the way the dancers presenting the khaleegy,So i geuss there is still a lot of misunderstanding how and how not to do it...have a nice day everybody,Lydia

Lydia,

I know there's a difference between local Emirati shaa3bi arts and that of Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, but if you look closely at the "khaleegi dance" attempts by foreigners it looks for the most part an imitation of what the Saudi's are doing. I think most of it is due to the fact that Saudi Arabian artists were the first to cross over and become known to the rest of the Arab world. Kuwait had theaters and staged performances very early (there are many clips on youtube of TV footage that goes back to the 1960's) while the UAE was still pretty much a desert in the early 90's, and I think very little had been known about its local arts until the satellite channel boom 8 years ago. Also if you look at the female artists: 3etab started in the 70's, Nawal (Kuwait) who is a legend now was already famous in the 80's, and the UAE came later; Ahlam was the first Emirati artist to become known outside the UAE and I remember this was around 1996.

Lydia dubai · 06-18-2008, 07:49 AM

Hi Gypsy,yes i agree with you on this lost post,and its treu the kuwaity,s are first in this always aswell when there are theater competitions in the uae they are always the winners sinds 1984 when i came to dubai the kuwaity,s always win this...i have some old videoclips that i will try to convert and post them still black and wite but perhaps still interesting its a old clip khaleegy in the uae,from i geuss the 1960 i will try to put it on youtube in a few days...have a nice day ,Lydia

06-10-2008, 02:27 PM	#31 (permalink)
Aisha Azar Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest USA Posts: 3,992	Etab Dear Gypsy, Thanks for responding and bringing this wonderful video of Etab to the forum!! It actually made me cry a bit. Etab was my hero some 20 years ago, and I wanted to dance just like her. (I still do want to for that particular style!!) . A Saudi friend used to get videos from home and he would keep us occupied for hours by letting Hallah and I park ourselves in front of his Saudi system and watch them. Etab's Space show was one of our favorites, in spite of the bad Egyptian dance, because SHE was so wonderful. She did not swing her head here, but I have seen film of her doing it with her real hair, which was short, and it looked great. You are a doll to share!! Dear Lydia, I think you did an excellent job of telling us about the dance from the UAE point of view and you info is very valuable in helping people to see that the dance has styles specific to countries, villages and towns, as well as being a general dance form. We are so lucky to have you on this forum! Hugs to you both, A'isha

06-10-2008, 07:12 PM	#33 (permalink)
adiemus Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 960	I've learned so much from this thread - thank you for all your posts everyone! I think we are incredibly lucky to have the range of people and opinions here and from across a bunch of different countries - thanks to having a forum like this across the internet! __________________ He wahine, he taonga- Every woman is a treasure(Maori proverb)

06-10-2008, 03:37 PM	#32 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,238	hugzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz in return

06-18-2008, 07:49 AM	#40 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,238	Hi Gypsy,yes i agree with you on this lost post,and its treu the kuwaity,s are first in this always aswell when there are theater competitions in the uae they are always the winners sinds 1984 when i came to dubai the kuwaity,s always win this...i have some old videoclips that i will try to convert and post them still black and wite but perhaps still interesting its a old clip khaleegy in the uae,from i geuss the 1960 i will try to put it on youtube in a few days...have a nice day ,Lydia