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!

__________________
www.breamorgiane.com

cathy

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

Tarik Sultan

As usual, not a very well researched article full of sterotypes and yet another confirmation of why I stay away from the term belly dance. As said before, for many people it is a generic term which does not differentiate between the professional and the social dance. The article is accurate in that male and female dancing have been around for a long time, however, its more like thousands rather than hundreds of years. If fails to mention that Baladi is a social dance that is done traditionally by both sexes, leading the reader to believe that a guy moving his hips in Egypt is something out of the ordinary, when in fact it isn't at all. The claim that it was outlawed by Nasser's government is just plain fiction.

Because they fail to mention that it is a social dance they over play the who issue of homosexuality. The word Khawal was not Arabic for "MAle Dancer" it's Egyptian Arabic slang for fagg. Its a term used to describe an effeminate homosexual. In the past, men who were overtly effeminate, who could not hide behind getting married and having kids were bared from "respectable" professions and society. The only work they could get was in entertainment, so a lot of them became dancers. It doesn't mean that all dancers were Khawals or that all khawals were dancers.

What this guy is doing is more in the Baladi style and has never gone out of style. I wasn't aware of it in Cairo, but it definately did and still does exist in the rural areas. This is local dance done by members of the community for the community, not for tourists or the entertainment industry.

Raks Sharki was developed from the social dance and it is a very recent innovation. It was created with the intention of providing eye candy for a male clientel, however, the dancers themselves were intent that it should have artistic standards and not just be a girlie show. They made it more dramatic, more dynamic and incorporated theatrical elements and use of space and a theatrical costume to create the form we are now familiar with.

I further object to the mentioning of homosexuality hassesh somoking and prostitution. Why was that neccessary? If he were writing about the ballet would he have found it neccessary to mention that ballarinas were associated with prostitution and charged male guests admission fees to their dressing rooms after the shows? You think that some of them still don't have relations with wealthy men for financial gain to this day? HELL YEAH THEY DO and we all know this sort of thing goes on, but we also recognize it has nothing to do with the art form. Or if they were doing an article about a male ballet dancer would they have found it neccessary to mention that most of them if not homosexual are perceived to be so by the general population? Do they mention that Nureyev was gay? I didn't even know he was untill he had dies of AIDS. So it its not neccesary to associate Western dance forms with a seamy past, why is it that so often when we see articles about our dance they have to go raking through the mud.

It just smacks of half assed journalism by someone either too lazy to do the work, or a publication that restricts the length of an article to the point where enough relevant details are not possible. Over all, I'm not impressed, in fact I'm underwhelmed.

Tarik Sultan

To answe the question, not all the Egyptian dancers were kochecks. However, Egypt being part of the Ottoman Empire and adopting its fashions, all the male dancers in the Empire wore the same outfit. It consisted basically of a large skirt that was worn over their regular street clothes. In Turkey, under their kaftans they wore a fitted shirt with long sleevs and fitted pants. on their heads they would wear either a skull cap or a fur hat. This outfit was adopted in the 1500's, before that, they didn't wear any costume at all. They just danced in their kaftans with a turban on the head. Some wore the outfit of the middle class men which was a shirt, vest, and baggy pants. The only costume item being a conical hat.

As for finger cybals in Oriental dance. They were a part of the dance in previous decades. The Mohamed Ali dancers always played them. Nadia Hamdi explained to me that when she was growing up all dancers on the Street played them because they were taught by their families to do so. Her mother and grandmother taught her very carefully. She said that they were very serious about it and when she would mess up they would wack her on the knuckles with a ruler. In fact, it was her opinion that a dancer who didn't know how to play them was incomplete. When I saw her dance in Cairo she played them during her ORiental routine, not to baladi music, but to classical Oriental dance music. She also played them during a Baladi number later in the show.
In 1988 when I saw Shusu Amin she also played them for most of her Oriental routine and I saw many no name dancers who did the same.

Aisha Azar

Dear Brea,
I did not say cymbals may be only for Beledi, but that most belly dancers play cymbals during their Beledi routines, but not for sharghi so much. All one has to do is to watch dancers from Egypt to see the truth of this.
Regards,
A'ish

Tarik Sultan

I just read the article again. Still pissed off. Its just the way the way that the culture is always distorted and trivialized that annoys me the most. They don't take the time to really research becuae they don't consider the culture to be as relevant as Western culture, therefore it doesn't deserve the same level of serious attention.

The article stated the only thing tying this guy to being a professional dancer is the scarf around his hips. This is such bullshit! Anyone who knows anything about the culture knows that its just traditional to tie a scarf around the hips. It has nothing to do with being professional. In fact three of my student performed at the local Egyptian coffe house/community gathering place a few blocks from my house. One of the guys, MARRIED, WITH KIDS, tied my winter scarf around his hips and started dancing, while playing a pair of finger cymbals. Its just part of what everyone does for fun, it's normal. As for the guy on Pyramid street, I have heard of him from someone else living in Cairo, but as usual I don't believe crap till I hear it from a few unrelated sources. With the exception of this guy, who is paid to perform and create atmosphere, all the "male belly dancing" you see in these clubs is by local Egyptians, not professionals. As fro drugs and prostitution.....Like that doesn't happen in nightclubs here? HELLOOOOO, WHERE THE HELL WAS HE DURING STUDIO 54'S HEY DAY? Another mindless article relying on sensationalist stereotypes to get attention.

Brea

To A'isha- Oh, I am sorry, I misunderstood you.

To Tarik- it seems to be that is the case. I will look into getting some training and trying to overcome the painfulness of the finger cymbals.

__________________
www.breamorgiane.com

Tarik Sultan

One of my student's Ariel, within the past year, has started dancing publicly. All of the establishments she has worked in are Egyptian owned and they all have been presuring her to play them. She does know how, but she doesn't want to play them in her show util she feels she has mastered them. I know that the owner of my primary venue, also Egyptian, didn't hier her because she didn't play them. That and the fact that he's crazy.

I think it has something to do with the venue in Egypt. What i mean, is that I think there are different expectations of the dancers who perform at the local weddings as versus the ones in the upscale nightclubs and venues. In the latter, they seem to be considered "old school", where as on the wedding and moulid circuit they are common place.

In the clubs here in NEw York, we no longer have the types of venues with live music and a dance floor. We are in amongst the customers creating atmosphere and enlivining the crowd. The cymbals deffinately add to the felling of excitement and raises the energy level in the room, which is why owners tend to favor the dancers who not only play them but play them well, over those who don't.

Aisha Azar

And yet, I have danced a many Arab parties, including those hosted by Egyptians, and have never even once been asked about finger cymbals. I play them when I am dancing with shamadan at weddings and that's about it, unless I am doing another kind of Beledi. I have danced at three weddings in the past couple of years, as a hired performer, several Arab parties where I was hired, and quire a few parties where I was just a guest. I have never been asked about sagat at any of them, whether or not I have played them. this could be because my reputation precedes me or something. I do not know. Americans, on the other hand, always seem to expect belly dancers to play sagat.
I agree with Tarik that there are times when sagat can definitely add to the excitement and energy in the room when they are sued with the right music at the right time, regardless of the nationality of the clientele.

Regards,
A'isha

Tarik Sultan

I guess it depends on the venue. I think part of it may be because none of the places in the city have real dance floors. Its hard to engage the audience/get their attention when you can't really be the visual focus of attention. The cymbals gets everyone to focus on you. They deffinately allert people that the show is starting and they clear the way for me so I can dance.

With some of the other venues, I think it may be what the crowd/owner was use to back home. If they were use to seeing the Mohamed Ali Street Dancers, who did play them much more than the night club dancers, then that's what they expect. I know the crowd where I live are not the kind who would have been able to freqent nightclubs back home. It could be a combination of things, but here it really does seem to be what the Egyptian owners like. Go figure.