Egyptian National Folk Troupe - who's going?

Salome · 09-12-2007, 11:39 PM

Hey East coast gals,

if you live in Brooklyn the Egyptian National Folk Troupe is going to be doing a show there and it looks like workshops too. Lucky duckies. From the ad it looks like folk and Oriental...

If anyone in the area is going, OD.net would love to publish a photo report

Suheir · 09-13-2007, 06:36 AM

Wow! That sounds great - I hope they make it to Europe.

Salome · 09-13-2007, 06:50 PM

I was communicating with Hatem (they bought a banner space on the forum to promote the show) - if they have not already been to Europe they'll probably be going. Here was a little blurb...

Quote:

The Egyptian National Folklore Troupe is the most leading dance group in the Middle East with 46 years of history. They performed in over 96 cities all over the world and got many awards for their extra-ordinary performance. Many of the famous belly dancers and famous Egyptian performers started as members of this troupe and when they get the experience and fame they need, they split. Many of them are very famous in Europe. But they always mention that they were members of the National Folklore Troupe of Egypt.

gypsy8522 · 09-14-2007, 07:38 AM

True. Many Egyptian performers in the past have used the folkloric troupe as a way to get their foot in the door in the industry. Dina was a member in the national folkloric troupe when she was a teenager.

It is a great thing the proceeds from this event will be going to the national liver institute of Egypt.

cathy · 09-14-2007, 11:31 AM

Hi Salome

Can you give me a little more detail, like what day or days they will be performing in Brooklyn? I tried a google search and did not find it.

I am going out of town for a week starting Saturday 9/15 but maybe I will be here for it.

Thanks, Cathy

gypsy8522 · 09-14-2007, 05:15 PM

cathy,

In the advertisement it says Saturday, September 20th

cathy · 09-14-2007, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsy8522

cathy,

In the advertisement it says Saturday, September 20th

That's weird--September 20 is a Thursday (and I will be out of town). Maybe they mean Saturday September 22. Thanks Cathy

gypsy8522 · 09-14-2007, 05:30 PM

Sorry, I meant to say Saturday, October 20th at 7pm.

cathy · 10-21-2007, 12:17 PM

I went to this show lat night. They had 6 female and 4 male dancers plus 2 musicians. They did shemadan with all 6 women with all pink costumes. Then a very energetic debke with 4 men. Hagallah, Bamboutiyeh (based on boats around Suez canal) which had two women in blue leggings (this seemed weird to me), and then something fun I have never seen before and don't recall the name. One man was wearing a costume that was made with large comical puppets attached. His feet were feet and so were his hands (this was almost all done on all fours). There were puppets on his back to look like two fighters locked in combat. Drummer and mizmar (or was it mijwiz) played while he "fought" on stage and down in the audience as well!

Then they did the Arabian horse and trainer dance. Two men in an Arabian horse costume and his female "trainer" was also a huge crowd pleaser. Another dance I had never heard of was about gathering some kind of tasty shellfish. They used trays to symbolize gathering them and also played metal tongs/spoons. Then there was a melaya leff with I think 4 women. Then Tannoura (Egyptian version of Dervish), which I had never seen live before and it was probably my favorite. He started off with four trays that he could move around while spinning. He was wearing red boots, all red including the base skirt and then two very fancy black and white paneled multi-layered skirts that he could move up and down from waist to neck to open up over his head, or kind of bend so it looked wildly different, or even move up so it was just on his hand above his head. Hard to describe. He also spun with the Egyptian flag at one point and the crowd loved that. He got a standing ovation. They also did tahtiyb. I am no expert but it seemed very theatricalized and included the women (who did not do any mock fighting but used the sticks more like I am used to seeing the cane).

They are doing at least 2-3 more shows in the US including Baltimore and Colorado. Sorry I don't have any more specific details.

I would guess there were 300-400 people in the audience. I would say about a third appeared Arab.

Overall I thought the dancers looked good and the show was professional. As I understand it in Egypt the group is 40 dancers and 40 musicians so this was a small subset and must have meant a lot more work for them. For instance the guy who did Tannoura solo (spinning for at least 10 minutes with complicated variations!) somehow dashed back, changed costume in under 2 minutes, and danced the finale as well. The entire show was 2 hours including a 15 minute intermission.

Cathy

Suheir · 10-21-2007, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathy

I went to this show lat night. They had 6 female and 4 male dancers plus 2 musicians. They did shemadan with all 6 women with all pink costumes. Then a very energetic debke with 4 men. Hagallah, Bamboutiyeh (based on boats around Suez canal) which had two women in blue leggings (this seemed weird to me), and then something fun I have never seen before and don't recall the name. One man was wearing a costume that was made with large comical puppets attached. His feet were feet and so were his hands (this was almost all done on all fours). There were puppets on his back to look like two fighters locked in combat. Drummer and mizmar (or was it mijwiz) played while he "fought" on stage and down in the audience as well!

Then they did the Arabian horse and trainer dance. Two men in an Arabian horse costume and his female "trainer" was also a huge crowd pleaser. Another dance I had never heard of was about gathering some kind of tasty shellfish. They used trays to symbolize gathering them and also played metal tongs/spoons. Then there was a melaya leff with I think 4 women. Then Tannoura (Egyptian version of Dervish), which I had never seen live before and it was probably my favorite. He started off with four trays that he could move around while spinning. He was wearing red boots, all red including the base skirt and then two very fancy black and white paneled multi-layered skirts that he could move up and down from waist to neck to open up over his head, or kind of bend so it looked wildly different, or even move up so it was just on his hand above his head. Hard to describe. He also spun with the Egyptian flag at one point and the crowd loved that. He got a standing ovation. They also did tahtiyb. I am no expert but it seemed very theatricalized and included the women (who did not do any mock fighting but used the sticks more like I am used to seeing the cane).

They are doing at least 2-3 more shows in the US including Baltimore and Colorado. Sorry I don't have any more specific details.

I would guess there were 300-400 people in the audience. I would say about a third appeared Arab.

Overall I thought the dancers looked good and the show was professional. As I understand it in Egypt the group is 40 dancers and 40 musicians so this was a small subset and must have meant a lot more work for them. For instance the guy who did Tannoura solo (spinning for at least 10 minutes with complicated variations!) somehow dashed back, changed costume in under 2 minutes, and danced the finale as well. The entire show was 2 hours including a 15 minute intermission.

Cathy

Thanks for the review! I hope they make it to Europe.

09-12-2007, 11:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Salome Super Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Posts: 1,809	Egyptian National Folk Troupe - who's going? Hey East coast gals, if you live in Brooklyn the Egyptian National Folk Troupe is going to be doing a show there and it looks like workshops too. Lucky duckies. From the ad it looks like folk and Oriental... If anyone in the area is going, OD.net would love to publish a photo report

09-13-2007, 06:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
Suheir V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Europe - London Posts: 1,227	Wow! That sounds great - I hope they make it to Europe.

09-14-2007, 07:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
gypsy8522 Moderator Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 558	True. Many Egyptian performers in the past have used the folkloric troupe as a way to get their foot in the door in the industry. Dina was a member in the national folkloric troupe when she was a teenager. It is a great thing the proceeds from this event will be going to the national liver institute of Egypt.

09-14-2007, 11:31 AM	#5 (permalink)
cathy Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 424	Hi Salome Can you give me a little more detail, like what day or days they will be performing in Brooklyn? I tried a google search and did not find it. I am going out of town for a week starting Saturday 9/15 but maybe I will be here for it. Thanks, Cathy

09-14-2007, 05:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
gypsy8522 Moderator Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 558	cathy, In the advertisement it says Saturday, September 20th

09-14-2007, 05:30 PM	#8 (permalink)
gypsy8522 Moderator Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 558	Sorry, I meant to say Saturday, October 20th at 7pm.

10-21-2007, 12:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
cathy Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 424	I went to this show lat night. They had 6 female and 4 male dancers plus 2 musicians. They did shemadan with all 6 women with all pink costumes. Then a very energetic debke with 4 men. Hagallah, Bamboutiyeh (based on boats around Suez canal) which had two women in blue leggings (this seemed weird to me), and then something fun I have never seen before and don't recall the name. One man was wearing a costume that was made with large comical puppets attached. His feet were feet and so were his hands (this was almost all done on all fours). There were puppets on his back to look like two fighters locked in combat. Drummer and mizmar (or was it mijwiz) played while he "fought" on stage and down in the audience as well! Then they did the Arabian horse and trainer dance. Two men in an Arabian horse costume and his female "trainer" was also a huge crowd pleaser. Another dance I had never heard of was about gathering some kind of tasty shellfish. They used trays to symbolize gathering them and also played metal tongs/spoons. Then there was a melaya leff with I think 4 women. Then Tannoura (Egyptian version of Dervish), which I had never seen live before and it was probably my favorite. He started off with four trays that he could move around while spinning. He was wearing red boots, all red including the base skirt and then two very fancy black and white paneled multi-layered skirts that he could move up and down from waist to neck to open up over his head, or kind of bend so it looked wildly different, or even move up so it was just on his hand above his head. Hard to describe. He also spun with the Egyptian flag at one point and the crowd loved that. He got a standing ovation. They also did tahtiyb. I am no expert but it seemed very theatricalized and included the women (who did not do any mock fighting but used the sticks more like I am used to seeing the cane). They are doing at least 2-3 more shows in the US including Baltimore and Colorado. Sorry I don't have any more specific details. I would guess there were 300-400 people in the audience. I would say about a third appeared Arab. Overall I thought the dancers looked good and the show was professional. As I understand it in Egypt the group is 40 dancers and 40 musicians so this was a small subset and must have meant a lot more work for them. For instance the guy who did Tannoura solo (spinning for at least 10 minutes with complicated variations!) somehow dashed back, changed costume in under 2 minutes, and danced the finale as well. The entire show was 2 hours including a 15 minute intermission. Cathy