I really like FiFi's style, how would you describe it?
Yasmine
Maria Aya, those clips are from a dvd called "Fifi Abdo: the Egyptian Star". It is available on www.maqam.com I think the video is by hollywood music
Sedonia
I really like her style as well, and I would love to hear more comments about it. I am trying to look at the various "legends of Egyptian dance" and figure out their style. If some you lovely ladies and experienced dancers could put it into words for me I would be very appreciative!
Aisha, you mentioned that her basic posture is very different from other dancers. How so? Also, I know Suhair Zaki is one of your all time favourites. How would you describe her style and how is it different from Fifi's? Furthermore, what is your favorite Suhair video? A lot of questions for you Please, anyone else feel free to contribute as well!
Thanks Sedonia for identifying the Fifi video. I'll take your recommendation and look for the DVD next time I go to class (We happen to have a very well stocked dance store at my school...it's very thrilling, but very dangerous for my wallet!)
Thank you all!
Freya
A'isha mentioned her different posture. I think that Fifi has a posture that is very lifted in the upper body. I think this is a general feature in the Egyptian dancers (that's often lacking in non-native dancers), but in Fifi it is especially exaggerated or strong. Part of this may be that she has a really long torso, so movements look different and especially good with her body. Also, Fifi bounces alot in the upper body; she actually carries the beat of the music in her chest -- always up on the downbeat. Even when she's standing still shimmying the chest is going up up up up with the tempo. Again, this is a general trend in Egyptian dancers but much exaggerated in Fifi.
Sedonia
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Also, I found your comment on Fifi's anatomy (long torso) very interesting--you made another very perceptive remark about anatomy and hip-drops elsewhere on the forum as well. It's interesting because 1) I happen to have a very long torso, and realizing that Fifi does too makes it all the more interesting for me to study how she puts it to use. 2) I think anatomy contributes a lot to defining a dancers style.
From my own experience with various teachers I've found that those with a fairly similar physique to my own, teach choreographies that are more suited to my taste and expression. They may be shorter (which in fact has always been the case since I'm very tall), but they usually have similar proportions. I've danced with one teacher who is the same height as myself, for example, but much less curvy, and her chorographies have almost killed me on occasion because they were so bouncy I admire her dance and I learned a lot about technique from her, so it's not a question of quality but of expression. Does this make sense?
Freya
From my own experience with various teachers I've found that those with a fairly similar physique to my own, teach choreographies that are more suited to my taste and expression.... her chorographies have almost killed me on occasion because they were so bouncy
Oh yes - some of us just aren't designed for bouncy .
Interesting about the physique/style connection though - obvious bounce issues aside, do any of the teachers out there have any examples of how different moves turn out on different anatomies? eg. what type tends to have problems with particular moves, what moves look good/not so good on different physiques?