Badia Masabni article

Jalilah writes about Badia Masabny for the Gilded Serpent

I have just had a brief read through of this article on guilded Serpent about Badia Masabni.

One of the interesting pieces of info was Badia was brought up in Argentina.. isnt that weird that I mentioned about Asmahan and Argentinian culture in the Egyptian dance code thread! well I thought it was strange...:think:

what do folks think of this biography? there is also an interesting little clip to watch which was an advertisment for her First Club called Casino Badia on Emad Edine St in Cairo.

There are some Amazon 'pop ups' which made reading difficult and a stupid snake which appears at the top and makes reading impossible.. there is also some ink type error where it fades in places... who designs these things?

Caroline_afifi said:

Jalilah writes about Badia Masabny for the Gilded Serpent

I have just had a brief read through of this article on guilded Serpent about Badia Masabni.

One of the interesting pieces of info was Badia was brought up in Argentina.. isnt that weird that I mentioned about Asmahan and Argentinian culture in the Egyptian dance code thread! well I thought it was strange...:think:

what do folks think of this biography? there is also an interesting little clip to watch which was an advertisment for her First Club called Casino Badia on Emad Edine St in Cairo.

There are some Amazon 'pop ups' which made reading difficult and a stupid snake which appears at the top and makes reading impossible.. there is also some ink type error where it fades in places... who designs these things?

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Thanks for posting the link. The problems you had (pop ups snakes etc) are probably due to Internet browser incompatibility, which means the web designer was lazy and didn't cross check the web site with other browsers.

I have experienced stuff like this too on other web sites and it is very aggravating.

Marya

Hi Caroline!

Yes, thanks for posting. I don't like Gilded Serpent website design too much either but this article was worth reading and the video clip was interesting too--given that they were dancing, singing, and she was playing sagat too. Is this "awalim" like?

In this story, she is raped in childhood by a cafe owner and then in a separate incident many years later, attacked by her brother to defend family honor (His reason is not quite spelled out --do we assume that it was because she was a dancer and/or ran a nightclub?) I may be misremembering but thought I read elsewhere a version of her life where there was actually just one incident of a rape/attack involving a friend of her brother. At any rate, it seems certain she never married.

I just had a look at the book Jalilah mentions... Das Bauchtanz and as one would assume, it is in German. I wonder whether Jalilah reads German and was just summarizing the book for us in English in the article? I wish the book--but even more Masabni's memoirs--was available in English!

P.S. I have been enjoying your posts on the local dance establishments of Cairo on Bhuz!

Cathy

cathy said:

Hi Caroline!

I just had a look at the book Jalilah mentions... Das Bauchtanz and as one would assume, it is in German. I wonder whether Jalilah reads German and was just summarizing the book for us in English in the article? I wish the book--but even more Masabni's memoirs--was available in English!

P.S. I have been enjoying your posts on the local dance establishments of Cairo on Bhuz!

Cathy

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Jalilah lived in Germany for many years, I am sure she reads German. She is quite approachable and used to post on MEDlist quite a bit. She helped me understand some of the music on her CDs quite a few years ago.

Marya

Masabni

Dear Caroline,
Thanks for posting the article by Jalilah. I don't know if you have ever met her, but she is a Sweetheart of a person! It is interesting that she referred to the club version of the dance as "Dance of the Ladies". I have heard all of the other names, but not this one. Also, besides Badran and Graham-Brown, this is the first article that has mentioned that she had matinees for women only.... and that the women were Egyptians!!
I do know that Jalilah loved in Germany, and the producers of her CDs (Pirhana) are located there.
Regards,
A'isha

cathy said:

Hi Caroline!

QUOTE]given that they were dancing, singing, and she was playing sagat too. Is this "awalim" like?

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I think the set up was 'Awalim like'. She certainly was staged at the ma'alima with the other dancers supporting her. As the aticles states, Raqs Beledi was undergoing many changes at this time and I think what we see is the hybrid of Raqs Sahrqi and Baladi together. Certainly the incorperation of the sagat added to the feeling of beledi combined with the costume.

The other dancers were in the new two piece style associated today with only Raqs Sharqi (or in some cases Shaabi).

In this story, she is raped in childhood by a cafe owner and then in a separate incident many years later, attacked by her brother to defend family honor (His reason is not quite spelled out --do we assume that it was because she was a dancer and/or ran a nightclub?)

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I really dont know.. rape does go on with no connection to the morals of the girl/woman in all corners of the world.

I may be misremembering but thought I read elsewhere a version of her life where there was actually just one incident of a rape/attack involving a friend of her brother. At any rate, it seems certain she never married.

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Yes, it seems so although I did hear once she married for a very brief time.. I dont know hoe true this is.

I just had a look at the book Jalilah mentions... Das Bauchtanz and as one would assume, it is in German. I wonder whether Jalilah reads German and was just summarizing the book for us in English in the article? I wish the book--but even more Masabni's memoirs--was available in English!

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what was the name of the publishing company you work for? :think:

P.S. I have been enjoying your posts on the local dance establishments of Cairo on Bhuz!

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Thanks! I mailed the link to add my experiences of this sort of venue. I am just beginning to navigate my way around Bhuz again. It is a very big site.

Aisha Azar said:

Dear Caroline,
Thanks for posting the article by Jalilah. I don't know if you have ever met her, but she is a Sweetheart of a person! It is interesting that she referred to the club version of the dance as "Dance of the Ladies". I have heard all of the other names, but not this one. Also, besides Badran and Graham-Brown, this is the first article that has mentioned that she had matinees for women only.... and that the women were Egyptians!!
I do know that Jalilah loved in Germany, and the producers of her CDs (Pirhana) are located there.
Regards,
A'isha

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No I have never met her although I have heard lots of nice things about her through my friend Hossam Shaker who was involved with one of her CD's.. I dont have any so I have no idea which one.

I thought the article was a fascinating read.

More Badiya gossip..

In an Egyptian Tv series about Um Kulthoum there was an actress playing the part of Badiya Masabni.

She was portrayed in the series as someone who hated Um Kulthoum and was very jealous of her sucess.

Badiya apparently fell into a deep depression as Um Kulthoum rose to fame.

This is TV gossip by the way... dont take my word for it!

My husband and mum in law insist Badiya was married to Naguib El Rehany.

He starred in films with Tahiya Carioca his most well known being 'L'abit Sit'
(The Lady Game).

Rep

Dear Caroline,
I would like to give REP to you for consistently starting threads of interest and intelligence to the forums. I also want to thank you for sharing your firsthand knowledge, though there are those who feel that such information has little value, since it is not easy to find substantiation in articles, books, etc. Personally. This kind of first hand info is priceless and it teaches us the true soul of the dance and people, as opposed to the academic resource. Unfortunately, I seem to have REPped you recently and can not give you any more. anyone willing to do it for me??
Regards,
A'isha

Caroline_afifi said:

Jalilah writes about Badia Masabny for the Gilded Serpent

I have just had a brief read through of this article on guilded Serpent about Badia Masabni.

One of the interesting pieces of info was Badia was brought up in Argentina.. isnt that weird that I mentioned about Asmahan and Argentinian culture in the Egyptian dance code thread! well I thought it was strange...:think:

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Dear Caroline:

Its not very strange at all. Practically every Caribbean island and South American nation has an Lebanese community. They came in the late 19th century mostly as traders and they were and still are mostly Christian. One of the former prime ministers of Jamaica was of Lebanese origin, Edward Seaga. My next door neighbor was also Lebanese descent, or as we call them Syrian. At the time they arrived, Lebanon was still a part of Greater Syria.

There's also a very influential Lebanese in Trinidad. I had the pleasure of meeting a few of them while I was there both times. Nevertheless, it just illustrates what i've been saying for a long time, which is that the people of the region were well aware of the outside world because they were also a part of it in many ways.

Cosmopolitan Egypt

This article was very educational and reiterated many points that I have tried to point out in the past with regards to the development of the dance in the early 20th century. Egypt and the other countries of the Middle Eastern and North Africa did not exist in a cultural vacuum. This was a period of time when they were all under the rule of European colonial powers, which drastically altered their ways of life.

Although this relationship had many negative consequences, which are still being felt in the region to this day, there were also positive benefits as well. The arts in the Middle East were greatly influenced by the influx of technology, trends and ideas from Europe and America. Therefore, when discussing the development of the dance, cinema and music, we must also pay attention to the political and social climate of the time. We can’t take it out of context and pretend that it didn’t happen or seek to minimize the impact that it had. Therefore, it must be understood that the Egypt which gave us Raks Sharki, Afrid al Atrash, Abd el halim hafes, Oum Kalthoum, the Egyptian cinema and all the beautiful music of that era, was an Egypt that was not an isolated back water, but the hub of a very cosmopolitan and dynamic world. In effect this is what we call cultural diffusion in the world of education. The borrowing and blending of cultural elements from many sources to produce something that is new, rich, and yet at the same time unique to that culture. Therefore, although there were many foreign influences on the society and the arts, what came out of the mix was still essentially Egyptian in its feel and expression and retains the spirit of those people.

1: Night clubs as we know them were not of Middle Eastern origin but the result of European influence and inspiration.


"In 1926 a woman of Levantine origin named Badia Masabny opened a nightclub in Cairo in the fashion of European cabarets. This nightclub, known as "Casino Badia", and another club later established by Masabny, "Casino Opera",

2: Neither Badia, nor the Egyptian population were living under rocks. They were very much aware of the current trends in entertainment in America and Europe. Further more, European style entertainment was provided, BECAUSE, a great deal of her audience clientele was made up of Europeans.
The nightclub was a huge success. Masabny created a program with both European and Arab artists performing short acts that appealed to European and upper-class Egyptian tastes.


"A diverse entertainment program featured local dancers, singers, musicians and comedians, as well as various European acts. There was even a matinee in the afternoon for women only".

3. They began using the term Sharki to differentiate it from the Western dances.

"The term Raqs Sharqi first came about when Egypt was occupied by foreign powers. "Raqs Sharqi", which actually translates as "Oriental Dance” or “Eastern Dance”, was used to distinguish the dance from European, or western, dances. ("Orient” as opposed to “occident”.)


4. The fact that the term Baladi is often used in the same way to denote the native dance of the region as versus foreign dances. Therefore, the terms Sharki and Baladi are sometimes used interchangeably depending on the context.

In the same way, “Raqs Baladi” was used to differentiate between "native" or "local" dance and foreign dances.


5. The dance is seen by the natives as being an extension of the social dance, not a totally separate dance. It is a theatricalized version. Also of interest is the desire to identify with the upper rather than the lower class. The Egyptian clientele was an upper class one, not the baladi class of the common people.

At the time of Badia Masabny, the nightclub version of these dances was referred to as "Raqs El Hawanim" or "Dance of the Ladies". The late master instructor Nelly Mazloom once described “Raqs el Hawanim” as being the style that upper class women danced when amongst themselves at weddings and other gatherings.

6. The shift from an exclusively native audience where the performances were done in the home and that of a mixed audience made up of foreigners as well as the upper classes, who were the only ones who could afford such entertainment establishments.


Up to the 1920’s, dancers had performed mostly in private homes, in coffee houses or at outdoor religious festivals known as "mawalid" (plural of "mulid"). Originally characterized by mostly hip and torso movements, the dance had usually been performed in small spaces.


7. All they did with the native Egyptian dance was put it on a formal stage, added elements of spatial expression borrowed from Western dance, as well as a more theatrical stage presence and costuming.


The dance, therefore, had to be adapted for the stage. Masabny employed western choreographers such as Isaac Dixon, Robbie Robinson and Christo, who added elements from other dance traditions, for example, the turns and traveling steps from western dance forms such as ballet and ballroom dance.


8. The costume was adopted from Western fantasy costumes of Eastern dance. A major motivation factor was the expectations of the foreign male clientele.

The two-piece costume with beads and sequins, which we now associate inseparably with Oriental Dance, first appeared during this period, inspired by Hollywood films and European nightclubs such as the "Moulin Rouge". It might be added that the costumes were partially created to suit the tastes of European colonists, who didn’t find the original costumes revealing enough!

9. Further support that the clientele, (although there was a matinee for women), was predominantly male and foreign, even though she was patronized by the Egyptian elite, they were also mostly male. It should be noted though, that by this time, the tastes of the Egyptian elite was very European as can be seen in their manner of dress, architecture and general way of life. A fact that can still be seen even today.


Badia borrowed money to open up her biggest project yet: a nightclub with a movie theater, restaurant, cafe and an American-style bar. "Casino Opera" opened in 1940 and was extremely successful. World War II had broken out and the streets of Cairo were filled with English and French soldiers wanting to be entertained. This, of course, was a great opportunity for “Casino Opera" and the program was adapted to suit the soldiers’ tastes.


I think it goes without saying why there were no male solo dancers. Same reason why there weren't any in the Ballet, (with the exception of the Russians). The times were what they were, the clientele was what it was. No need to deny it.

10. The image of the dance was facilitated by the movie industry and then of course other media vehicles to follow such as television, which began airing these movies. Without the cinema, the image of the Rakassa would not have taken hold of the imaginations of the Egyptian people as the majority of them have never, then or now, been inside of an upscale nightclub.

Many dancers who started out as chorus girls ended up as soloists and many soloists ended up in films. Through exposure in these films, as well as in Masabny’s nightclubs, dancers achieved a celebrity status that could never have been achieved in the past. The most famous of these dancers were Tahia Carioca and Samia Gamal, who became popular movie stars in Egypt, and Nadia Gamal, who later became a star in Lebanon. All these dancers and many others, including Ketty, Hoda Shamsadine, Hagar Hamdy and Naima Akef

Aisha Azar said:

Dear Caroline,
I would like to give REP to you for consistently starting threads of interest and intelligence to the forums. I also want to thank you for sharing your firsthand knowledge, though there are those who feel that such information has little value, since it is not easy to find substantiation in articles, books, etc. Personally. This kind of first hand info is priceless and it teaches us the true soul of the dance and people, as opposed to the academic resource. Unfortunately, I seem to have REPped you recently and can not give you any more. anyone willing to do it for me??
Regards,
A'isha

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i was very happy to oblige.
i always find the threads very interesting..

the syrian/lebanese community is spread all over the world. as tarik said they came as traders, and set up commercial activity all over..
in argentina for example there is a huge community..most if not all of the popular belly dancers there including Saida, are of lebanese descent.

that being said i found the article very interesting and informative
thank you for post it!

Tarik Sultan said:

Dear Caroline:

Its not very strange at all. Practically every Caribbean island and South American nation has an Lebanese community.

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Hi Tarik,

I was meaning 'strange' as in coincidence that I had mentioned the fact that Asmahan was Argentinian and perhaps that culture was closer to Egyptian than perhaps other places.

Having said that, I think that the connection probably was Badiya's personal one rather than a 'similarity in cultures'.

Also the ME communities are still very strong in Latin America today.. take Shakira as an example.

Or perhaps Badiya brought Argentinian culture to Egypt and integrated it?

This would not surprise me in the least as she was raised there, so of course the Latin American culture would have been very much part of her.

From the mid-late 1800's I am aware that many Egyptians and other people from region moved to Argentina and Brazil.

I also heard that there had been long established links connected to the coffee trade.

Rep

kayshier said:

i was very happy to oblige.
i always find the threads very interesting..

the syrian/lebanese community is spread all over the world. as tarik said they came as traders, and set up commercial activity all over..
in argentina for example there is a huge community..most if not all of the popular belly dancers there including Saida, are of lebanese descent.

that being said i found the article very interesting and informative
thank you for post it!

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Dear Kayshier,
Thank you, Dear!!
The thing is that Masabni was in Argentina when she was between the ages of about 8 and into her teen years.... and she ,ay have been pretty protected by her family considering. How much exposure are we sure she got to that culture as an Arab child in the time she was living? Another question is, since her main influences in her life would have been her family, how does one override that, since that Arab culture would have been the strongest influence in her life, no matter where she lived? We can not make any assumptions about what her Argentine experience was like. We have to look at all the larger picture. We also have to take into account that both Latin and Arab cultures had and still have a very patriarchal base, meaning that women did not necessarily experience a lot of freedom in either culture. I am not trying to be contrary here. I am trying to look at the situation through historical and social perspective of the time.
As a person who never spent more than two years of my childhood in the same place, I can bear witness to the fact that your strongest ties need to be to the family, because those are really your ONLY ties. If one has been traumatized, how much more true might this be?
Interesting, too that you point out that the Arab community wants its own belly dancers, of Arab descent there. I think I have found this to be pretty true, too, when possible. I am proud to say that until I was about 50, that I was hired as the primary dancer for Arab community weddings, in their restaurants and at other functions, here in my city, even when there were a couple of Arab dancers here!! I worked in an Arab restaurant for 12 years as the house dancer and it was a blast.
Regards,
A'isha

Aisha Azar said:

Dear Kayshier,
Thank you, Dear!!
The thing is that Masabni was in Argentina when she was between the ages of about 8 and into her teen years.... and she ,ay have been pretty protected by her family considering. How much exposure are we sure she got to that culture as an Arab child in the time she was living? Another question is, since her main influences in her life would have been her family, how does one override that,

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A'isha

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Hi A'isha,
Being an educator of children I have to say I have to disagree with you on certain parts of this.

We have children who live as refugees in the UK.

When they return to their countries they never forget their experiences.

Experiences here shape them even if it is simply going to school or walking down a street.

Information and programming works on so many different levels that it is almost impossible to filter much of it out.

I often see families in the UK struggle with Eastern versus western identity and go to great lengths to 'protect' their children from it.

It is very possible to maintain your own culture but it is almost impossible to keep the other out.
Smells, music, people, clothes, food, body language and language all play a part.

Children

Dear Caroline,

Caroline_afifi said:

Hi A'isha,
Being an educator of children I have to say I have to disagree with you on certain parts of this.

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I did not say it is always that way, but in the time that she lived, it may well have been different than now. And yes, children DO want to fit in and try to act like those around them in school, etc. but what do we know of how Masabni was living for the 8 or so years she was in Argentina? This was my point.

We have children who live as refugees in the UK.
When they return to their countries they never forget their experiences.
Experiences here shape them even if it is simply going to school or walking down a street.

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I live in the area of town where most refugees come to live. Since I have lived in my house, my neighborhood has seen influxes of Boat People from SE Asia, Ethiopians, Russians, Bosnians, Hindis, etc. I worked at my daughter's grade school as a volunteer and agree that refugee children have experiences that they do not forget, though most of our refugee populations stay here and do not return home. Their original language, if they are not Asian, is usually forgotten by the third generation. I have not only written papers about that, but seen it in action. I am not sure why it is different with Asians, but it is.

Again, we do not know how Masabni was educated in Argentina, nor do we know from Jalilah's article if her life was pretty secluded or very full of Argentines and others.

Information and programming works on so many different levels that it is almost impossible to filter much of it out. I often see families in the UK struggle with Eastern versus western identity and go to great lengths to 'protect' their children from it.

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I know. I never lived any place more than 2 years before I was 21 years old. I went to 13 different schools before I was 17. My parents opted as often as possible to put me in private Catholic schools to "protect" me.

It is very possible to maintain your own culture but it is almost impossible to keep the other out.
Smells, music, people, clothes, food, body language and language all play a part.

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I agree, but I can also tell you that when you have no stability in your life, that you learn to rely most on that familial situation, for good or bad, because it is the only stable thing in your life. I am not saying that the Argentine culture had NO effect, but I am saying it is not possible for us to estimate what that effect was or how strong it was.

It is just like Tarik reading something very different in that article than I did. We still do not know the "truth" of all the circumstances. Much of how we choose to see it depends on our own life experiences, yet there is an ultimate thing that happens independent of our personal observations.
One more question, is the main translator of her autobiography German or Arab? I am a little confused.
Regards,
A'isha

Hi A'isha,

First of all I need to thank you for the loveley compliment a few posts back and to Kayshier for delivering the rep!

I really will be sorry to miss you in cairo and was actually trying to work out if I could go earlier to catch a day with you but alas... it was not to be this time.

Aisha Azar said:

Dear Caroline,



I agree, but I can also tell you that when you have no stability in your life, that you learn to rely most on that familial situation, for good or bad, because it is the only stable thing in your life. I am not saying that the Argentine culture had NO effect, but I am saying it is not possible for us to estimate what that effect was or how strong it was.

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Yes thats true but the younger years are our most influencial and we are like little sponges with open minds. Different people absorb different things and some more than others.

It is just like Tarik reading something very different in that article than I did. We still do not know the "truth" of all the circumstances. Much of how we choose to see it depends on our own life experiences, yet there is an ultimate thing that happens independent of our personal observations.
One more question, is the main translator of her autobiography German or Arab? I am a little confused.
Regards,
A'isha

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Apart from he fact that I had been discussing Asamahan and her being the closest (in my opinion) to a bative Egyptian dancer I dont see the wider connection.

I do however agree about the International influences shaping entertainment in Egypt at this time as this was pretty much going on just about everywhere.

Cairo was certianly known as a cosmopolitan city.

Caroline_afifi said:

More Badiya gossip..

In an Egyptian Tv series about Um Kulthoum there was an actress playing the part of Badiya Masabni.

She was portrayed in the series as someone who hated Um Kulthoum and was very jealous of her sucess.

Badiya apparently fell into a deep depression as Um Kulthoum rose to fame.

This is TV gossip by the way... dont take my word for it!

My husband and mum in law insist Badiya was married to Naguib El Rehany.

He starred in films with Tahiya Carioca his most well known being 'L'abit Sit'
(The Lady Game).

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Caroline,

I do not remember the serial since I watched it many years ago, but I think the above info could be wrong.

I recall Badia's character being featured in the TV series (I assume because she was friends with Ahmed Rami, the poet who wrote many of Om Kalthoum's songs), but there was another woman who was a main character in the series, she was jealous of Om Kalthoum and later got into a deep depression. This woman was Muneera Al Mahdiya, not Badia Masabni.

Muneera Al Mahdiya was a diva in the early 20th century, her fame was as big as Om Kalthoum's in her day (cinema was invented about the same time she retired, so not much footage is available of her). During those times there was only room for one diva, so when Om Kalthoum began rising to fame Muneera's close friends advised her to retire because she could no longer keep up with the new competition.

The "final round" was in 1935 when Muneera and Om Kalthoum each had their first starring film roles, and both films were released at the same time. Om Kalthoum's film was a huge success and Muneera's film flopped.


As for Badia, it is well known that she was in long relationship with Naguib Al Rehany and was married to him. Naguib was a Catholic of Iraqi origin and Badia a Catholic of Lebanese origin. I think the church did not accept the marriage because she was already divorced, or something of that sort. There was a recent controversy about this when a woman named Gina appeared out of nowhere at the Cairo film festival and was announced as Naguib's only daughter.

gypsy8522 said:

Caroline,

I do not remember the serial since I watched it many years ago, but I think the above info could be wrong.

I recall Badia's character being featured in the TV series (I assume because she was in a relationship with Ahmed Rami, the poet who wrote many of Om Kalthoum's songs)

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Ahmed Rami was married but was in love with Um Kultoum.
It was 'well known' his wife accepted his love for her as she understood him as a passionate poet. All gossip of course.

but there was another woman who was a main character in the series, she was jealous of Om Kalthoum and later got into a deep depression. This woman was Muneera Al Mahdiya, not Badia Masabni.

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Like I said, this was TV gossip and my husbands memory is not always so sharp in these matters... however, the jealousy and depression with Badia was apparently 'public knowledge'.

I will check with my hameti as she might be much older but her memory is razor sharp in these important trivial matters :lol:

Muneera Al Mahdiya was a diva in the early 20th century, her fame was as big as Om Kalthoum's in her day (cinema was invented about the same time she retired, so not much footage is available of her). During those times there was only room for one diva, so when Om Kalthoum began rising to fame Muneera's close friends advised her to retire because she could no longer keep up with the new competition.

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Yes, Muneera was very old by this time so it seems she bowed out.

The "final round" was in 1935 when Muneera and Om Kalthoum each had their first starring film roles, and both films were released at the same time. Om Kalthoum's film was a huge success and Muneera's film flopped.

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OOH! she must have been very old by this time?


As for Badia, it is well known that she was in long relationship with Naguib Al Rehany and was married to him. Naguib was a Catholic of Iraqi origin and Badia a Catholic of Lebanese origin. I think the church did not accept the marriage because she was already divorced, or something of that sort. There was a recent controversy about this when a woman named Gina appeared out of nowhere at the Cairo film festival and was announced as Naguib's only daughter.

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Who was Gina's mother? and who was Badia's first husband?

Do you work for the Egyptian version of Hello Magazine by any chance? :lol:

Masabni, etc.

Dear Caroline,

Caroline_afifi said:

Hi A'isha,
First of all I need to thank you for the loveley compliment a few posts back and to Kayshier for delivering the rep!

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I think you are very much an asset to this forum.

I really will be sorry to miss you in cairo and was actually trying to work out if I could go earlier to catch a day with you but alas... it was not to be this time.

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WOW!! Am I going to Cairo again this year????????????? I didn't know, but now I am very excited. I will have to call Hallah and let her know I am usurping her guest bedroom again! LOL!! (I think you have me confused with someone else. I went last April but am staying home this year, but thanks for wishing me to be going back so soon!!)

Apart from he fact that I had been discussing Asamahan and her being the closest (in my opinion) to a bative Egyptian dancer I dont see the wider connection. I do however agree about the International influences shaping entertainment in Egypt at this time as this was pretty much going on just about everywhere.

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The one thing we consistently leave out of these conversations, and by "we" I mean just about everyone, is that early worldview affects every single thing a person does. Masabni's worldview, from birth and onward was Arab. The way she processed and filtered information was Arab. The way she danced was Arab, whether or not there were Hollywood or other influences there. Her native language, her cultural roots shaped the way she thought, the way she reacted, etc, as is true of every person alive.By the time she moved to Argentina, she was already affected by an Arab worldview. We fail to take this into consideration so many times when we discuss the outside influences on the native dancers. They do very distinctly Arab things with those outside influences and this is why I refuse to give the West credit for being that influential on the dance. It IS an Arab dance, through and through!!

Cairo was certianly known as a cosmopolitan city.

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Cairo was and is a cosmopolitan city, but at its very core there is an Egyptian soul and heart that beats there. Egyptians have their own way of dealing with the world that encroaches on it and all the western influx in the world, through how many centuries, has never been able to change that core. New forms of dance may be developed, but at the heart of them is the ethnic worldview that is the truth in their shaping.
I feel that many people try time and again to take this away form the dance and the people. So many westerners seem to want some kind of credit for a dance that is truly ethnic in its essence. I hate that.
Regards,
A'isha