Egyptian dance is a fusion - so says my teacher

**jenc** · 04-20-2012, 08:58 AM

Yes I know but unfortunately at the time I had no concrete information with which to counter. Some of the information was correct like it being used in the Commnwelth games and the famous film sequence on the train. It's much harder, isn't it, to counter partial misinformation.

Lloyd Weber PRODUCED the musical Bombay Dreams in which it featured on the British stage.

**Shakti** · 04-21-2012, 03:59 AM

Glad you picked up on that Aziyade. A version appears in Bollywood Dreams soundtrack. The original arrangement from the Dil Se is the better one, ie the train video..

**Farasha Hanem** · 04-21-2012, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by Aziyade

Andrew Lloyd Webber did NOT write Chaiyya Chaiyya, just FYI.

Chaiyya Chaiyya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Exactly what I was going to say (I've come in a tad late on this discussion). Webber merely reenacted the famous train sequence from Dil Se in his aforementioned stage play. A.R. Rehman is my favorite Bollywood composer, and my first reaction was the STRONG desire to KICK jenc's teacher in the patootie, but society frowns upon patootie-kicking. -_-

It really chaps my hide when misinformed people continue to spread the misinformation they themselves have learned, or use false stereotypical notions about bellydance as a marketing ploy for their classes, workshops, DVD's, etc. >:/

**Tarik Sultan** · 04-22-2012, 03:02 PM

The problem is because we are dealing with an aspect of a culture about which as a whole we are largely uninformed, very often we find elements of truth and then exaggerate them or take them out of context. This is a perfect example.

Egyptian dance begins with the folk dance, or if you will, social dance. That foundation is quintessentially African in nature. Understanding that it didn't come from somewhere in Africa, but that it had always been there as Egypt is a part of Africa and therefore it's related to other dance styles in nearby regions of the continent. The articulation of the torso, waves, undulations, twisting, shaking, twirling of the hips are reoccuring themes in dances all across the continent and so what we see in Egypt is a regional variation on continental theme.

The arms on the other hand are of Asian origin as can bee seen when you look at Persian and other Central Asian dance styles. As far as Indian Dance is concerned, I've seen no evidence other than the myth of Gypsy origins to support the claim. What I have seen of various Indian Dances shows that it received elemets of Central Asian styles. The spread of Indian influences went in a west to east direction as can be seen in the dances of Cambodia, Bali, Thailand for example.

The performance aspect has the most foreign influences. The use of space, dramatic elements etc are all of European origin. However, it has to be understood that what makes a dance is not only the movements, but the spirit and personality of the culture. Therefore, Egyptian dance retained its spirit, personality, character while absorbing the elements they wanted, on their own terms. It is this spirit/identity/body language/cultural expression that we have to assimilate if we want to express Egyptian dance in a way that has a look and feel of cultural authenticity.

**jenc** · 04-22-2012, 09:08 PM

I must say I have always had problems with the spread by gypsies theory because no one has ever explained how they think that the dance went from the margins of society, right through and uup to the top. That is apart from the fact that the dances the gypsies are supposed to have spread are all different and the only similarities seem to be what has been imported by ATS and other dancers who wre determined that the links were there to begin with. For example, hand floreos seem to have been borrowed from flamenco and then used to say that BD is related to flamenco.

**khanjar** · 04-23-2012, 01:29 AM

Perhaps it is there is a lot of romanticism attached to this dance, so much romanticism that for some the reality is obscured, but there are people that have a problem with reality and so do their best to live in fantasy, which is living life on their own terms, not the real terms.

But for me I try to adhere to the originality of this dance, where we most definitely know where it comes from and the culture present that still dances this way, anything else, is frankly disrespectful.

But because a dance teacher says Egyptian dance is fusion, that is not an indication that Egyptian dance should become something else by the inclusion of other cultural styles, for it strikes me that in saying Egyptian dance is fusion then that teacher is intent on adding other styles under the name of BD.

**jenc** · 04-23-2012, 07:30 AM

Also with great scientific discoveries and theories, several people can have the same idea at the same time. I believe that the Russians have a contender for the inventor of wireless,and there were certainly others with the same idea as Darwin at the time.

Yet when it comes to dance, we are expected to believe that similarities definately mean influence, as if it were not possible for different societies to come up with the same sorts of moves. given that all dance is likely to have started with a drum, and that there are a finite number of moves that can be made with the body - it is more surprisinf thatdances differ.