The Hagala

Farasha Hanem

New member
I recently was moved up into the regular intermediate class, and I'm so excited---our teacher is teaching Angelika Nemoth's routine! :D She took a workshop under Angelika and learned this number:



Unfortunately, in this video, you don't see the very beginning of the dance, but she does a move that my teacher calls the "Hagala," where you walk forward in a funky way. I can't describe it in words very well, I can only do it...kinda...sorta. You walk forward one step at a time, and kinda roll the same hip up, around, and forward, I think. :think:
When you do it fast enough, it looks like you're shimmy walking, but you're not.
Has anyone ever heard of this move, and what style is it? Is it Egyptian, American Oriental, or what? :think:

Gisela, Mosaic, somebody haaalp! I forget what I'm supposed to leave out when I copy/paste the YouTube embedding code. :(
 
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Daimona

Moderator
If the youtube-link looks like this: 'www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9kh460dFAU' Just add the combination after "=", i.e. d9kh460dFAU between the youtube-tags.

Could it be this step? It is really funky as soon as you get it going..

Step on one foot, weight shifts over to this while the same hip slides out. The other hip goes up and down (while the first hip is out). Step down with the other foot while this hip slides out and the first hip goes up and down.

I've learnt it as "hagala" and it is very closely related to the 3/4 shimmy, but names differs..
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
If the youtube-link looks like this: 'www.youtube.com/d9kh460dFAU' Just add the combination after "=", i.e. d9kh460dFAU between the youtube-tags.

Could it be this step? It is really funky as soon as you get it going..

Step on one foot, weight shifts over to this while the same hip slides out. The other hip goes up and down (while the first hip is out). Step down with the other foot while this hip slides out and the first hip goes up and down.

I've learnt it as "hagala" and it is very closely related to the 3/4 shimmy, but names differs..

That sounds about right, Daimona. It's a really funky but fun walk; it seems to say to the audience, "I'm comin' ATCHA, baby!" xD The routine we're using the hagala in has a lot of attitude, and the audiences love it. We usually end our shows with it.

For homework this week, our teacher is having us to practice our hagalas. Sometimes I get it going pretty good, but then I end up doing something weird where my hip rolls in instead of out! :confused: I don't know how I end up doing it wrong, but it's frustrating. Maybe this week for my bellydance vlog, I'll tape myself practicing, and hopefully my more seasoned sisters can help me figure out where I'm going haywire. :think:

Thank you, Daimona, I finally figured out what you were telling me! Now if I just don't forget again! :confused:

Here is a vid of our troupe (advanced class) doing the Angelika routine, and this one shows the hagala at the beginning. Our teacher does a really short solo, then the dance starts:

 
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Ranya

New member
Hi Farasha,
Daimona explained the move quite well. As for the origin of the move, it comes from a dance called Hagallah, done on the north-west coast of Egypt and in Libya.
It has a specific rhythm and costuming, but the move itself is often used in oriental/drum solo routines if the hagallah rhythm comes up.
YouTube - El Hagalla/ Mahmoud Reda
Hope that helps :)
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
Hi Farasha,
Daimona explained the move quite well. As for the origin of the move, it comes from a dance called Hagallah, done on the north-west coast of Egypt and in Libya.
It has a specific rhythm and costuming, but the move itself is often used in oriental/drum solo routines if the hagallah rhythm comes up.
YouTube - El Hagalla/ Mahmoud Reda
Hope that helps :)

Thank you, Ranya! :D I treasure you and my other dance sisters and brothers, I learn so much from you! And thank you for the link! ^^

I'll try to post my vlog some time this weekend so you all can see what I'm doing right/wrong, so I can improve and do well in my dancing. :)

Oh! Can you tell me more about the hagalla rhythm? I can't remember if it's on my Uncle Mustafa CD or not.
 

Ranya

New member
Don't know the uncle mustafa one, unfortunately, but it definitely is on the Jalilah's Rhythm Workshop CD.
It goes something like this: dum a-tak-a dum tak, but very very fast :-S (ok I know this won't help you much, but I thought I try to write the rhythm down)
 

Daimona

Moderator
Thank you, Daimona, I finally figured out what you were telling me! Now if I just don't forget again! :confused:

Here is a vid of our troupe (advanced class) doing the Angelika routine, and this one shows the hagala at the beginning. Our teacher does a really short solo, then the dance starts:

Ah! And I can see from the video that it differs a bit from my version above. You are also adding a twist with your right hips as well, which usually makes it a bit more confusing.

I would explain the slow hagala in the video (app. at 1:10) like this:
  • Step on right foot while hip goes down and twists forward. Shift the weight to your right foot while right hip slides out and left hip is lifted.
  • Step on left foot while left hip goes down and twists forward. Shift the weight to your left foot while left hip slide out and right hip is lifted.

Hagalas can be done both as triplets with equal weight on each of the three parts or on a beat divided in four with more emphasize on one of them.

When drilling basic hagalas (or hagalah/haggala/haggalla/hagallah etc), I like to start by doing it slowly with equal emphasize of each of the three parts to be sure I don't forget any of them and building up muscle memory to have a clear and sharp movement before speeding it up (many students seem to forget this and mess it up when the speed increases). I also drill three different versions (i.e. technically speaking, not necessarily culturally):
  1. (right) hip out, the other (left) up and down
  2. (right) hip down and out, the other (left) up
  3. (right) hip up, down and out.

Number 1 is equal to the version I explained in the previous post.
Number 2 is equal to the version above (just without the twist).
Number 3 is a funny thing to try (I've got other fun versions of the hagala as well..)



ETA: According to later posts, the explanation above is probably 3/4 shimmies, not the move that are asked for.
 
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Farasha Hanem

New member
Ah! And I can see from the video that it differs a bit from my version above. You are also adding a twist with your right hips as well, which usually makes it a bit more confusing.

I would explain the slow hagala in the video (app. at 1:10) like this:
  • Step on right foot while hip goes down and twists forward. Shift the weight to your right foot while right hip slides out and left hip is lifted.
  • Step on left foot while left hip goes down and twists forward. Shift the weight to your left foot while left hip slide out and right hip is lifted.

Hagalas can be done both as triplets with equal weight on each of the three parts or on a beat divided in four with more emphasize on one of them.

When drilling basic hagalas (or hagalah/haggala/haggalla/hagallah etc), I like to start by doing it slowly with equal emphasize of each of the three parts to be sure I don't forget any of them and building up muscle memory to have a clear and sharp movement before speeding it up (many students seem to forget this and mess it up when the speed increases). I also drill three different versions (i.e. technically speaking, not necessarily culturally):
  1. (right) hip out, the other (left) up and down
  2. (right) hip down and out, the other (left) up
  3. (right) hip up, down and out.

Number 1 is equal to the version I explained in the previous post.
Number 2 is equal to the version above (just without the twist).
Number 3 is a funny thing to try (I've got other fun versions of the hagala as well..)

@_@ Oh, Lordy, I hope I can remember all this when I practice... Oo;;

Thank you for your help, everyone. So, what should I do? Should I practice the way my teacher is doing it? I'm a bit worried, now. :confused:
 

Daimona

Moderator
@_@ Oh, Lordy, I hope I can remember all this when I practice... Oo;;

Thank you for your help, everyone. So, what should I do? Should I practice the way my teacher is doing it? I'm a bit worried, now. :confused:

:lol: Don't worry, Farasha! Just dance!
First of all, practice the way you teacher want you to. The rest you can save for later.
 

Kashmir

New member
To me a hagalla walk is a folkloric form of a 3/4 Egyptian. A 3/4 Egyptian goes down as you step on the front foot, then straight up, then down again, before a pause and a repeat on the other leg. At full speed definitely a type of shimmy walk.

With a hagalla you also add a rotation inwards with the down. Sometimes the posture is adjusted as well so there is more butt.


I also drill three different versions (i.e. technically speaking, not necessarily culturally):
  1. (right) hip out, the other (left) up and down
  2. (right) hip down and out, the other (left) up
  3. (right) hip up, down and out.
I don't think there should be an "out" movement in a hagalla. This is a slightly different step. Hagallas go down and up with a forward twist but without the slide out.
 
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Farasha Hanem

New member
Well, I don't have a hagalah rhythm track on my Uncle Mustafa CD. :( So I did a little online research, hoping to find an mp3 example to hear how it sounds, and lo and behold, what did I run into but this? :D

http://www.bellydanceforums.net/instructors-students/1065-hagala-shimmy-walk-question.html

I've read through the first page, have 3 more to go. Gisela, funny coincidence---I practiced on my hagala today at work in the back when no one was around! xD Thank goodness there were no security cameras around in the area I practiced! :lol:

I'm going to finish reading the above thread...
 

Daimona

Moderator
I don't think there should be an "out" movement in a hagalla. This is a slightly different step. Hagallas go down and up with a forward twist but without the slide out.

This is what I learnt and my hips certainly goes a bit out when I'm doing it (even when I'm doing the "straight up and down with a forward twist"). I've even learnt a related version that is hardly any up and down, just a sideways juicy movement.

It is fascinating to see how many explanations there are, and how many versions there are of the "same" movement. :lol:
 

Farasha Hanem

New member
One thing you don't see in the second video I put up is my teacher's pigeon-toed walk. She admits that she's pigeon-toed, and does try to correct herself, but not always successfully. :3 I noticed when she demonstrated the hagala the other day, she stepped pigeon-toed, and I caught myself imitating her! :lol: However, this might not be correct, and I want to make sure I don't develop a bad habit before my muscle memory is set! ^^;;;

Btw, if you happen to read this, Fatima, ILU, don't yell at me! ^^;;;
 

Kashmir

New member
Well, I don't have a hagalah rhythm track on my Uncle Mustafa CD.
Traditional hagalla is done to just clapping. There was a piece of music written for Reda for his interpretation of the dance which is accepted as "the" piece of music to use. There are a couple of others though.

This is what I learnt and my hips certainly goes a bit out when I'm doing it (even when I'm doing the "straight up and down with a forward twist"). I've even learnt a related version that is hardly any up and down, just a sideways juicy movement.

It is fascinating to see how many explanations there are, and how many versions there are of the "same" movement. :lol:
Often the moves are like Chinese whispers as one person learns it, modifies it and passes it on. But the version I learnt for hagalla, specifically, from both Denise Enan and Aida Nour had no outward movement in it. As both as these women learnt first hand I'll go with their version :D
 
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Jane

New member
mine looks like this. sometimes I add a hold or pause.

 
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