Can anyone tell me what these styles are?

Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
Clip 1 is definitely NOT beledi. It actually isn't "Classical Egyptian" - or any style of Egyptian actually. Possibly heavy AmCab or Turkish influence - all that upper body stuff is not Egyptian style. You could call it raqs sharqi in the loosest definition of raqs sharqi.

The second clip has more of an Egyptian feel - but it isn't quite either.

So, neither are beledi. You could call them raqs sharqi. Both of these dancers I suspect have been learning dance for many, many years - if not decades. So, start practicing today :D
 
Yame

Yame

New member
I can't watch these clips at the moment, but I have watched both dancers. Both are what I would consider "contemporary American Cabaret," although Viktoriya would lean closer to Egyptian than Aubre.

Aubre is a Suhaila-certified dancer and I can clearly see Suhaila's influence in her dancing. She also does tribal fusion. I don't see anything Egyptian about her dancing, it looks very American to me, but she is clearly a very skilled dancer and if that's the style you are into, she is great inspiration to have.

Viktoriya I haven't seen as much of. Her dancing looks more rooted in Egyptian (as opposed to rooted in Suhaila style), but without the Egyptian essence as the current Egyptians and foreigners dancing in Egypt display. Again, this isn't a value judgment, just an observation. Egyptian isn't The One And Only style. Sadly, Viktoriya passed away a few years back as a result of a car accident, I believe. She was a beautiful, flawless dancer, whatever style.
 
Amanda (was Aziyade)

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
Kashmir said:
Clip 1 is definitely NOT beledi. It actually isn't "Classical Egyptian" - or any style of Egyptian actually. Possibly heavy AmCab or Turkish influence - all that upper body stuff is not Egyptian style. You could call it raqs sharqi in the loosest definition of raqs sharqi.
Click to expand...


Argh -- see this is what drives me crazy about that particular system:

Based on my studies with Sahra Kent, Shareen el Safy, and Morocco, I think I can state that there is nothing "classical Egyptian" AT ALL in this piece. Every characteristic that makes a "classical" or golden age piece -- they're all missing from this performance. And I agree with Kashmir that it's Raqs Sharqi in only the loosest definition. It's straight up American Bellydance, and even if you blacked out the face of the dancer, I could tell you in about 8 seconds who her primary teacher was.

Well-known and popular instructors are often loathe to change their thinking on how and what they teach. If they learned in the 70s that "this and this" equals "Egyptian," they often seem unwilling to revisit that "knowledge" based on current information, or information that wasn't a part of their personal educational circles during their formative years.

Thus, students of those instructors continue to perpetuate misinformation about what they perform. I don't blame the dancer -- I blame the teacher for not equipping students with a better understanding of the BIGGER PICTURE of bellydance as it has been, and continues to be, practiced all over the world.

/rant
 
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