Little Egypt

Tarik Sultan

Tarik Sultan

New member
There never was a little Egypt. It was a persona created here in the USA and there were several entertainers who took that name.

At the turn of the century, there was no such thing as the solo celebrity dancer as we know them today. Dancers were general entertainers, meaning dancing was only one of the things they did. They also sang, played music, sometimes acted and did acrobatics. When they danced, they danced as a group primarily. This clip of the Banat Mazin gives an idea. tey didn't choreograph, but they danced in harmony.



It wasn't till the 30's and 40's that you saw the birth of the solo nightclub dancer. A good book on this subject is Looking For Little Egypt. Only book written on "Little Egypt" that is well researched and based on documented facts not urban legend.
beginnerbellydance said:
Little Egypt - YouTube
Apparently she was pretty big back in her days and even made it to the west...
Click to expand...
 
Zorba

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
I have a vague memory - this must have been the early 1970s sometime - there was a lawsuit of some kind involving a Belly Dancer who called herself "Little Egypt". I don't remember much more - it was probably between two dancers wanting to use the name. It was one of those back page snippets in the newspaper...
 
S

SeeJaneDance

New member
I read somewhere that the first "Little Egypt" might have performed at the World's Fair in 1893, or a dancer at that fair got billed under that name after performing exceptionally well. She was otherwise unidentified. After that, like Tarik said, many performers took the name, or even claimed to be the original dancer.
 
Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
SeeJaneDance said:
I read somewhere that the first "Little Egypt" might have performed at the World's Fair in 1893, or a dancer at that fair got billed under that name after performing exceptionally well. She was otherwise unidentified. After that, like Tarik said, many performers took the name, or even claimed to be the original dancer.
Click to expand...
Not supported at all by Donna Calton's research using primary sources.
 
S

SeeJaneDance

New member
Kashmir I haven't read the book, but from what I gather from brief reviews, the entire thing centers around that fair. (The Columbian Exposition, The Chicago World's Fair, whatever you want to call it...) Does she dispel the rumor?
 
shiradotnet

shiradotnet

Well-known member
Tarik Sultan said:
At the turn of the century, there was no such thing as the solo celebrity dancer as we know them today. Dancers were general entertainers, meaning dancing was only one of the things they did. They also sang, played music, sometimes acted and did acrobatics. When they danced, they danced as a group primarily.

It wasn't till the 30's and 40's that you saw the birth of the solo nightclub dancer.
Click to expand...

Actually, these statements are not entirely accurate. The dancer Shooq is generally considered to be the first celebrity solo dancer in Egypt, and her career was thriving in the 1870's. She was the dancer who recruited and trained Shafiqa el-Koptiyya, whose career also thrived in the 19th century. Shafiqa performed in a nightclub called El Dorado, and the patrons threw gold coins at her feet.
 
Tarik Sultan

Tarik Sultan

New member
Yes but this still represented a departure from the norm at the time. Also, with regards specifically to the dance performances at The Streets of Cairo exhibit at the 1893 Fair, there were no solo dancers. There was a troup and there are plenty of photographs of them. The famous picture of "Little Egypt" is of an American entertainer. Her whole outfit is completely inauthentic when compared to the real Egyptian dancers who actually performed at the Fair.

shiradotnet said:
Actually, these statements are not entirely accurate. The dancer Shooq is generally considered to be the first celebrity solo dancer in Egypt, and her career was thriving in the 1870's. She was the dancer who recruited and trained Shafiqa el-Koptiyya, whose career also thrived in the 19th century. Shafiqa performed in a nightclub called El Dorado, and the patrons threw gold coins at her feet.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Erik

Erik

New member
I also grew up believing that she was real, and I think this film with Rhonda Fleming which I still have not seen yet may have accomplished the most toward perpetuating that belief.

Little Egypt (1951) - IMDb

Since reading Donna Carlton's book I've come to think of her as the Robin Hood of bellydance; a legend based on a real person, or perhaps more than one person, and as with Robin Hood sorting out the truth from the legend would require a time machine.
 
Tarik Sultan

Tarik Sultan

New member
Erik said:
I also grew up believing that she was real, and I think this film with Rhonda Fleming which I still have not seen yet may have accomplished the most toward perpetuating that belief.

Little Egypt (1951) - IMDb

Since reading Donna Carlton's book I've come to think of her as the Robin Hood of bellydance; a legend based on a real person, or perhaps more than one person, and as with Robin Hood sorting out the truth from the legend would require a time machine.
Click to expand...

That's it exactly. There supposedly was one of the dancers who stayed behind named Farida Mazhar, but by that time there were already dozens of entertainers calling themselves "Little Egypt". So its a bag of all sorts. One thing is certain though, there never was a dancer at the Egyptian theater in the 1893 Fair that was billed as "Little Egypt".
 
Kashmir

Kashmir

New member
SeeJaneDance said:
Kashmir I haven't read the book, but from what I gather from brief reviews, the entire thing centers around that fair. (The Columbian Exposition, The Chicago World's Fair, whatever you want to call it...) Does she dispel the rumor?
Click to expand...
Yes - she looked at publicity, reviews, letters and could find no mention of a "Little Egypt" at the time. Later people who used the name probably were not even from Egypt.
 
Erik

Erik

New member
SeeJaneDance said:
Thanks, Kashmir! I looked for a copy of the book, but it's a little unreasonable on Amazon. It sounds interesting, though.
Click to expand...

It's a great book, and very easy to read. I expected a long boring plod but spun through it in about two days. [Tanya's book was an easy read too but took a bit longer.]

I knew about Looking for Little Egypt after gaining access to the Internet but had not much interest in reading it. Then I suppose Shiradotnet got tired of being bombed by my dumb emails and urged me to read it, so I ordered a copy from Amazon. ;)

I can't find my copy anymore. It may have been stolen but I probably just misplaced it. Even still, the scandal of Sealy's Dinner has me laughing to beat the band whenever I remember it. :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top