???

fadua21

New member
!!!

I didn't like it:naghty:
It is a beautiful piece of music, not suitable for comedy, in my humble opinion...
 

firshania

Member
no matter what people will do, there will always be somebody to critic. ;)

I think this song is beautifull, but it's not sacred, and I don't agree with all the "don't touch to Oum Kalthoum!!!!" thing. I liked this performance, it was original and very well done.
 

summerdance

New member
I think it's incredibly offensive to denigrate something simply because you cannot understand it.

Um Kulthum may not be sacred to you, but if it's sacred to someone else, that should be respected. Every culture has things and people that are of great value. The more effort we make in respecting each other, the better.

They were not that funny or cute, in my opinion and they could have done it with any random song and chose this one. I guess any other song and maybe we wouldn't be talking about it here.

I don't mean anyone in particular here, but I found this performance to be in very poor taste.
 

Amber

New member
I thought it was an original and cute way to look at the song.

I didn't like the masks.... but the idea was so cute. I wouldn't call it bellydance, but then again it doesn't have to be. You can do all kinds of different dances to Arabic music.
 

Moon

New member
Firshania, Oum Khalthoum is kind of sacred to a lot of Arabs, especially to Egyptians. When she performed, concerts would last for hours and people would be late for there work next morning, public transport would be a mess but that was considered normal. She sold more records than Elvis and the Beatles together...

And even if it wasn't for Oum Khalsoum having some kind of sacret status, the lyrics of this song have nothing to do with this performance so that's just weird anyway.
 

Aniseteph

New member
You can do all kinds of different dances to Arabic music.
Well yes, you can shimmy and undulate to the call to prayer, or grin your head off while dancing to a tragic love song, or dance an Irish Jig to someone's National Anthem. It doesn't matter if it's bellydance or the hokey cokey - if you don't know enough about the background when you take things from outside your own culture you risk offending people or looking like an idiot. Don't expect people not to react.
 

janaki

New member
Creativity, fun, fusion, they all have their own boundaries. When the boundaries are crossed it ain't good any more. This is neither funny nor creative. This is one of my favourite pieces and I feel not so good to see something like this happen. I don't understand why the choreographers don't check the background of the music.
 

sedoniaraqs

New member
It is interesting to see the replies here. I am generally very much a purist, especially when it comes to Om Kalthoum music, and I love Alf leyla wi leyla. I also generally dislike attempts at humourous belly dance; I think most of them fail miserably. And yet, I thought this was just adorable and funny. I also thought the skit had a certain innocent silliness to it; perhaps that is what made it work for me.

Of course it wouldn't be appropriate for an Arabic or international audience. But I have laughed at plenty of jokes and scenes that would not be appropriate for all audiences. I guess this just goes to show the odd and unpredictable nature of humor.

Interestingly, the youtube link posted by moon was a chopped up edited version. I'm not sure why the youtube user edited it like thhat. I can see the humor failing due to way it was edited. But when I saw it, it was entire.

Sedonia
 

firshania

Member
I know that Oum Kathoum is kind of sacred for arabs and I still don't agree with that. I konw that the lyrics of this song as nothing to do with the comedy, but they made a very good job with the instrumental version. And if we use a bit of our imagination, it match perfectly.

Oum Kalthoum was a singer, not a godess. Even if some culture can sacred her songs, it is still wrong to put such ridiculous boundaries. It's only music and if we can't use our creativity with song that we know, understand and like, by changing their first meaning and by using it to make something new and different, then where is the fun? Where is the creativity of the artist if we put limits like that? And it wasn't for an arab public, it was for an american public that doesn't even konw who Oum Kalthoum really is.

It is a very good thing to understand other culture, to know what Oum Kalthoums means to arabs people, but respect is not about thinking the way the other culture think. I'm not arabic, I'm canadian and as a canadian, Oum Kalthoum is only a singer, not a godess. And it's ok. I love her songs, I love the original lyrics, I love to dance in a classic way to her music, but I certainly don't like to put boundaries were no one is needed.

Thinking that a human is sacred is never a good thing. It's not because other culture do it that we should think the same way. Maybe it's not a good thing to present this choreo in Egypt, because the public won't like it anyway, but here in America, I don't see why we should be offend by a simple, funny and cute comedy on an Oum Kalthoum song.

Putting limit on our art is the best way to kill the creativity. We should know the basic rules first, but then, we should go over it. It is art! So smile, relax and have fun ;) I liked this performance and still does. It was a great idea.

(sorry for my english...)
 

Shanazel

Moderator
Thanks, Sedonia! I loved Bugs Bunny (have you heard Elmer Fudd sing Wagner? "Kill da Wabbit" sung to the ride of the Valkeries.)

As other people have said, the belly dance parody isn't appropriate for all audiences, but what is? No matter what you do, someone is bound to get in a twist about it.

Oum Kalthoum is a perfectly lovely singer, but I don't feel compelled to take offense at a gently comic dance on behalf of people who venerate her. There are people who feel just as passionately about Elvis Presley (if you don't think so, take a trip to Memphis, Tennessee some summer) and I don't feel compelled to take offense at Elvis impersonators, either.
 

da Sage

New member
The unedited version makes more sense to me. I do not think it is meant to be "funny", so much as amusing. I went to check the lyrics, and while I don't know which lyrics go with which phrases, I think the story line somewhat parallels the themes of the the song. Were they stretching it? Yes. Did they stretch it too far? Obviously a lot of people here thought so!

I have to wonder if some bellydancing librarian or literature teacher came up with this idea, about the great love of her life.

Now I am wishing I knew what music the excellent "clown bellydance" (my term, not the artist's) performance I saw locally was danced to. It might very well have been Oum Kalthoum (sp?).
 

Maria_Aya

New member
I feel very wierd and with mixed feelings about this video.
Alf Leyla wa Leyla IS my favorite of all songs and maybe the one that I perfrom the most (and lately by demand at shows).
Personaly I feel more angry by a "bellydancer" that play's it serious artist and dance to Oum Kolthoum with bad teqnick, no emotion, splits and jumps from the video that is posted over here.
I actually found it kind of cute in a way (ohh ohh I'm an egyptian purist I think something is going wrong with me lol :shok:, did I typed that??? lol).
Comedy bellydance (and comedy dance) is a very big risk anyway.
Now what I dont like is that the people that posted this one, disabled ratings and messages.
Dance and art in general is a communicating form of creactivity for people.
And internet have this interactive character. By cuting the interaction we just wonder why? They dont want the critism? In this case I get the feeling that the piece was selected on purpose to create conversations...
Just my opinion.

Maria Aya
 

Moon

New member
I this the person who uploaded it thought she might attract Arabs and bellydancers who might be offended by this.
 

sedoniaraqs

New member
Thanks, Sedonia! I loved Bugs Bunny (have you heard Elmer Fudd sing Wagner? "Kill da Wabbit" sung to the ride of the Valkeries.)

Yep! My entire generation grew up with our only exposure to western classical music being Loony Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons. These composers would surely turn over in their graves to witness what was done to their music.

What is the piece of music that was always played in the cartoons when there scene in a factory ran by robots? You know what I'm talking about? Some 20th century composer I think.

Sedonia
 

Amanda (was Aziyade)

Well-known member
Yep! My entire generation grew up with our only exposure to western classical music being Loony Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoons. These composers would surely turn over in their graves to witness what was done to their music.

Or not, maybe. Find me a person who's over 25 who DOESN'T know the Kill Da Wabbit theme. At least we've all been exposed to the music. (Of course, I was probably 20 before I actually knew the real name of the Scarlet Pumpernickle.)

What is the piece of music that was always played in the cartoons when there scene in a factory ran by robots? You know what I'm talking about? Some 20th century composer I think.

Loony Tunes/WB used "42nd Street" in a lot of their "mechanistic" scenes. Is that what you're talking about?
 
Top