Attempting Baladi

[rsps]

So, I'm trying hard to attempt a Baladi!
My teacher is mostly tribal and there are no ME/Egyptian style teachers in my area so I am pretty much stuck watching youtube videos of professional ME dancers to try and get the style down.

So, advice? Be gentle. I'm still a baby bellydancer.


YouTube - Mamabellydance Baladi

 

[nouraki]

So, I'm trying hard to attempt a Baladi!
My teacher is mostly tribal and there are no ME/Egyptian style teachers in my area so I am pretty much stuck watching youtube videos of professional ME dancers to try and get the style down.

So, advice? Be gentle. I'm still a baby bellydancer.


YouTube - Mamabellydance Baladi

First of all, you should feel the music.I think it's saidi rythm.So,your moves should be referred to this style of music.And chill out.I mean dont concentrate too much on your belly.Let the music guides all the parts of your body.

P.S.My english is awful,so forgive me!And here there are so good dancers that may help you with their advice.I m baby too. Sweet baby :lol:

 

[rsps]

And chill out.I mean dont concentrate too much on your belly.Let the music guides all the parts of your body.

Lol! Yes, I do need to Chill out. I feel like when I do I'm not doing anything and it must look stupid. But, when I watch the really great bellydancers the movements are subtle and simple. I tend to do too much and I know it. I need someone to yell 'slow down!'

Your English is fine!

 

[Emma_Williams]

hey good job on posting a video its a brave thing to do so total thumbs p
I dont know much about the different styles but I am getting there slowly but certainly surely hehe. One tiny piece of advice from someone who danced mainly tribal and dark fusion before attempting baladi/saidi and ME dance is to perhaps be more softer and fluid and feel the beat more rather than dancing more on the offbeat. It is really evident you have done a lot of fusion as your drops and hip circles are very well done and very sharp...just maybe stop thinking so much about being so sharp and full of technique and just feel the music and match your moves to the rhytms. I think your a very good dancer and will make a fab baladi/ME dancer...just put the music on...close your eyes...feel the emotion of it and whats influencing you to dance that day and just feel it. I can tell your passionate because you smile and obviously love what you do.
I am only throwing in my crappy opinions because as an ex fusion/tribal hardcore enthusiast i found it a huge transission to go from the almost sometimes emotion less fusion which is hard and focused on sharp technique to just being the silent instrument in baladi/ME.
I am also on the journey so feel free to let me know how you get on xxxx

 

[Aniseteph]

Nice dancing! If that's baby bellydancing I'm impressed. :clap:

I get to be first to say it :dance:: have you got Ranya Renee's Baladi DVDs?

Although I might be totally focused on baladi progression here and missing half the picture (I am not an expert by any means), I think you were closer to it in your Cairo Caravan clip.

The music for your baladi clip was fairly upbeat and out there from the start but it sounded Saiidi to me - more the sort of thing to hop around with your cane to. It didn't have that contained internal strength/energy yet relaxed feel that I'd associate with baladi. And if it isn't in the music its hard (wrong?) to put it in the dancing. I'd say you are definitely going with the music cool, and the music is sending you in the wrong direction for baladi here!

The "veil" manipulations look very American style to me, and the travelling steps don't get that energy building - a lot of baladi is very static as far as covering floor space goes.

I was going to say I can see you have a Tribal teacher from the way you hold your arms sometimes, and that that might be a difficult habit to break, but then saw your other clip - :lol: - I take it back! I don't know much about Tribal but to me it often has a very "held high" stance about the arms, a sort of Flamenco energy and poise, which is very different to the way baladi dancers use their arms. (My arms like to get up there from time to time and I have no excuses, don't do Tribal/fusion... )

My advice is to get hold of some full-on baladi music and maybe those DVDs, and keep up the good work. There might be a thread on this forum about baladi music, have a search.

 

[Emma_Williams]

i have aksed quite a few questions so feel free to have nosey at threads i have started. i am trying to learn about baladi too.
Just seen your other clips...some fab dancin x

 

[rsps]

I'd say you are definitely going with the music cool, and the music is sending you in the wrong direction for baladi here!*

This particular Baladi was from the Aziza Raks album. I love it, but you are right I feel very pulled in a direction that I don't feel is 'right' but I don't know how to remedy it! Bah! So frustrating.

*The "veil" manipulations look very American style to me, and the travelling steps don't get that energy building.*

Oh, I'm sure the veil manipulation was totally painful to many ME bd's eyes. I haven't done veils much. I wasn't even holding the Salvage properly, which probably led to it being a bit jerky.

So, you are saying in that second bit that by using 'traveling steps' I'm diminishing the building of energy? Am I right in that? How would you build that energy in this particular Baladi?

The Cairo Caravan bit seems more naturally 'internal' by virtue of the music. Does that make sense?

I think I might be drawn to Baladi's because they seem more complex. I don't do the really light and cute stuff very well, it just isn't natural to me.


Thank you for the advice. This is all very helpful. I will look into those Dvd's.

eta; maybe I totally pulled a dufus (not unknown for me) and misread this song as a baladi. I thought it was titled on the album that way!! Oh my. How embarrasing if that is the case!

 

[rsps]

i have aksed quite a few questions so feel free to have nosey at threads i have started. i am trying to learn about baladi too.
Just seen your other clips...some fab dancin x

Awww thanks. I'm really just learning. I want to learn more ME but most teachers in my immediate area specialize in tribal.

 

[rsps]

just maybe stop thinking so much about being so sharp and full of technique and just feel the music and match your moves to the rhytms. *

Oh gosh that is great advice, but it will take a lot of discipline to do that!

Thank you! I think you are right that it is a journey in 'freeing up' something that you have learned to have control over.

I feel like I need to learn a lot more 'control' in order to become more fluid...but maybe I'm wrong in that!:think:

 

[rsps]

My advice is to get hold of some full-on baladi music and maybe those DVDs, and keep up the good work. There might be a thread on this forum about baladi music, have a search.[/QUOTE]

Ok, I had to do some research on this song because I swore I saw that it was termed a baladi... the whole ME term thing is so new to me!

So, apparently a Baladi can be Saidi Rythm...is that correct.

Oh my...I was very confused there for a minute. But apparently I'm not the only one that was confused by this particular song. It is Luxor Baladna...which I took to be a Baladi...but which is a Saidi :think:

 

[nightdancer]

Definately not Baladi, but it was a good time to watch. Keep working and studying, you've got talent and beautiful muscle control.

 

[Pirika Repun]

Baladi is social dance in Egypt, so the best way to learn baladi is from ordinal person, but not professional dancers. Yes, professional dancers perform on stage, but soul of baladi is from ordinal people. Baladi is not only kind of music but change meaning by content, but basic meaning is "country" or "nation" Baladi girl is like girl next door. Baladi is urban or maybe suburb music when country people move to suburbia music Like Blues in the US. When people move from country side to urban area brought their music with them, and mixed with urban life and made new music. Then shaabi is like hip-hop. Baladi is like blues or R&B. Your video's music is Saidi. There is a lot of baladi music. So, just search "baladi music" on YouTube, so you will know more about baladi.

Egyptian dance is very natural to your body, and if you look many Egyptian dancers, you can tell there is no body isolation while they dance. When they do hip drops, their upper body also move, because music tell body to move your body not only your hip! Fluidity is important thing for Egyptian dance.

I can't find good video now, but here is some video actually Egyptian kids dancning. Look at their moves. They don't think about what to do next like I did hip drop, so maybe I have to do maya next or so many moves in one song. Baladi is very simple moves (but difficult) dance. If I find some more videos I'll let you know. Also they don't use much traveling steps, but their dance match to music.

These video clips are not exact baladi music, but you can get idea of social dance.






Here is even men dancing!




BTW do you live in CT? If so which part of CT? If you live close to NYC or have chance to come NYC, here is so many good Egyptian teachers. Not mention my teacher here (some of you guys know who he is. :lol but these videos are from my teacher's channel.

I hope you got some idea of baladi...

 

[Aniseteph]

Ranya explains! :clap:


If you search YouTube for Luxor Baladna you'll find people dancing with canes, doing Saiidi moves. It's a whole different style.

Watch out searching YouTube for baladi - there's a lot that comes up that isn't

Try these:

 

[rsps]

Definately not Baladi, but it was a good time to watch. Keep working and studying, you've got talent and beautiful muscle control.

Thanks...and back to the drawing board!

 

[ababalond]

don't let all the critique beat ya down, your a real good dancer, but i'm not that sure how in keeping your clip is with the soul and style of baladi, but we are learning, i second pirika repun and aniseteph, you could try googling "hossam ramzy baladi" its a good article.

 

[Aniseteph]

Thanks...and back to the drawing board!

Oh definitely not back to the drawing board - you were on to something in your cairo caravan clip. Let yourself go with that accordion! :dance:

 

[rsps]

don't let all the critique beat ya down, your a real good dancer, but i'm not that sure how in keeping your clip is with the soul and style of baladi, but we are learning, i second pirika repun and aniseteph, you could try googling "hossam ramzy baladi" its a good article.

Thank you! Not beaten down at all. As long as the crit is constructive and kindly put I love it!

Thank you, I will google the article.

 

[da Sage]

I guess I'm not so hot on style definitions, but that was lovely dancing - truly a joy to watch (and I watched it twice).

EDIT: no wonder I was confused why everyone else thought this was not Baladi, I thought I was responding to your other, later video post. I liked this one too!