Dance of the Seven Veils

[Silvinka]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but i like your opinions about this one.

Most people when they hear the word "bellydance" they think of the Dance of the Seven Veils. But does it excist?
I tried to search for some answers and there are many of them. The one says: it is just imagenairy, there is no such dance. The other says: it is ritual charka dance from India and correspondes to the Egyptian Goddess Ishtar. And another says: You can make one of your own.

So i had a chat with one of my collegues, also a bellydancer, and she knows two women claiming that they can dance the "Seven Veils". But as i surfed on the internet, i could not find any choreography or music from it. Only the opera version of Salome, made by Richard Strauß.

So what is the thruth? :think:

Greets Silvinka

 

[Zurah]

Seven veils dance

Hi Silvinka,

Shira has a great article about this in her site - check it out at: Dance of the Seven Veils

 

[Moon]

Hi Silvinka, you can find quite some info about it here, but maybe you've read it already.

(Before I started reading info about bellydancing on this website, I'd never heard of "dance of the seven veils" before )

Oh Zurah, you were faster then me! :wall:

 

[Shanazel]

Oscar Wilde does it again.

 

[Silvinka]

Well... the artical of Shira, says everything what i already knew, so nothing more But thanks a lot anyway for replying on my question!!

Yet another question popped up in my mind. Although it is imagenairy, the border of dance is endless, so...Does anyone of you ever did or tried to do the Dance of the Seven Veils or a multiple veil choreography?
Because IMHO the Western people ( the ones who don't know anything about it) want to see and feel the "romantic style" of the faitytale 1001 nights.

 

[Sara]

I heard of it before, cause Yvonne did it when she got drunk with two table cloths.

Other than that I don't know anything either, other than there's this girl called Salome, who danced to seduce her step dad or something?:think: Sounds a lot like Coronation street to me though.

I'll look on some websites now though.

 

[Dunyah]

Dance of the Seven Veils is actually a category at Mezdulene's Bellydancer USA Competition each year in Southern Oregon. I was privileged to be a judge at this event and have seen many creative and beautiful interpretations of this dance.

Yes it is "fantasy" but it is a wonderful opportunity for imaginative veil work. I am blushing because I can't remember the name of last year's winner. I think it was Elisa Gamal from Seattle. She had seven lovely hand-dyed silk veils representing dawn through midnight, and beautiful Egyptian music that she put together in a stunning routine.

Other dancers used smaller veils or scarves for part of their "seven." It is always a very interesting and entertaining category to watch, as dancers come up with so many different interpretations.

So use your imagination and go for it. It does seem most appropriate for a stage show as opposed to a restaurant show, though. You need plenty of space to dance with all those veils and places to discard them safely.

I have a pet peeve about dancers who discard their veils in the middle of their performing space, leaving observers like me wondering if they are going to step on it and lose their footing. The anxiety detracts from my enjoyment of their dance.

 

[taheya]

As far as im aware there was no dance of the seven veils, it is a myth invented by westerners to add sexual mystique around the idea of 'oriental'.
I dont think it is a good thing to be endorsing in middle eastern dance as it reinforces the 'harem fantasy' and it is not representative of middle eastern dance.

 

[Shanazel]

I've seen a double veil dance that was very pretty and with no sexual overtones whatsoever. It would be possible to do a similar dance with multiple veils that didn't smack of strip tease or the harem, but I'm not the gal to try it- it's all I can do to hang on to one veil at a time.

 

[Dunyah]

Taheya,
You are correct that there is no traditional dance of the seven veils. And you are certainly entitled to your opinion and your preference of dance style. But if you had seen the dances I described, I think you would agree that they were tasteful, beautiful and did not reinforce the "harem" fantasy.

 

[taheya]

Hi Shanazel, I do not mean that i think all veil dances add to 'harem' fantasy but the the supposed 'dance of the seven veils' which probably did not even occur does. Ask your average joe bloggs on the street and they will say that it was salome peeling off her veils until she was naked. I just dont know if it is a positive thing to be having a competition entitled 'dance of the seven veils'.
Dont you think it might add to supporting the misinformed idea?

 

[Shanazel]

Maybe you are right, Taheya, but mightn't a really beautiful multi-veil dance change the minds of those people who think seven veils is a Salome strip? (Not our Salome, of course!!)

My personal feeling is that Dance of the Seven Veils is a cliche stemming from Oscar Wilde's play Salome, and unless I was involved in the play, I wouldn't use the theme myself. (HA! I really am a bit past the age of playing Salome. I'd have to put those seven veils back on to keep my audience happy.)

 

[Silvinka]

As far as im aware there was no dance of the seven veils, it is a myth invented by westerners to add sexual mystique around the idea of 'oriental'.
I dont think it is a good thing to be endorsing in middle eastern dance as it reinforces the 'harem fantasy' and it is not representative of middle eastern dance.

U can't deny the harem of the Orient. If you know the 1001 nights story, you know that the harem-women had to please the Sultan with their dancing, only ( so as the story tells ) Sherahzahde did not dance, but told 1001 nights long stories to please her Sultan. And she did please him, because she wasn't killed, like other women who tried to please the Sultan. This nasty side of killing harem women is not a common knowlegde, but that dancing is to please or make someone happy is common knowlegde.
My intention asking about the "Seven Veils" was not from a sexually nature ( just seven veils over a costume, and not standing butt-naked at the end ). Just to keep a certain fantasy and romance alive. I think that people who are not familair with bellydancing at all, love to see more the "romantic flavour" instead of a difficult,technical and traditional Raqs Sharqi. And let's be honost, the cabaret style is also partly made by the fantasy of western people and nobody tumbles over that one

 

[Aniseteph]

... other than there's this girl called Salome, who danced to seduce her step dad or something?:think: Sounds a lot like Coronation street to me though.

Yup, that's the gist of it, Sara! :lol: :dance:

Wikipedia has a page about it Dance of the seven veils - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - the Dance of the Seven Army Blankets sounds right up my street, or the one the trolls do. :lol:

Back to real veils, IMO it could make a nice piece of virtuoso veil-handling if you could do something different with each. If it's well done and entertaining to watch I don't care if it's a cliche. The people who expect you to be naked at the end are the same people who think your going to take your top off and twirl strategically placed tassels - they'll just have to be disappointed again.

 

[taheya]

Hello Dunya, Im sure you witnessed some beautiful dancing but i think it is a bit bizarre to call it 'dance of the seven veils'. May give the wrong impression also keeps myths alive which have no foundation.
Dont we want to give our dance some credibility and isnt good dancing strong enough without having to refer back to old colonial fantasies?

 

[Sara]

How do they hold em all at once? :think:

 

[Zorba]

I have a pet peeve about dancers who discard their veils in the middle of their performing space, leaving observers like me wondering if they are going to step on it and lose their footing. The anxiety detracts from my enjoyment of their dance.

My instructors beat it into my head to NEVER, EVER do this. And indeed, you are quite correct. My article on veil dancing touches on it - the audience instinctively knows the danger of a dropped veil and if you (the dancer) get too close to it, they (the audience) will STOP watching your dance and watch your veil instead! I've done it myself as an audience member!

One time my instructor (35+ years experience) had just discussed the dangers of a dropped veil in a class where we were playing veil. No more than 60 seconds later, while a sister dancer and I were facing each other demonstrating some veil move or other - we were rudely interrupted by a very loud WHUMP!! directly behind me. My poor instructor had just inadvertently demonstrated what not to do! You can imagine the ensuing scene as we all gathered around her lying on the floor, clucking to each other. Fortunately, she's a rugged little thing and wasn't hurt! She hadn't even dropped her veil, just managed to step on it and that was all it took...

As for a dance of the seven veils - I've seen several. Always have intended to do one myself, but it never seems to be a priority. It takes a skilled dancer to do one well as opposed to looking like a veil handling exercise. I know my way around a veil pretty well, and am known for my double silk veil performances, but I'm not convinced I could make a seven veils dance look good...ray:

 

[Zorba]

How do they hold em all at once? :think:

You don't. You wrap most or all of them, and remove them one at a time as part of your dance. My plan, if I ever get around to trying this, is to wrap five, and enter with two already "out".

Thinking about this further as I type this, I could then do a more or less "regular" double veil dance but keep rotating veils through it - discard one and unwrap the next. Do single veil dancing at intervals. The possibilities are endless - now you've got me thinking about it again. Hmmm, maybe next Friday nite...

 

[Sara]

:dance: Wohoo! Go for it!

It'd be nice to watch.

 

[Moon]

I don't think we should keep "romantic fantasies" alive just because the audience might like it better. It's just not what real bellydance is. Otherwise why wouldn't we use flying carpets in our dances too?