Now That's What I Call Shaabi!
- Thread starter Suheir
- Start date
*elly belly*
New member
omigosh i just got back from living in norway for 2 years last august! i cant believe i missed this! was madam qadam there? she was my first and best teacher!
lizaj
New member
Er...shaabi is somewhat more downmarket..close to ordinary folks and can be danced in more or less shades of cheekiness.
Sharki is theatricalized, danse orientale.
I don't suppose everyone sees shaabi as a performing dance more for partaking of but it can be very entertaining and it is now taught over here. Been to a workshop and Love it!
Shaabi music is BIG, not acceptable to your upper classes in Egypt (or at least they don't let on) Lyrics in the songs can be very rude or very political and you have to be verycareful in your choice of performance piece. there's a fair bit of shaabi on BDSS compilations. Hakim is not always counted as he's a tad upmarket. Ahmed Adeweia and Said el Sogheir are to look for.
In a shaabi workshop with Mohammed Khazafy he said "I cannot translate this, it is very bad street Egyptian!"
Shaabi dancing is characterised by its slight vulgarity, which Helene is enhancing by the gum-chewing, the moves such as the chest-heaves and the hand and arm movements such as the arm-waving and the movements where she has pointy fingers, but it's mainly recognisable by the attitude. The typically-Egyptian pull-in and juiciness in the abdomen are present but some of the moves are bigger and less-refined, especially when they involve sticking the bum out!
If it's not done properly it *can* just look vulgar and tasteless but Helene has the cutesiness and cheekiness to pull it off. The video clip of the small Egyptian boy dancing in the street that was doing the rounds a while ago was perfect shaabi!
I don't remember her performing in either of the shows in Oslo but I did see her perform an excellent sword dance at the Stockholm Belly Dance Festival.
lizaj
New member
Oh believe me, I know folks who have seen it danced in Cairo in such a manner that there was nothing slight about it!:lol:
Heh! We Europeans could never countenance such displays! Witness this Hilal-style "shaabi":
PriscillaAdum
New member
I love that first clip. The dancer is so cute. The second clip looks very different.
There's a also clip of DaVid dancing Shaabi, which has always been one of my favorites.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WzQw_yyMJTg
Now my question is: Why is everyone wearing headscarfs? Is that part of the typical shaabi costume? AND....who has a good instructional shaabi video?
Regards
Priscilla
There's a also clip of DaVid dancing Shaabi, which has always been one of my favorites.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WzQw_yyMJTg
Now my question is: Why is everyone wearing headscarfs? Is that part of the typical shaabi costume? AND....who has a good instructional shaabi video?
Regards
Priscilla
Oh, yeah, DaVid does great shaabi! I took a shaabi workshop with him when he was here about 3 years ago, he had us travelling about doing the bouncy walk and chest-heaves for aaaages..the pain! :lol:
The headscarves are part of the regulation Hilal "uniform", together with the floor-length galabeya to ensure you really can't see what your instructor's feet are doing.
I've never seen a shaabi instructional video - you've spotted a gap in the market. I love beautiful, classical, raqs sharqi, of which Suha Azar is the best exponent I've seen but I also love really down'n'dirty shaabi. I think they're both equally as difficult!
Aisha Azar
New member
Dance, etc.
Dear Suheir,
She is ADORABLE!!!! and DaVid does do good shaabi. One thing I like about him is that he is very distinct in his styling and from from one dance to another. In other words, his Banghara does not look exactly like is Sharghi. I like David very much as a person and as a dancer.
In our next show, some of my dancers are doing a shaabi dance to the Azooza song.
The number will be called "Arabian MTV", because it is definitely staged shaabi as opposed to street shaabi.
Dear Priscilla,
The "costume" for shaabi is whatever the people happen to have on when they are dancing. It probably mostly does not include headscarves.
Regards,
A'isha
Dear Suheir,
She is ADORABLE!!!! and DaVid does do good shaabi. One thing I like about him is that he is very distinct in his styling and from from one dance to another. In other words, his Banghara does not look exactly like is Sharghi. I like David very much as a person and as a dancer.
In our next show, some of my dancers are doing a shaabi dance to the Azooza song.
The number will be called "Arabian MTV", because it is definitely staged shaabi as opposed to street shaabi.
Dear Priscilla,
The "costume" for shaabi is whatever the people happen to have on when they are dancing. It probably mostly does not include headscarves.
Regards,
A'isha
It is indeed, or "Raks Starchy", as they're known in certain quarters. I have to admit that it was that clip that reminded me of Wilson, Keppel and Betty! :lol:
Aisha Azar
New member
Hilal Method
Dear Suheir,
Now, that was video of a Hilal class, right? I am wondering if there is a dress code for her classes because everyone is wearing a ton of stuff. I guess I am used to teaching classes where people are dressed down. The movement patterns there were lovely, but it did not look like Shaabi...???
Regards,
A'isha
PS: Years ago I took a class from a WONDERFUL Egyptian dancer named Kay Artle. I think she was from Sweden. It was a very influential class for me and I thought Kay was an amazing teacher as well as a great dancer. I have heard that she joined the Hilal movement. I hate to seem narrow in my scope, but I do not see what the allure would be for a dancer of Kay's caliber.
Regards,
A'isha
Dear Suheir,
Now, that was video of a Hilal class, right? I am wondering if there is a dress code for her classes because everyone is wearing a ton of stuff. I guess I am used to teaching classes where people are dressed down. The movement patterns there were lovely, but it did not look like Shaabi...???
Regards,
A'isha
PS: Years ago I took a class from a WONDERFUL Egyptian dancer named Kay Artle. I think she was from Sweden. It was a very influential class for me and I thought Kay was an amazing teacher as well as a great dancer. I have heard that she joined the Hilal movement. I hate to seem narrow in my scope, but I do not see what the allure would be for a dancer of Kay's caliber.
Regards,
A'isha
Last edited:
taheya
New member
I attended a Raqs Sharqi summer school last year and I am afraid that it is not for me. I felt there was a distinct suppression of individuality in the school and even for class everybody would put on there long skirts and long tops and scarves around hips (a minor point i guess but it did annoy me!). I not so long ago attended a show by members of this school and you honestly could not tell the difference between the different styles being performed which was disappointing and also made for a dull watch.
However, there are some great performers in this school, I saw a couple of performers at planet egypt who were very good I must admit. Neju I think they were called.
However, there are some great performers in this school, I saw a couple of performers at planet egypt who were very good I must admit. Neju I think they were called.
A'isha: Yes, Kay Artle is Swedish. I'm pretty sure I saw her perform in Stockholm a few years ago and I was rather surprised as Swedish belly dance is mostly out-and-out Oriental.
Taheya: Five years ago I signed up for a short, 4-week course in Egyptian Dance with Adult Ed - I hadn't heard of the teacher but I thought I'd give it a go as it was cheap and convenient. Well, as soon as we started the first warm-up the alarm bells started to ring and I realised that *this* was Hilal-style. I really didn't enjoy it, you weren't allowed to move your arms out of the "basic hoop frame", the movements had names I'd never heard of and the style was so flat-footed and waddly (for want of a better word) that I felt really clumsy. I never went back for the rest of the classes.
About two years later I saw that one of the founders of the RSS was giving lunch time classes so I thought I'd try one of those and see if I still had the same opinion. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my USAPro gym trousers and crop-top with *gasp* bare midriff! The teacher (and the rest of the class) wore an ankle-length skirt so I couldn't see what her feet were doing. We did two short choreographies, one "classical" style and one beladi, but I couldn't see any difference in the styles.
One of the problems with the RSS movement vocabulary is that everything is set in stone and because Egyptians never really danced, or dance like that, there is no progression and no following of fashions and there are no innovations.
Taheya: Five years ago I signed up for a short, 4-week course in Egyptian Dance with Adult Ed - I hadn't heard of the teacher but I thought I'd give it a go as it was cheap and convenient. Well, as soon as we started the first warm-up the alarm bells started to ring and I realised that *this* was Hilal-style. I really didn't enjoy it, you weren't allowed to move your arms out of the "basic hoop frame", the movements had names I'd never heard of and the style was so flat-footed and waddly (for want of a better word) that I felt really clumsy. I never went back for the rest of the classes.
About two years later I saw that one of the founders of the RSS was giving lunch time classes so I thought I'd try one of those and see if I still had the same opinion. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my USAPro gym trousers and crop-top with *gasp* bare midriff! The teacher (and the rest of the class) wore an ankle-length skirt so I couldn't see what her feet were doing. We did two short choreographies, one "classical" style and one beladi, but I couldn't see any difference in the styles.
One of the problems with the RSS movement vocabulary is that everything is set in stone and because Egyptians never really danced, or dance like that, there is no progression and no following of fashions and there are no innovations.
lizaj
New member
:lol::lol::lol::lol:
Dear me......wipe my tears away..that sure doesn't look like the version I've been taught ( aka seedy Cairo nightclub)
And to Ghawazee music.
I'll whisper across the waves...a mate of mine got took to a Suraya concert and had to be nudged to keep awake. You don't get that effect with Dina and her Shaabi singer.....
And do NOT get me wrong. I dance with RS trained dancers and they are lovely, so elegant and disciplined but then they are probably breaking some rules somewhere by being FUN!
lizaj
New member
:lol::lol::lol::lol:
Dear me......wipe my tears away..that sure doesn't look like the version I've been taught ( aka seedy Cairo nightclub)
And to Ghawazee music.
I'll whisper across the waves...a mate of mine got took to a Suraya concert and had to be nudged to keep awake. You don't get that effect with Dina and her Shaabi singer.....
And do NOT get me wrong. I dance with RS trained dancers and they are lovely, so elegant and disciplined but then they are probably breaking some rules somewhere by being FUN!
PS nor the version I was dancing away with everyone last night!