A bit of a rant about the old Western influence chestnut... A lot of my research revolves around debunking the commonly repeated narrative that Egyptian raqs sharqi emerged in response to Western demand and influence. Were Western elements incorporated into raqs sharqi as it emerged and evolved in Egypt? Of course! But I argue that those Western elements were adapted to Egyptian aesthetics and agendas. Raqs sharqi was not merely a blind copy of Western Orientalist fantasy dance and costume, nor was it a product created to please American and European audiences. Food for thought: compare these clips... First, here is a clip of a dancer from the 1930 Laurel and Hardy film La Vida Nocturna, which was a Spanish-language re-make of their film Blotto. Discussions of this film variously call her a belly dancer, an exotic dancer, or a hoochee coochee dancer. https://youtube/watch?v=j2T1ni0I9NQ Second, here is a very young Taheya Carioca from the 1936 Egyptian film Ghafir Al Darak. vimeo/103493381 I would argue that, other than sharing a few core-based movements and some costuming similarities (more on that later), the technique and aesthetic of these two dances have little in common. The dance style of the woman in the Laurel and Hardy film looks like a natural evolution from that of the hoochee coochee dancers who had become popular in early 20th century American burlesque, vaudeville, and sideshows - their styles incorporating an amalgam of movements from the various Middle Eastern dancers who had been on display at the Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1893. Compare, for example, the so-called Turkish dance performance of American-born vaudeville entertainer Ella Lola: https://youtube/watch?v=jj6p_jDrMBE By contrast, Taheyas dance has a subtle, subdued aesthetic. Her stance is more erect, her legs are held closer together, and she incorporates a range of core movements in an organic, seamless way that would become the hallmark of Golden Era raqs shaqi. Also, the emphasis in her dance is on core movement at the expense of traveling movements. Regarding the costuming, both share a bare-navel look with sheer skirt. However, Taheya is wearing a vest-like top, a style shared by her Egyptian contemporaries and with precedent in earlier Egyptian dance costuming, as opposed to the floating cups of the dancer in the Laurel and Hardy film. In my contribution to the recent Gilded Serpent Belly Dance Reader Volume 2, I argue that (and I quote myself, ha ha): ...it is clear that precedents for the bedleh did exist in the costuming of Egyptian dancers well before the 1930s. Moreover, the range of representations of the “Oriental dancer” by Westerners at the dawn of the twentieth century erodes the argument that a well-defined “bedleh” was invented in the West and then adopted by Egyptian dancers. What seems more likely is that Egyptian dancers integrated appealing aspects of Western theatrical fashion in ways that suited the existing Egyptian costuming style and aesthetic. Thus, while the diaphanous, revealing skirts and glitzy tops and belts of the 1930s suggest a nod to Western theatrical fashion, these elements were absorbed into the existing indigenous costume template of top, bare or barely covered navel, hip belt, and skirt. I have soooo much more to say on all of this...but I think it might have to happen in a book... (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 18:23:35 +0000
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