Clip of a dancer performing at a wedding in Mansoura, in the Nile Delta: https://youtube/watch?v=NWjYb_C4iO8 This is belly dance without all the theatrical trappings that were integrated into the dance from the early 20th century onward. Her dancing bears more in common with that of ghawazee in Egypts rural south than with that of the famous raqasat working in the hotels and cruise boats of Cairo. Note the almost continuous hip work, particularly shimmies, the relaxed arm positions, and the minimal traveling (when she does travel, its usually with a walking shimmy). The solo wind instrument is the mijwiz...another testament to the traditional roots of the performance here...you would rarely see this instrument featured in the urban ensemble of a name belly dancer in Cairo, unless they were deliberately doing a folklore piece. (Traditional instruments like the mijwiz and the arghoul DID turn up in film performances by golden era dancers when they were portraying scenes in working-class or rural settings...see, for example: vimeo/107434951)
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 20:11:59 +0000
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