A Professional - Style/Terminology
By Salome
"A Professional - Primer" outlines the basic traits of a professional. The series is intended to act as a reference to develop said traits. To read previous installments visit the Article Index page and look for the titles "A Professional - ...".
Understands the difference in style
Greater exposure to Oriental dance often leads to the awareness of style diversity within our genre and to folk dances of
the Near and Middle East.
Understandably, inconsistent labels, visual messages and conflicting information can leave a person confused. However, by
representing yourself as
a professional, the public will look to you as an authority. You will be called on to field style questions by your peers,
audience, students, in
conversation with the general public and the press.
To begin, gain familiarity with the terminology attached to dances, inspired by, and from the Near/Middle East. Links have
been provided where possible
for further dissection.
A Folk dance is a style of dance that originated among ordinary people and is traditional to their culture,
community, or country. Examples
include Raks Baladi, Raks al Assaya, Raks al Shemadan, Schikhatt, Guedra, Debke and Raks Al Nasha’ar.
Performance art is a form of theatrical art, usually on a “stage” that features the activity/works of an artist.
Examples include Raks Sharki,
Oryantal Tansi, Belly Dance, Fusion and American Tribal Style.
Raks or Raqs (pronounced "rocks") translates to “dance” and is used in conjunction with a dance style label, for
example, Raks Baladi or Raks Sharki.
American Tribal Style (ATS) is a modern fantasy fusion dance that was incepted by Jamila Salimpour in 1968, San
Francisco, CA. Present day elements include;
costuming that mixes Middle Eastern, Central Asian and East Indian clothing and accessories, music that ranges from
traditional and contemporary Middle Eastern
to techno and club trance, dance movements that dominate are stylized arms, hip work and torso undulations. ATS is usually
performed as a group dance in a highly structured improvisation.
http://www.orientaldancer.net/articles/a_professional_style2.shtml
Cabaret Belly Dance - a cabaret is a late night spot, a nightclub that has a series of acts such as dancers or
singers. The term “cabaret belly dance”
arose in the 1960’s to label the dance style performed by American dancers in the Middle Eastern nightclubs of San
Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.
http://www.orientaldancer.net/articles/a_professional_style2.shtml
Debke (pronounced "DEB kee") is the national folk dance of Lebanon. The dance is executed in a semi-circle with
participants holding hands. The torso is
held upright and the legs/feet are active. Participants may make forward stomps, simple progressive steps, repeated knee
bends, a combined leap and kick and the
marking of a rhythmic pattern with one foot. Leadership of the dance goes to the most talented and experienced dancer of
the group. The leader begins by getting
the line of dancers moving in a simple form with the rhythm. Then he will add flourish to the simple form perhaps with
leaps, and quick turns. He may disengage
from the head of the line to move up and down the debke executing solo steps or to challenge individuals in a ‘dance off’.
It is done by both genders, in women only,
men only, or mixed lines, depending on local tradition.
Fantasy is attached to an artist’s presentation when he or she takes liberties with an ethnic dance form. Perhaps
balletic movement and expression strongly
dominate, or, a “Gypsy” dance is performed based on the artist’s imagination.
Fusion indicates when one or more dance styles have been blended. This could be Flamenco/Oriental, Latin/Oriental or
African/Oriental... Unique labels
often accompany fusion styles. For example, “Afro-Belly” to indicate African dance and Belly dance.
Ghawazee (pronounced "guh WAH zee") refers to the descendents of Rroma or “Gypsies” that migrated to Egypt 350 years
ago. The Ghawazee are known as
professional dancers, entertaining the outdoor festivities of the lower classes. Commonalities in movement are huge hip
swings, hip shimmies layered over other
hip movements, shoulder shimmies, spins and foot stomps to emphasize accents in the music, occasional head slides, back
bends and some floor work. Ghawazee music
is organic in sound, utilizing instruments like the mizmar and rebab with tabla, tar, and finger cymbals for
percussion.
Guedra (pronounced "GEE druh") belongs to the Tuareg Berbers from the Sahara Desert. The guedra act is a blessing
ritual done to give positive energy,
peace and spiritual love to all present. The word itself has several meanings: cauldron/cooking pot, the drum on which the
rhythm is played, the female performer
of the ritual and the ritual itself.
www.orientaldancer.net/articles/guedra.shtml
Hagallah (pronounced “HA - gal - la”) refers to the music, dance and dancer. Originally from Libya, it is performed
by the Bedouin of Western Egypt, often
at wedding festivities. The heavily veiled dancer produces a steady shimmy while walking back and forth in front of a line
of men who clap and chant in unison called
“Keffafeen”. The Keffafeen do not dance except for the one man whom the Hagalla singles out. The dancer may hold a small
stick or handkerchief in hand whose other end
is grasped by the man she singles out while she dances around it. This might be a man who gives her a bracelet as a sort of
proposal but it could just as easily be her
brother. The chanting by the Kaffafeen refers to the coming-of-age of the girl doing the Hagalla.
Melaya Leff (pronounced “me LAY uh lef”) is a playful and somewhat sassy dance. There are two slightly varying
versions, one from Cairo and the other from
Alexandria, Egypt. A melaya is a large black woolen wrap worn by bint il-beled (daughters of the country). The melaya can
be pulled tight, wrapped and unwrapped to
display a female’s figure. Stage versions can be synthetic with sequins. The dancer often wears a tight, short dress and
high heels. The melaya is wrapped around her
body and she makes a great show of wrapping and unwrapping the melaya, while chewing and popping bubble gum.
Raks al Assaya (pronounced "rocks all uh SI yuh") is the term for the female cane dance done in a charming and
playful imitation of the male dance Tahtiyb
(pronounced "tah TEEB"). Tahtiyb is a martial arts dance in which men enact fighting with long sticks. Both dances
originated from the southern region of Egypt also
known as Upper Egypt or the Said.
Raks Baladi, Beledi, Beledy or Balady (pronounced "rocks BELL uh dee") is the solo dance of Egyptian women.
Variants of which are indigenous to parts of North
Africa and the Middle East. Raks baladi is not seen as performance but as a social/celebratory activity that women
enjoy in the home and at celebrations, weddings in
particular. It is done with abandon in women only settings and, depending on the party goers, in mixed gender celebrations
as well. The dance is a more basic form of
Egyptian raks sharki, more stationary, with hip movements being predominate. As an aside, the word baladi translates to
“country”, as in ‘my country’ or ‘my hometown’.
In the U.S. baladi is commonly used to label a rhythm whose Egyptian name is maqsoum. In Egypt a ‘sophisticated’ city
dweller may derogatorily call someone (or something)
baladi, as in redneck or hick.
Raks Al Nasha'ar (pronounced "rocks all nuh SHAH ar") is a social dance, done strictly by and for women, in the
Persian Gulf. Sometimes referred to as Khaleegy,
Khaleeji or Khaliji (pronounced "kuh LEE jee".) Khaleegy means Gulf in Arabic and refers to the countries of the Persian
Gulf region. The trademarks of this dance are
gliding steps, lovely hair tossing, and hand movements that utilize the dress worn for this dance called thobe
nasha’ar.
Raks Sharki or Raqs Sharqi (pronounced "rocks SHARK-ee") translates to “dance of the orient” or “oriental dance”. It
refers to the performance art version of
raks baladi and its variants, what the West often associates as Belly dance. Raks sharki developed primarily in Egypt but
also in Lebanon and Turkey.
Other labels for Raks Sharki include Oryantal tansi (the Turkish label), Middle Eastern, Mid Eastern, Mid Eastern
Oriental, Near East, Oriental and Belly dance.
www.orientaldancer.net/articles/a_name_a_notion.shtml
Schikhatt, Shikhatt, Shakhatt or Chikhat (pronounced "SHE kaht") is from Morocco. It is an erotic dance done for a
bride in her sex segregated pre-wedding
festivities. It is acted out by a sheikha (meaning one with carnal knowledge extensive enough to teach others) and her all
female group of schikhatt musicians and
dancers. The sheikha’s purpose is to educate the bride on how she will be expected to move in the marriage bed. Moroccan
city women have more recently used schikhatt as a diversion by and for each other.
www.orientaldancer.net/articles/schikhatt.shtml
Shemadan or Shamadan (pronounced "SHAH muh dahn") translates to “candelabrum” in Arabic. Raks al Shemadan refers to
the Egyptian dance traditionally performed during the wedding procession and reception called a Zeffa.
www.orientaldancer.net/articles/shemadan.shtml
Whirling Dervish - the mystical poet Mevlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi, commonly known as Rumi, founded the Order of the
Whirling Dervishes in the 13th century Ottoman
Empire. The order is a branch of the Sufi tradition of Islam. The ritual whirling is done to empty the dervish dancer of
his conscious mind, and place him in a trance
wherein the dervish recognizes his relationship to God and the universe.
References
Morocco and the Casbah dance company repertoire
Hagallah FAQ authored by Morocco
Naiilah Glossary
Shira Glossary
Jalilah Raks Sharki website
"Lebanon Land of the Cedars" by Marie Karam Khayat and Margaret Clark Keatinge
Encarta Encylapedia - Whirling Dervish