Chapter 10
From Baladi to Belly Dance: Rhythm,
Dance, and Music in Egypt and Beyond
Introduction
This chapter is about women’s solo dance traditions of the
Middle East and their music, centering primarily on Egypt.
There are three domains of dance:
Raqs baladi is “folk dance,” and encompasses the
traditional styles associated with women’s social
gatherings and rituals.
Raqs sharqi, or “oriental dance,” is the professional
entertainment medium of women’s dance, usually
associated with weddings, nightclubs, and cabarets.
Belly dance is the generic term used in the West to
describe all Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern-derived
forms of women’s dance.
Egypt: An Overview
The Arab Republic of Egypt is located in northeastern Africa
and has a population of over 70 million. The Arabic language
and Islam are unifying features, and there are broad similarities
between this area and the rest of the Middle East.
Large diasporic Arab populations in North America, Europe,
and elsewhere connect Middle Eastern nations culturally and
politically to other regions.
Ancient Egypt and the
Rise of Arab-Islamic Culture
The Ancient Egyptian civilization was established approximately
5,000 years ago and flourished for over 2,000 years. Many of the
foundations of modern societies—agricultural cultivation, citystates, writing, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, architecture—
have their roots in Ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt declined around 1070 BCE and succumbed to a
series of invaders. Around the 7th century CE, Egypt became
part of a large Arab-Islamic empire.
The modal system of the maqam has existed for many
centuries. It uses a palette of pitches and employs as many as
24 per scale. Musical performances normally begin and end in
the same maqam, but may travel or modulate throughout.
The takht ensemble consists of five instruments: the ‘ud, the
qanun, the nay, the violin, and the riqq.
CD ex. #1-15 featured maqam-based music performed by a
takht ensemble.
The ‘ud is shaped like a half pear and uses five pairs of strings,
which are plucked or strummed.
The qanun is a plucked zither with a trapezoidal shape.
The violin is played under the chin as in conventional Western
style, but in Morocco is often balanced vertically on the left
knee and bowed like a cello.
The nay is a type of end-blown flute made typically from
bamboo or cane.
The riqq is an Arab tambourine.
Insights and
Perspectives
Iraqi Rock:
Acrassicauda’s
Only the Dead See
the End of the War
Acrassicauda is a heavy metal band formed in war-torn
Baghdad, Iraq. It rose to fame as the subject of a 2007
documentary entitled Heavy Metal in Baghdad, produced by
Spike Jonze.
In 2006, the members of the band fled Iraq and settled in the
United States. Lorraine Ali notes, “Acrassicauda does have
one advantage over most heavy-metal groups – its members
have actually lived the words they scream and growl. War is
common fodder among thrash bands, but when [lead singer]
Mustafa rails in ‘Message From Baghdad,’ ‘Is it God’s will or
just a lie?/People live and others die/Never had the chance and
they never will/Forever doomed as I wonder why,’ it’s full of
an urgency and realism rarely heard in rock music today.”
The Foundations of Egyptian
Women’s Dance
The Ghawazi Tradition
Ghawazi are hereditary families of dancers, and their dance
lineages track back several generations.
The term ghawazi originally referred to a hereditary class of
dancers, but is now applied to virtuall all professional female
dancers in Egypt and throughout the Middle East.
The word means “outsider” or “invader,” impying that the
female dancer who dances in the company of men for profit is a
figure tied to marginality.
Zaar: Egyptian Women’s Dance
in a Healing Ritual
The Zaar Ritual
The cultural performance known as the zaar intrigued many
foreign visitors to Egypt from Europe. It is an ancient healing
ritual rooted in shamanistic practice and involving spirit
possession and trance.
Zaar is mainly a domain of women, though men may participate,
especially as musicians.
The zaar ritual centers on the power of the jinn, a magically
empowered spirit being. Women are viewed as susceptible to
possession by a jinn, and if possessed, will be afflicted by
illness. A zaar ritual is one method of convincing a jinn to
depart a possessed woman.
Negotiation with the jinn is handled by the woman who leads
the ceremony. She strikes her large frame drum and strikes it
against herself to induce a state of trance.
Music is crucial to the zaar ritual, and the correct songs and
rhythms must be performed to convince the spirit to depart.
The afflicted woman enters a state of trance and dances the
spirit out of herself, employing a violent and unrestrained style
of dance.
Musical Guided
Tour
Demonstration of Dum and Tek
Drum
Strokes
Follow along with the transcript on page 292 of the text as you
listen to the audio Tour for this chapter, which is
Music, Dance, Nationalism, and Mass
Media Entertainment in 20th-Century
Egypt
In 1920, the Egyptian people were engaged in a revolutionary
struggle for independence from British rule. Music and
musical theater figured prominently in this struggle.
Balance was desired between that which was authentically
Egyptian-Arab, that which was new and useful, and that which
succeeded in living up to political and cultural challenges.
The Contributions of Badiaa Masabni
Badiaa Masabni contributed much to Egyptian women’s dance.
Under the reign of King Faruq beginning in 1922, women’s
dance at casino-theaters became enormously popular. Masabni
was a great syncretizer and modernizer, and she used the arms
and torso prominently in her cosmopolitan, foreign-influenced
dance vocabulary. Additionally, larger floor spaces were now
employed than previously.
In the lavish Casino Badiaa theater, the Hollywoodesque
“Oriental” dance costume– sequined bra, bare midriff, and a
low-slung skirt–became the norm, along with music combining
Western and Arab elements to accompany the dance shows.
Dance, Music, and the
Egyptian Film Industry
The Egyptian film industry emerged in Cairo in the late 1920s
and the city’s huge mass media entertainment industry grew.
The films used romantic plot lines, glamorous characters, and
grand dance spectacles featuring thickly orchestrated music.
Virtually all prolific artists in Egypt became stars of the film and
stage. Distinctions between “high art” and “popular
entertainment” were not strongly emphasized in Egyptian
culture.
Muhammad ‘Abd al-Wahhab
and Samia Gamal
Egyptian media stars experienced a golden age from the 1930s to
the 1960s.
The composer Muhammad ‘Abd al-Wahhab began as a singer
and soon became a film actor, composer, and producer. He
wrote for Umm Kulthum and is widely regarded as “the greatest
Arab modernist of the twentieth century” in the area of music.
The dancer Samia Gamal was reportedly the first Egyptian
dancer to use a veil, danced in high heels, and syncretized
Western and Middle Eastern techniques.
Insights and
Perspectives
Accidental Innovations
Some of Samia Gamal’s dance innovations were humorously
happenstance.
She was encouraged to dance with a veil by a ballet teacher
from Russia with whom she worked, who felt that holding a
veil would improve her arm carriage. Due to her influence, veil
dancing became common to the style.
As for wearing high heels, Gamal, who was raised in poverty,
claimed she started doing it by virtue of the simple fact that she
could afford the shoes and wanted people to know it. Again,
she was widely emulated, so that dancing in heels became
common after Gamal.
The Post-Independence Era
Egyptians in the 1950s grew weary of King Faruq and what
they considered his puppet monarchy. Britain’s continuing
stronghold over Egypt continued, and the Jewish state of
Israel was declared in 1948. Faruq’s failure in the 1948 war
against Israel devastated Egyptian national pride.
Egypt’s “bloodless revolution” took place in 1952, led by the
Egyptian military commander Gamal ‘Abd al-Nasser. Faruq
and the monarchy fell, British troops departed, and the Arab
Republic of Egypt was declared in 1952.
Cultural Nationalism and the Baladi Folk
Ideal in Post-Revolutionary Egypt
‘Abd al-Nasser’s cultural nationalism promoted Egyptian
baladi, or “folk” culture. There were ambitious initiatives
aimed at preserving and cultivating “authentic folk culture.”
Much music, dance, and folk ritual flourished.
The world of professional female dance entertainment
suffered greatly. Growing anti-Western sentiment and the
institution of Arab-Islamic mores contributed to the closing of
many entertainment establishments.
Muhammad ‘Abd al-Wahhab and Umm Kulthum benefited
under ‘Abd al-Nasser’s patronage as they were touted as
icons of the “common Egyptian people.”
Farida Fahmy and the Reda Troupe
In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Farida Fahmy
transcended the conventional image of the Egyptian female
dancer and rose to national fame. She was the star dancer of
the Reda Troupe, a pioneering folkloric group.
Fahmy and her troop were promoted by ‘Abd al-Nasser and
were showcased at events to emphasize “the integrity, validity,
and artistic worth of indigenous Egyptian culture….” A
certain irony is present in the prevalent influence of Western
aesthetics in the Reda Troupe’s approach.
Folk Dance Rhythms in
Raqs Sharqi and Belly Dance
Folkloric groups like the Reda Troupe had great influence over
the world of raqs sharqi and international belly dance. Many
folk dance rhythms featured in their shows became
commonplace across the spectrum of raqs sharqi and belly
dance.
Fallahi is an upbeat rhythm used to accompany songs of
celebration. It is lively and played in a quick, two-beat tempo.
Saaidi connotes the traditional folk culture of certain regions of
rural Egypt and is associated with an Egyptian martial art known
as tahtib.
Tahtib opponents wield a long, thick bamboo sword or stave. It
functions more as a pastime than true combat, and strict rules
ensure avoidance of injury or death.
Raqs bil-’asaya, or dance with stick,is commonly performed
before or after a tahtib match. It allows players to demonstrate
skill and musicality.
Women perform a version of this dance, as well. The women’s
cane dance is derived from tahtib, and is a playful parody of
the martial arts form.
The Tabla Solo Dance
Tabla Solo is a genre of solo dance, first popularized by the
Egyptian dancer Nagwa Fu’ad and her tabla accompanist
Ahmed Hammouda in the 1970s. (Note: Do not confuse
Egyptian tabla with Indian tabla of Ch. 8)
Today, it is typical to include a Tabla Solo number as a
standard feature in raqs sharqi and belly dance performances,
often as the climactic number of the routine.
Tabla Solo in a
Raqs Sharqi Dance Routine
In the Tabla Solo dance, the dancer and the solo tabla player (or
the dancer and an ensemble of percussionists led by its tabla
player) engage in a playful duet.
The dancer stands next to the tabla player and moves specific
body parts in reaction to the complex musical rhythms.
There is no leader or follower. The musical conversation
between the performers is humorous and flirtatious, and
reactions from the audience can inspire additional playfulness.
Contemporary Belly Dance Music
Contemporary belly dance music and its culture are profusely
international and cosmopolitan.
Hossam Ramzy, whose music is featured throughout the
chapter, co-created and produced the clever arrangement of
“La Cucaracha” heard in CD ex. #4-22 (the opening segment
is heard in CD ex. #4-21). Note the malfuf rhythms and ArabEgyptian percussion.
CD ex. #4-23 features “Hou Hou Hou” by Emad Sayyah, a
Lebanese composer (now based in Vienna) who creates
intercultural music. He combines traditional Middle Eastern
instruments with a wide array of Western instruments, and
weaves Middle Eastern dance rhythms into rock, jazz, funk and
Latin-tinged grooves.