Archive for September, 2011
Egyptian Music All Serious Bellydancers Should Know
Every serious dancer should be familiar with the classics. Sahra Saeeda advises everyone to learn at least 3 that you know inside and out. In Cairo there were four classic, top singers, including Oum Kalthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Farid al-Atrash. Many of the songs they composed and/or sung were romantic love songs, as well as patriotic and religious songs. Of course, you probably want to stick with the romantic love songs, so you’ll want to know the gist of what a song is about before dancing to it. Also, never dance with the voice of Om Kalthoum, although it’s okay to dance with instrumental versions of her songs and okay to dance during the parts where she is not singing. Most of these songs will be known by Egyptian bands and are the most well know in Cairo and the Arab world. When dancing to a live band, whether performing or just casually dancing along, it’s a lot easier when you are familiar with the songs they play. A belly dancer knowing the most popular dance songs is like a photographer knowing his lenses or a writer knowing other authors. Well, here’s a great place to start. When looking for these songs, remember that there are many ways to spell these Arabic words and there is no right way. So, you may have to sound it out yourself and try various spellings.
Classics sung by Oum Kalthoum:
Alf Layla Wa Layla (One Thousand One Nights) – opening piece
Lissa Fakir (Do You Still Remember)
Ana Fi Intizarak
Leylet Hob, Ente Omry, Fakarouni by Mohammed Abdul Wahab
Classics sung and/or composed by Mohammed Abdul Wahab:
Aziza – Opening piece
Leylet Hob – Opening piece
Zeina – middle of routine
Ente Omry- composed for Oum Kalthoum; great veil song
Nebtedi Mnein al Hikaya (Where do we begin our story)
Fakarouni
Classics sung by Abdel Halim Hafez:
Zay el Hawa by – Opening piece
Habena (Love Us)
Sawah (The Wanderer)
Nebtedi Mnein al Hikaya (Where do we begin our story)
Gana el Hawa (Love has come our way)
Bahlam Beek (I Saw You in My Dream)
Classics composed and sung by Farid al-Atrash:
Gamil Gamal (Beautiful Dancer)
Habena (Love Us)
Hizzy ya Nawaem (Shake it Little Delicate One) middle of routine
Other popular songs:
Princess of Cairo or Banat Iskandria – Opening piece
Set el Hosen – Opening piece
Mashaal by Mokhtar Al Said – Opening piece
Batwanness Beek (You are always with me) -Made popular by Warda El
…..Gaza’iriya -Opening piece
Tamr Henna by Mohamed Fawzi – famous recording by Faiza Ahmad -
…..Opening piece
Hani – Opening piece
Ah Ya Zein – middle of routine
Nour el Ain (Darling You Are the Glow in my Eyes) -sung by Amr Diab –
…..middle of routine
Ayoub – song by Ahmed Fouad Hassan – finale
Touta -song by Mazen Salha- finale
Visit www.maqam.com for the most extensive list of classics which can be purchased as mp3s.
Dahlal has a collection of 14 songs every belly dancer should know, which includes many of the songs listed above. Dahlal lists CDs for purchase containing these songs.http://www.dahlal.com/default.aspx?n=20.1
For a basic translation of many Arabic songs, visit shira.net
For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
