A Brief History of Middle Eastern Dance
by Blackwillow
Middle Eastern Dance has wide and varied origins. It is possible that the dance can be traced back to various cultures across the region called the Middle East, all of which developed their own way of articulating through dance the varied emotions that we human beings possess.
There are those who would ascertain that Middle Eastern Dance (MED) has ritual roots, others believe that the movements simulate those generated by a woman giving birth. Many take these ideas to be truth, based only on wall paintings or ritual objects. As it’s too tenuous to make this link and accept it as reality one can only surmise the actual origin of the dance. What should be held as a truth is the commonality of dance through-out the world as a means of communication, enjoyment, flirtation, celebration and reverence.
In Egypt the Ghawazee were uneducated women who danced as street performers. An entirely different class of dancer was called the Awalim (pl). An Almeh (singular) was a woman who had been trained in the art of dance and music. They often played the oud and would arrive with a list of songs and poems that they could play and recite for you. You could add an Almeh to your household for a price.
Both classes of dancers had a very different style of dance. For the most part the dance was traditionally done by the Awalim for women; the separation of sexes and the veiling of women predate Islam and can be traced back to the Byzantine period. The Ghawazee, as street dancers, would perform for whoever was watching, men and women alike.
During the Ottoman reign in Egypt there was a great surge in tourism, as well as the military who occupied the lands. This meant that infidels now had more than ample opportunity to see Muslim women. This embarrassed and angered the ruler of the time, Mohammed Ali, who exiled the dancers to Esna in southern Egypt, to solve his problem. During this time, many artists whom we refer to as Orientalist painters visited Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia (among other various Middle Eastern countries). They painted many beautiful pieces depicting dancers and harems. Since these artists were not usually allowed into the harem, their paintings are sensual, fantastical and do not depict the real life situations of the women they purport to show, bu they none the less provided a visual refernece that many adhere to as "factual" to this day.
In the 1890’s, the worlds fair introduced Middle Eastern dance to the western world. Sol Bloom at the Chicago Worlds Fair sensationally called it belly dance to entice people to come along and watch, and it worked, ensuring that the Midway Plaisance became the most popular area for tourists to the attraction. The dancers who danced at the worlds fair were not dressed as you would see most Middle Eastern dancers today. They were fully clothed in long dresses with simply a piece of cloth tied about their hips. The modern two piece costumes (that were originally inspired by Hollywood depictions) did not appear until much later.
Old Hollywood films show women for the first time with bare midriffs, a fancy bra like top and an embellished belt around their waist. This style then travelled back to Egypt where they made the final transition to the costume of the day where they lowered the belt to sit at the hips instead of the waist. This showed the moves much better. In the 1920’s, Egypt again followed in America's footsteps when they began making movies with dancers. A seminal figure in the Classical Era or Golden Era of Middle Eastern Dance was entrepreneur Badia Masabni, a Lebanese dancer, actress and singer. As more and more western influenced and tourist serving night-clubs opened up in Cairo, Badia’s Casino Opera became an important hub for dancers and the development of the dance as we know it today. Badia helped to introduce choreography, as before that dancers would always (as they had always done) improvise. She began to teach groups of dancers choreographies that had a more western appeal and that could be appreciated by a bigger audience, and from those groups individual dancers began to take centre stage.
Some of the biggest dancers got their start at Casino Opera, which featured Samia Gamal, Tahia Carioca, Naima Akef (albeit very briefly), and many more. Many of these dancers now feature in compilations of their film performances – many were multi-talented and could dance, sing and act. The Egyptian film industry was highly influenced by Hollywood and it should be noted that the true folk origins of Middle Eastern Dance are not recorded before this period.
In the 1950's Folkloric and story dances were starting to die out and were put on a stage to be kept alive. In Cairo, nightclubs began to blossom and produce some of the most famous dancers of all time. Among these dancers were Souhair Zaki, Noha, Aza Zharif, Nagua Fouad, Nadia Hamdi, Fifi Abdou, and Raqia Hassan.
Here in the west we are now in a situation where we (once we start to look) are inundated with cultures to look to if we choose a form of Middle Eastern Dance to study. Whether your study is from a hobbyist point of view, that of someone that dances for a hobby but cannot help but be drawn deeper in, or as someone who has chosen to make dancing their career it is important to make sure that you understand the different roots and routes that the dance has taken. Even at a small Hafla or event it’s important to know whether your costume is appropriate to your music choice, whether your music choice is appropriate to the moves you are using, and whether you understand some of the nuances of the dance today.
What remains a constant is that the dance will continue to be danced, whether by Egyptians, Lebanese, Greeks or those of us in the west that are entranced by its possibilities and forms.
References
Van Nieuwkerk, Karin, A Trade Like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1995.
www.venusbellydance.com/documents/Cairo-Mother-of-Dance.doc
www.belly-dance.org
www.hossamramzy.com
www.serpentine.org
Al-Ahram Weekly: www.weekly.ahram.org.eg
www.gildedserpent.com/art31/Debatef.htm