EGYPTIAN SAIDI DANCE AND DRUMS
Vibrant colours, warmth of the air and of the people, joy, ease of being in the body. That's what I wanted to bring to this film, as it's what I feel and return to again and again.
And inspired by a mosaic floor in a hotel on the West Bank of Luxor.
Accompanied by the fantastic drummers of the Luxor region who live and breathe their music. It's the real thing.
And as usual with my work in Egypt, this was totally improvised. Hamada Fathy and Saleh Dahab took their seats and we just started.
Thanks to Saad Hassan, Frances Ottaway and Kate Smith, and as usual everyone at the El Gezira Hotel.
If you do like it, please feel free to share and I'd be very grateful if you'd 'like' it on YouTube. I don't play the hype game, so any help to encourage YouTube to show it would be great.
Vibrant colours, warmth of the air and of the people, joy, ease of being in the body. That's what I wanted to bring to this film, as it's what I feel and return to again and again.
And inspired by a mosaic floor in a hotel on the West Bank of Luxor.
Accompanied by the fantastic drummers of the Luxor region who live and breathe their music. It's the real thing.
And as usual with my work in Egypt, this was totally improvised. Hamada Fathy and Saleh Dahab took their seats and we just started.
Thanks to Saad Hassan, Frances Ottaway and Kate Smith, and as usual everyone at the El Gezira Hotel.
If you do like it, please feel free to share and I'd be very grateful if you'd 'like' it on YouTube. I don't play the hype game, so any help to encourage YouTube to show it would be great.
EGYPTIAN BALADI
I am really happy to offer up my first film made with director Attique Hanuk. It was a real pleasure to work with a man who understood absolutely what my vision around the dance was. I can't wait to make our next one.
Baladi. Uniquely Egyptian, and a culture which reflects the traditions and values of a way of life rooted in the Egyptian rural way of life. Baladi, meaning of my country, and sometimes called beledi, as it would be pronounced in Arabic.
Our aim with the film was to give the atmosphere of a place where baladi dance might have developed: an internal place, maybe in Cairo, with a hint of the nightclub but before baladi had moved into the oriental/raqs sharqi form.
Baladi is the dance of the Egyptian people and what they would dance together at weddings or family celebrations. My costume reflects this. And the dance I wanted to show is the subtle, less flamboyant dance of a woman happy to dance for herself and the music alone. Til next time .... I hope you enjoy it x
Dancer: Jane Wass
Director: Attique Hanuk
Music: Saltana (CD Saltana on the Tanzraum label).
Many thanks to Claudia Heinle and all at Tanzraum for giving their permission to use this track. Do check out their CDS - they are some of the best around (www.tanz-raum.com).
After a trip cruising down the Nile on our old-style dahabiya, the dancing in this clip puts the focus on expressing the gentler, more subtle aspects of Egyptian music, with the wonderful voice of Hamdy El Sayd plus rebaba, oud, nay and drums
After a trip cruising down the Nile on our old-style dahabiya, the dancing in this clip puts the focus on expressing the gentler, more subtle aspects of Egyptian music, with the wonderful voice of Hamdy El Sayd plus rebaba, oud, nay and drums
A new approach to dancing to Arabic drums, with live music from Guy Schalom and Aly El Minyawi.
Filmed at the Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden, London
Filmed at the Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden, London
Baladi - the urban folk dance and music of Egypt. Closely related to Raqs Sharqi, but still keeping the simplicity and basic form of the folk art of the Egyptian people. I was invited to perform at the CD launch of the Baladi Blues Ensemble's second cd (Tribute to the Masters) at St Ethelburga's, London.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m6n2Nu2PK0
