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There is one thing that belly dancers like more then an imaginary dance battle between Samia Gamal and Nelja Ates, it's talking about the things we should or should not do on stage. I thought I'd take matters in my own hands and present you with a couple of arbitrary rules for belly dancers to help you along and hopefully illicit a bit of a giggle along with helpful advice.
This is aimed at everyone who had a couple of belly dance classes, runs into a remixed version of an Oum Kolthoum song and thinks; 'hey, I could do a really cool fusion dance to this song!'. There you go, on the next student hafla you proudly present your wildly imaginative interpretation of this awesome song, to the beat of a badly inserted drum computer.
Had Oum Kolthoum known that her work would be abused like this, she would roll over in her grave and weep.
Oum Kolthoum was the greatest Arab singer in the past century and her work touched millions of people. Her voice was of an uncanny quality, her lyrics deeply moving and the musical composition simply brilliant. Make sure that you know what you are dancing to! Just because someone thought it was a great idea to turn a couple of her songs into a remix doesn't make it suitable for a staged belly dance performance*. It is almost considered blasphemy when a dancer is performing on stage while Oum Kolthoum is singing: who would want to compete with The Voice of Egypt? If you want to use part of an Oum Kolthoum song, there is a rich array of instrumental songs to choose from.
Also, the musical balance of her beautiful arranged music is rudely interrupted by a mechanical beat, thus robbing you of the wonderful experience of hearing her heavenly voice the way nature intended it: in a recording of a full live performance with a full orchestra backing her up and an audience driven to tears. So to all of you I say: respect Oum Kolthoum's music and don't make her weep!
*I like to thank mr. Said Mrad for creating aforementioned remixes, as I gratefully use his remixes for shimmy drills in my class. There is a place and a time for everything.
This is aimed at everyone who had a couple of belly dance classes, runs into a remixed version of an Oum Kolthoum song and thinks; 'hey, I could do a really cool fusion dance to this song!'. There you go, on the next student hafla you proudly present your wildly imaginative interpretation of this awesome song, to the beat of a badly inserted drum computer.
Had Oum Kolthoum known that her work would be abused like this, she would roll over in her grave and weep.
Oum Kolthoum was the greatest Arab singer in the past century and her work touched millions of people. Her voice was of an uncanny quality, her lyrics deeply moving and the musical composition simply brilliant. Make sure that you know what you are dancing to! Just because someone thought it was a great idea to turn a couple of her songs into a remix doesn't make it suitable for a staged belly dance performance*. It is almost considered blasphemy when a dancer is performing on stage while Oum Kolthoum is singing: who would want to compete with The Voice of Egypt? If you want to use part of an Oum Kolthoum song, there is a rich array of instrumental songs to choose from.
Also, the musical balance of her beautiful arranged music is rudely interrupted by a mechanical beat, thus robbing you of the wonderful experience of hearing her heavenly voice the way nature intended it: in a recording of a full live performance with a full orchestra backing her up and an audience driven to tears. So to all of you I say: respect Oum Kolthoum's music and don't make her weep!
*I like to thank mr. Said Mrad for creating aforementioned remixes, as I gratefully use his remixes for shimmy drills in my class. There is a place and a time for everything.
