This week’s combo is to a well-known and well-loved classic, “Tamr Henna”. This song is from the 1957 Egyptian movie, also called “Tamr Henna”. Naima Akef dances to this song in this famous scene. One thing I love about this scene…. she’s playing finger cymbals! So when you hear someone say “Egyptians dancers don’t play zills”… there you go! But I digress…. our combo this week has lots of footwork and direction changes and accents […]
Who, What and When? “Misirlou” is one of the most recognizable Arabic melodies there is, thanks to modern covers by Dick Dale and more recently, sampling by the Black Eyed Peas. The earliest recorded version is from Egypt in 1919, with credit for the composition given to Sayyed Darwish, a prominent composer in Cairo at the turn of the century. Darwish worked with many Greek and Turkish session musicians there and it is likely that […]
Who, What and When? “Lamma Bada Yatathanna” is a song with a hauntingly beautiful melody. Maybe that is why it is still around! This song is from the era of Moorish Spain, also called the Andalusian era (c. 711-1492). Yes, this song is somewhere between 500-1000 years old and rather than being a piece of obscure history, it is still part of our dance repertoire. It is from the “muwashshat”, or secular music of Al-Andalus. The original […]
Who, What and When? The original version of “Sawah” was recorded by Abdel Halim Hafez, also known as “The dark-skinned nightingale”. The lyrics were written by Mohammed Hamza and the music composed by Baligh Hamdy. It was released somewhere between 1965 and 1969 as it is included in an anthology of those years – the exact year is surprisingly hard to find. What is “Sawah” about? “Sawah” means a wanderer or vagabond. This melancholy […]
We are moving on to #10 from the “Must Know Songs for Bellydancers” list with “Taht Il Shibbak” – a real favorite of mine! Who, What and When? This song first appeared in the Egyptian movie “Laabet el Sitt” (The Lady’s Puppet) in 1946. The music was composed by Asis Osman and they lyrics were written by Badeh Khairy. Taheya Karioca dances to “Taht Il Shibbak” in the movie, accompanied by an ensemble that includes […]