Dances of Egypt

What the back of the video says:
In Egypt, music and dance performances are the highlight of every celebration, especially the wedding feast. This 6-minute video gives an intimate view of a variety of these entertainments, with glimpses of the countryside, the people and their lifestyles.

The performances take place in cities, towns and villages throughout many parts of Egypt, and were filmed or recorded by Aisha Ali between 1971 and 1988. Considering the changes that have occurred since the filming began, much of the material has important archival value.

It begins in Cairo iwth a wedding procession - or zaffah - which is followed by a belly dancer performing for wedding guests at a modern hotel; and an example of the traditional awalem style of dance. Concluding this section is a remarkable zar ritual, and a cabaret versionof a whirling Darweesh dance.

Travelling between Cairo and Tanta, there are brief views of the farmlands and the fellahin at their daily chores. At Alexandria, a fascinating variety of dancers, singers and musicians perform at several different wedding celebrations.

In Upper Egypt (the Saeed) there are presentations of the Tahtib - a combat dance performed with quarterstaves that dates back to Pharaonic times; a dancing horse; a men's cane dance, and a Saeedi version of the bambutiya dance from Port Said. Especially interesting are several performances of the Banaat Maazin, a family of Nawar (Gypsies) that has been settled in Thebes for hundreds of years. They are some of the much-talked-about Ghawazee, a term used to describe the public dancing girls of Egypt who perform acccording to old traditions.

Musicians and ethnomusicologists will be interested in the variety of urban and folkloric ensembles that accompany the dancers, including some excellent examples of Rais Qinnawi's mizmar and tabl baladi group, playing for the Banaat Maazin in 1974, 1977, and again in 1983.

The two dances performed by Aisha Ali on this video were recorded in 1991.