Top 3 - list of my favourites Arabic songs
When I started taking oriental dance lessons, I didn't know a single Arabic song. However, as time went on, my playlist of Arabic songs got longer and longer. Their music is really diverse and beautiful, so if you haven't listened to a single song yet, check out my recommendations, I'm sure you'll like at least one.
Now, I don't only listen to Arabic music when I dance, but also in my free time, I like to listen to both older and newer hits.
So here is my top list of Arabic songs:
1. Amr Diab - Habibi Ya Omri
https://youtu.be/TYGSo3v0I8E
2. Wael Kfoury - Ya Dalli Ya Rouhi
https://youtu.be/EMWNavH6qrQ
3. Nancy Ajram - Ah W Noss
https://youtu.be/Zgz8ybG6l-U
Do you know some arabic song? Which one?
If you like this kind of posts I can do my weekly list of favourites songs. Let me know and thanks for reading. Yalla ❤️
*Lead image source: unsplash.com*
My first belly dance performance
(part 3)
Since we were beginners, we didn't have dance costumes, and it was too late to sew or buy anything, so we agreed with the teacher to wear white skirts and a top to match the colour of the scarf. I chose the white-pink combination.
We arrived earlier at the restaurant, where the concert was held, in order to prepare and do the final rehearsal, etc. I was really excited, and I had a huge nervousness. Not so much because of the guests, but because of the other girls who have been there for years and dance perfectly. But they were very kind to us beginners and gave us tips for the upcoming performance.
The guests were slowly arriving, the seats were being filled, the noise was getting louder, and the nervousness was getting bigger. "Uh, just so I don't forget the choreography," I thought. Just at that moment, I see the teacher waving at me and calling for a dress rehearsal. All the girls have settled on the stage, it remains to try the choreography a few more times and that's it, the concert is about to start. After the rehearsal, we went backstage and since most of the girls were wearing socks, the teacher reminded us not to forget to take off our socks when we went on stage. I thought to myself, I'm not going to take them off now, I'll wait a little longer. And yes, that was a big mistake.
I'm peeking from backstage, mom and dad have come. There they are, in the second row, near the stage. Dad looks around, sees where he came to, and what is happening. He looks out to see where I am, finally looks in my direction, and I wave at him. I can see that he is now eager to find out what kind of belly dance concert it is.
And here I am, it's my group's turn, I timidly go on stage: "Oh, did I stand in the right place?", I thought, "What are we waiting for, why is there no music?", "Don't make a mistake". And the music is here, let's go. There was a teacher in front of me and I looked at her from time to time, to make sure I wasn't making a mistake, "Smile, smile, smile", that's all I thought about because we always talked about it in class and made sure that the smile always on the face, especially while doing that Egyptian shimmy. Our performance lasted only 3 minutes, and it went by very quickly, everyone applauded us, we bowed and went backstage. And just then, when I was going backstage, I happened to look down and see that I had forgotten to take off my socks. "Oh, what a mess, how I forgot my socks, I guess no one noticed". Exactly what I kept thinking about, to me, just happened.
The concert lasted about 2 hours, after my performance, I changed my clothes and went to my mom and dad. "And? How was I?", I asked them, mom praised me, and dad said "It's good.", I watched him and noticed that now he looks at this dance with completely different eyes, as an art, which it is. Everything that dad, I suppose, expected to happen, was not there. The concert was at the highest level, cultured, without unpleasant scenes. Dad took pictures, recorded them, and even posted them on Facebook and boasted to everyone that his daughter had her first public performance. When we got home, I knew that dad would express his opinion: "Well, it was nice, if you like it, I support you.", I listened to him, and my eyes were full of tears, from joy, and then was followed by the following question: "Which costume do you want your dad to buy you?", this question meant everything in the world to me at that moment, with this question I was finally sure that my dad would support me in what I love. And yes, my mission, to prove to my dad that belly dancing is an art, was successfully accomplished.
Yes, my dad bought me a costume, not one, but two, and he regularly took me to every subsequent performance.
*All photos are mine, from my belly dance school.*
My first belly dance lesson
How I fell in love with belly dancing (part 2)
I came to the first training, a bit confused, and also scared of what was waiting for me, considering that the girls had been attending classes for some time. My friendly teacher welcomed me and directed me to the locker room to get ready for class.
And there I am, my first encounter with belly dancing, in a huge practice hall, with lots of mirrors, dimmed lights. In the corner of the hall stood a darbuka and dance props, about which I knew nothing at the time. The teacher put me in the front row, so that I could follow all the dance moves better. I'm slowly getting to know the basic dance moves, and I'm more and more sure that this is what I want to do in the future. The more difficult the movements, the more I want to learn more and more.
"Now we will learn hip sway, a slight movement of the hips right to left, with bent knees," said the teacher, and I waited for her to show us how it looks, all the girls watched her carefully and repeated this movement after her, and so did I.
"WOW, this is interesting", I thought to myself, "Well I can really do this, I'm doing really well", I continue to talk to myself, "ugh, my legs are a little sore now, I have to hold on a little longer", I continue, "and my hands hurt, are they going to tell us to put them down, I can't take it any more! How much more is left to the end? It's only been half an hour, I'm exhausted," I continue with questions, "when are we going to learn that wiggle that I watched on TV", I ask myself, and just then the teacher spoke to us: "It's time for the Egyptian shimmy, it's that movement that you all can't wait to learn, straighten your back, straighten your knees and gently move them back and forth, then speed up the knee work and that's it, Egyptian shimmy." - All the girls and I repeated Egyptian shimmy with a big smile on our faces, our happiness never ended. At the moment, I forgot that my legs and arms hurt, because doing this movement was priceless.
*Admit it while reading this now that you've tried to do an Egyptian shimmy? :D*
When the training ended, the teacher asked if I was satisfied and if we would see each other again, to which I enthusiastically answered a big YES. I immediately boasted at home about what I had learned, while dad was still not thrilled that I had chosen that particular dance. So my first belly dance class was over, and I had a major muscle soreness the next day. But it was worth it. For the next lesson, I provided myself with a dance scarf for my hips and regularly practised everything I learned that day. Every next training session was better than the previous one, we learned new movements, listened to new music, practised various combinations for choreography, through practice we also learned about the history of belly dance, its styles, props, costumes, music... And that's what you love it or give it up. I fell in love and did not regret it. I enjoyed every beat, every melody, every word of Arabic songs, every movement. Trainings were held twice a week for an hour, it may seem small, but it is quite enough, because this dance is practised regularly at home, not only in a dance studio. I started researching more about Arab male and female singers, their songs, which are really beautiful and very emotional. I regularly translated all the songs using Google Translate, although sometimes it was very difficult to find the correct translation, because the Arabic language and their script is not very simple.
After 6 months of training, the teacher had to choose 4 girls from my group, who will dance at the annual concert of our dance school. I confess, I secretly hoped that she would choose me, but I waited patiently for her to announce which 4 girls would have that privilege. And yes, I ended up being one of those 4 girls. There was no end to my happiness. When I told my family the good news, that I would have my first performance, my brother was uninterested as always, my dad didn't give any reaction, and my mom was as happy as I was. We prepared the choreography for that performance, we came to rehearsals with girls from advanced groups more than 3 times a week. I remember the first rehearsal, when all the girls were dressed in their costumes, different colours, sequins, crystals. I felt like I was in a fairy tale and imagined myself like that one day.
The annual concert of the dance school approached, and the invitations that I personally handed to my dad arrived: "Dad, this is an invitation to the concert and my first performance, to which you must come and see what oriental dance really is". He looked at the invitation and asked me how long THAT would take. Honestly, I didn't have an answer to that question either, but it wasn't that important to me. I turned and left, but I was sure that he and mom would still come to watch me.
How I fell in love with belly dancing
(part 1)
I remember it was 12 years ago when I watched the movie "Whatever Lola Wants" for the first time. That film was my answer to the increasingly frequent question, what do I want to do in the future.
Lola is a modest girl who works in the post office, but she has her secret love - oriental dance and she spends her free time learning this wonderful art. The only person who supports her in this is her close friend who helps her go to Cairo and make her dreams come true. To become an oriental dancer.
Costumes, music, choreography...all this gave me an even greater desire to try my hand at this art, thanks to Lola.
I have heard about this dance before, I watched the performances of various dancers on TV, and the first one who I knew that does bellydancing was Shakira, but let's not lie, she is not an oriental dancer, except that she does some movements during her performances. But belly dancing is much more than moving your hips. You only realize that when you dig deeper and study this art more.
Let's go back to the part when I decided I wanted to learn oriental dance. I found a belly dance school in the city, asked about the training, the price... That's all fine, but how do I tell my dad? I live in a country where this was a taboo topic, the costumes are inadequate and vulgar for our people and they look at the whole dance with different eyes. First, I told my mom what I wanted, and her answer was "Well, dad won't give it to you." Never mind, I said, I'll try. And so it was, when we asked my dad if I could go to belly dancing lessons, his answer was: "And what is she going to do with that, where is she going to dance THAT?" Mom told him to let me go to one training session, thinking that I wouldn't like it and wouldn't want to go anymore. However, quite the opposite happened.
Mom and I went to my first belly dance class, it was hard but beautiful. We are back home, but we have a problem. How do I tell my dad that I like it and want to learn more? Mom took it upon herself and said not to worry, she would take care of everything. Dad barely agreed, but he did, and I had the next mission. Prove to dad that this dance is not the same as swinging your hips at fairs, on tables, in other people's laps, etc.
*photo source: pexels.com*
@orientalove
