Watch the video below and learn who the top classic turkish oriental dancers are… in 40 seconds. Ozel Turkbas Saliha Tekneci Inci Birol Nimet Alp Ayse Nana Negris Mogol Nejla Ates Learn more about Turkish Orientale dance and Turkish Romani dance at Oriental Phoenix Arts in Houston, TX.
Some of the toughest seasons of our dance journey happen when we have become bored or feel uninspired with our own dancing and lose passion for the art. For some, this is a “sign” that dance may not be for them. They lose hope too easily and sometimes even quit dance altogether. More tenacious dancers understand the natural process of waxing and waning within life and art and may step back for a while, but eagerly await their passion’s return.…
Raqs Sharqi was born in Egypt, but did you know there are other styles of Egyptian dance, beyond the hustle and bustle of Cairo. Let’s take a journey down the Nile, into the desert, to the Mediterranean, and into Upper Egypt to witness the fun folkloric dances of Egypt. We will take a look at Ghawazee, Bedouin (Hagallah), Melaya Leff, Fellahin, and Nubian. Below is a list of YouTube Playlists that I have created for you to explore these dances…
When you first start learning Egyptian Oriental dance and begin to piece together a belly dance music collection, you are bombarded (understandably) by sounds that you’ve never heard, by instruments you don’t know, with lyrics you can’t understand. Learning about Arabic music, in this case Egyptian, can feel like an uphill battle and if it weren’t for the “call of the drums” many of us would give up on getting familiar with it all together. However, with a little immersion, you…
Growing up, I always hated having my picture taken. Especially during my awkward teen years, I avoided the shutter at all costs. Taking a good picture seemed like an impossibility, I thought, as many others do, that I was just not photogenic and that I was doomed to look awful in pictures forever. When I started dancing and performing, taking good pictures became increasingly important. Audiences are always wanting to take your picture and other dancers enjoy taking snapshots with…
Abdel Halim Hafez is one of Egypt’s greatest singers. Almost 60 years later, we are still using some of his most popular tunes in our performances. Some of his songs were quite long, over an hour in length, and we are most familiar with them as individual movements of the same song. Here is my top 10 list of songs performed by him. Where possible, I will post the full and shorter versions. Note: You will be able to find…
People that find themselves interested in belly dancing are usually a unique sort. They are often drawn to the art form because it satisfies their desire for the different and exotic. Belly dancers love to create, explore various cultures through movement and music, as well as try new foods and experiences. These characteristics are most apparent in the places we like to go to. Here are the top places in Houston we like to visit! Special thanks to the Houston…
As belly dancing competitions become more and more common around the US and World, many dancers are choosing to compete for titles. There are as many reasons for competing as there are dancers. However, training and preparing for competition, even if you are not planning to compete, is a great way to improve your overall dance ability and presentation. So, how does training for competitions actually help you improve? Well, it challenges you to really look at all of the…
For several weeks now, I have been introducing Khaleegi (Arabian Gulf) movement, more specifically Saudi, to my students. To help students better understand the thobe (nasha’al) dance with its lovely footwork and hair tosses, as well as to give them a better idea of different musical styles of the region, I have created a few YouTube playlists for you to explore the rich dance and music traditions of the Arabian Gulf. For many years, dancers and researches from outside this…
One of the biggest concerns that I hear from dancers is they don’t know what to do to practice. This article will help give you some ideas on what to practice and how to make the most of your private practice time, through the different stages of dance development. We will start with beginners and work our way to tips for more advanced dancers. This article assumes the decision to practice has already been made, so I won’t address time…
