The Rise and fall of Dance Stars

Last published in Dance Arabic 0905.  Also published previously in the NADA magazine.

When I started learning Egyptian dance …. Many moons ago, there was an order to things.  Naima Akef, Tahia Cariocca & Samia Gamal were the big names from the old movies and the people everyone seemed to quote as their inspiration.  The big names we were aware of as the current dancers of that time were: Fifi Abdou, Sohair Zaki & Nagwa Fouad.  Both foreigners and Egyptians alike knew these dancers … and all are Egyptian.  My biggest influence of that time was Fifi Abdou – to watch her fluid undulations and wobbly shivers was heaven.  How did she do that?  Egyptians I talked to mainly preferred Nagwa – ‘She is a proper belly dancer’, they told me.  They seemed to feel Fifi was common.  Nagwa certainly put on a spectacular show, often with backing dancers.  Sohair too had her own following with a different style to either Fifi or Nagwa.  All co-existed within the dance scene of the time along with many other good dancers both Egyptian and foreign.

At this point I had only been to Egypt twice – Luxor – and not seen any of the ‘names’ live.  In the UK we had to make do with videos.  When I did start going to Cairo, Sohair and Nagwa were not performing anymore and I always seemed to just miss Fifi.  From the videos available, we were told that Lucy was now the Queen of the dance.  I did not think much of her on video and even when I got to see her live in ’96 was not very impressed.  I saw her again in ’98 at the Semi Ramis and this time she put on a really good show.  Lucy was knocked off the ‘top spot’ by Dina.  For a while they seemed to reign together but then Lucy faded into the background.  Fifi was still around but by this time acting in her play and doing less performances.  Her name though was still synonymous with the dance world.

The style has changed with each new generation of dancers.  From the old black and white movies where the dancing had quite a romantic feel to it.  Sophisticated in some ways yet also with an innocent quality to it.  Samia Gamal brought ballet to belly dance with languorous arabesques and turns.  Tahia Cariocca had soft undulations and a ‘girl next door’ quality about her.  Naima Akef, from a circus family, was more forward in her dance style.

Next, Sohair, Nagwa and Fifi – all of whom quote the above dancers as their inspiration.  These dancers performed cabaret, on stage to big audiences.  Unlike their predecessors who made their names through the films and could be understated yet still have an impact, these girls had to make an impact live.  Nagwa did so with her spectacular shows.  The people loved them.  Sohair was more contained yet still built her own following.  She was the first dancer to dance to a musical arrangement of ‘Enta Omri’, ‘You are my life’ by Mohammed Abdul Wahab and sung by Oum Kalthoum.  It is one of the most famous pieces of music in the Arab world.  Oum Kalthoum was in the audience, Sohair says she was terrified.  Fifi was in her element in this environment.  She uses her personality well on stage.  This combined with her dance skill was enough to build a big fan club.  Fifi has always been happy to speak her own mind – she was in favour of a belly dancers union which has not come to fruition.  She is also outspoken against foreign dancers in Cairo.  Because she speaks her mind, a lot of Egyptians see her as arrogant.  She was once quoted in a paper as saying ‘If you piled all my money up and I stood on top of it, I could shake hands with god’!  I was told this anecdote by an Egyptian doctor and was highly entertained.

With the advent of Lucy, combined with the decline of the economy, there seemed to be less dancers on the scene.  Lucy was also an actress and made the most of both roles.  She liked to be seen as a girl still in touch with her roots and made an American documentary to this effect.  And, to support this, she still uses the same costumier, Madam Hekmat, that she has used since she started dancing.  4 years ago, she danced at Madam Hekmats daughters wedding so is apparently still keeping in touch with her roots.  Lucy was THE dancer to see then she gradually disappeared off the scene and Dina was in the Limelight.  Now, the only place to see Lucy is at her husbands nightclub, La Parisiana.  She has focussed on developing her film career – and more recently has decided to become a singer – much to the entertainment / chagrin (dependant on who you talk to) of the Egyptian population.

The group I took to Cairo in February wanted to see Lucy – we went along on the Monday night.  After checking that Lucy was definitely dancing, we took our seats.  There was a fab band on and soon the girls were up dancing.  The manager came over, ‘Lucy is sick’, he told me, ‘Randa is dancing’.  ‘Randa Kamel?’ I asked.  Yes.  OK, so we stayed … after I had re-negotiated the price.  Only Randa never turned up either.  It was her sons birthday.  Believe me, I complained.  We were promised a complimentary night on Wednesday …. When Lucy was definitely dancing!  Everyone had had a good night so it wasn’t a problem and when we came back on Wednesday, Lucy did dance … eventually about 3.30am!  She was great.  Possibly the best I have seen her.  She has a dynamic quality to her dancing.  You are never quite sure what is going to happen next.  She took to us and had us up on stage with her and was very generous with her time and attention.  One of our group, Emily (Shahla), she kept getting up, particularly for the Khaligi sets.  Well worth persevering to see her.  And a shame she is not dancing in more accessible places and at a more accessible time for people to see.

Dina I have seen on a regular basis.  I did not like what I saw of her on video in England but live, she is fabulous.  A lot of people do not agree and my criticism is that she has not changed her show much over the years … or her style.  If you have not seen her though I would recommend that you do at least once.  Generally when I take groups, I try and get a table right next to the stage which means you see every little flutter.  Dina has a tight and precise style with lots of little accents.  She communicates well with the audience, playing with different moods.  Very different to Lucy.  Dina goes for minimalistic costuming which has caused much scandal however she gets away with it.  I took a friend, Dan, to see her 3 years ago.  He was amazed by her brief costumes and kept waiting for her to pop out of her bra!  She is from a very good family and well educated – maybe she has the right connections?  Dina teaches at the ‘Ahlan wa Sahlan’ dance festival each year and surprised me by being a good teacher (despite a class of 90 students!) as well as a great performer.  Unfortunately after years of reigning supreme as the Dancing Queen of Cairo, she was involved in a scandal and had to stop dancing for a year while the publicity died down.  She is back and my Rakassa groups regularly study with her – a small class with a maximum of 13 students.  And we go see her dance at the Semi Ramis.  We pay through the nose for a front table – but if you are going to go see her, you might as well have the best table in town!

Who will be next?  Of the Egyptian dancers, it has to be between Randa and Dandesh.  Yet, funnily enough, neither of these are as well known in Cairo as Asmahan, who is an Argentinian dancer.  Randa used to work on the Nile Maxim so was seen by ‘respectable’ audiences as well as working cabaret.  Dandesh only does cabaret though when Dina wasn’t dancing, she did do some work at the Semi Ramis.  Since returning from the hugely successful Farha tour in England, she is currently taking a break.  To be a star, you have to have the star venue to dance at.  Brazillian dancer, Soraya has the best spot in town, her own show at the Casablanca restaurant.  She is a fabulous dancer and really involves her audience.  Her show changes regularly and is always entertaining.  Rumour had it she was asked to dance at the Semi Ramis (where Dina danced), but was not allowed to by the hotel she works for.  If people want to see her, they have to go to her.  Of the foreigners, there is also American dancer Leila.  She is making quite a name for herself as a model & she has acted in a film that was made for the Eid festival last year.  This combined with her dancing has raised her profile.  Newest on the dance scene is Camelia – all Egyptian, her own style & a tornado of fresh ideas.   Definitely one to see.  Watch this space and see what happens!

Go on a Farida Adventure with Kay and see as many of these dancers and more as you can.  www.faridaadventures.com  Be warned – it is not a relaxing holiday but it is the experience of a lifetime!  Trips can be tailor made for groups – and the group leader gets a discount.