Customer Reviews

The Bellydancers of Cairo

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Last night, I watched The Belly Dancers of Cairo. It's an excellent but sad documentary on the state of raqs sharqi in Egypt today. Despite the increasing popularity of the dance internationally, belly dance is dying in Egypt. Through interviews with Egyptian dance legends (eg. Dina, Nagwa Fuad, Lucy), current performers, a Muslim feminist, and a variety of Egyptian men from different walks of life, we can see how dancers are simultaneously loved and reviled. We are given cultural and religious context for this apparent contradiction.

Although raqs sharqi from the golden age of Egyptian cinema is looked upon fondly by the conservative men interviewed, their appreciation is conflicted. Dancers are looked upon as whores, a view reinforced by the dance films shown on a daily basis. Dancers in movies are invariably portrayed as wanton women, or gangsters' molls. To allow a female member of one's family to become a dancer would bring shame down on the entire family. More liberally-minded men may date a dancer, but once they get married, or once she bears children, she will have to end her career.

The film touches on how women in the public eye are considered to have questionable virtue. However, there is no mention of Oum Kalthoum, who was considered a national treasure. I can't help but be curious to see if she was considered a floozy at the same time that she was revered.

The documentary ends on a bittersweet note. Although the dance is dying in Egypt, it has spread itself over the world. These non-Egyptian dancers are responsible to carry on the legacy, and to save what would otherwise be a dying art form. And just so we're not without context, the DVD has an excellent features section which contains full-length performances by a variety of Egyptian dancers.

I need to get myself a copy of this. I recommend it to students of all varieties of belly dance (whether traditional Egyptian or any of the more modern fusion variants).

As a belly dance instructor, I found this to be a terrific tool for understanding the strange place raks sharki has in Cairo society -- Dancers are enormous stars who are beloved and command huge sums for performances, and yet they are seen as prostitutes.

The film includes interviews with Samasem, Dina, Lucy, Nagwa Fouad, Khayreyya Maazin, and others. Eman Zaki talks at length about her mothers' recollections of dancing for Badia Masabni.

The special features include eight or nine performances and the filmmakers' lengthy discussion about their experiences during filming. They were charmingly open and honest about all their experiences and I enjoyed the discussion almost as much as the documentary!

I was riveted throughout the entire documentary AND the special features. This is a must-have for the library of serious dancers or dance teachers.

I had really high hopes for this documentary and it certainly covers topics which are of both importance and interest. The reason I gave this only 4 stars is not because the content or production wasn't good but rather that it lacked the proper depth. I understand that producing something with a limited budget poses serious limitations but at the same time if you don't go in-depth enough it's still almost wasted money. For example, religion plays a huge part in the acceptance of bellydance as a social practice and as a performing art yet all we really hear is an anonymous look into religions role by an unidentified man. While I would respect the unidentified man's testimony regarding a general public view I cannot take his views on religion seriously without some credentials. I'm sure that while in Egypt they could have stoped by Al-Azhar and asked for someone to talk with about this. If you want to know what the religon says and how that's been interpreted you should go to a source who has proper credentials. It would also have been nice to hear from the dancers how they reconcile seemingly contraditory religious beliefs with their professions. In addition the majority of information we are given by someone about Islamic beliefs revolves around an incomplete section regarding hijab and modesty but is not backed up by the Qur'anic veres and supporting hadith. This documentary did do a very good job of exploring some of the socio-cultural dynamics of choosing this profession and how that affects both performers and their families but even this could have been explored on a deeper level. Although I sort of felt this throughout the entire production it's especially clear through the directors commentary (part of the special features) that this is presented with a western slant. It very much presents a western bias in taking in the information to the point where an Arab or Muslim viewer would probably feel a little jaded. It is not a very neutrally presented documentary with all it's biases and does tend to not only present things from a western view but also gives the interpretation of that being the proper ideology that one should have. All in all you can't expect a single, self-produced documentary to present the sort of in-depth knowledge that would take the discovery channel a couple million and an entire series to properly showcase. If your a bellydancer, dance ethnologist, or just interested in bellydance, Egypt, or performing arts in general I'd still recommend this documentary since what is covered is still good and at least gives a starting point for further research and exploration. Just keep in mind if you really want to understand the content you will need to do further research and it will probably be an extensive amount of research which you would need to do. As for people upset about not seeing full performances, keep in mind this is a documentary on the position of dancers in Egypt on the social and culturual scale and not simply biographies or performances of them. It does show short clips throughout the film but it does not include full performances in the documentary itself. It does however include quite a few full performances in the special features section of the DVD. The performances themself could be sold as a seperate video for nearly the same price so if you think about it this is almost a two-for-one deal.

Watcing this documentary, I was surprised by how little I knew about the Bellydancers of Cairo.

I viewed this documentary with a friend, and was extremely touched by the stories of these women. It amazes me that an entire society is able to both love and despise this artform and the women who perform it.

The struggles and sacrifices women have gone through in order to do what they love is truly inspiring, and I watch videos of egyptian bellydancers with renewed respect and appreciation.

As a student of this artform, I've purchased many bellydance dvd's and tapes. It was amazing to me that so many egyptian superstars were willing to be interviewed and were willing to speak about their lives in such a candid manner.

This documentary is definitely a must have for any serious student of oriental dance.

I absolutely love this DVD. As a dancer who has purchased over 250 DVD's and every possible documentary on bellydance, I must tell you this is a great DVD.

The personal interviews with many stars of Egypt tells their stories of fame, the barriers they had to overcome, as well as stories of sadness they encountered in their lives as dancers.

It is ironic in a society that much loves and admires these dancers, that they also look so down upon them and would never allow their sister or daughter to dance.

It is sad in the respect that more and more Egyptian women are being forced away from dancing by a more conservitive modern Egyptian society, that you would think is loosening constrictions on women in this day and age, is actually tightening them. Our beloved dance is actually being forced out of Egypt, the mother of dance.

I love the statements made towards the end, ecspecially by Lucy and Samasen, about how dancing is on the decline in Egypt, but it has spread throughout the world, hoping it will return to Egypt someday, but it is up to us to keep their dance alive. Samasen said it best, "Thank good it is foriengers that are keeping it alive, this is a big legacy".

As a serious student of this art, this DVD will make you applaud, appreciate, and love these famed dancers at a personal level as well as touch your soul with their stories of sadness and reality of their society. Nowhere has a documentary has touched me as much as this one in our beloved dance. It is up to us to keep this dance alive and hopefully it will return to these countries as big as it once was.

There is full length of 9 dancers performances or at least a full song of dancers performances under Special Features. A previous poster must not of noticed that.

Shimmy on, Deonne (AKA - Kirabellydancer)

I highly recommend this dvd for everyone-beginners or seasoned pro's, or people who are just interested in bellydance. Beginners especially will benefit from it as it gets to the core of what bellydance really is[ a passionate,beautiful artform] it is not a performance dvd, it is a documentary and has some great clips of dancers-old and new that are insightful and interesting. DEFINITELY A MUST BUY!

This documentary is not to be missed! I used to look at Egyptian dancers when they were speaking about their skill, grace, and understanding of the music, and I would roll my eyes and think, "UGH! How egotistical can you get?" But, after watching this information packed DVD, I have such admiration for the women of this dance that, despite all the harrassment, danger, humiliation, and degredation, the hold their heads high, and they continue to do what their soul is calling for them to do...to be an instrument of the dance. They articulate what the dance means to them, and it is just fascinating. In many ways, I can relate, and I believe you will too. With all they have lost, and fought to attain, it is no wonder they think so highly of themselves. It takes that kind of moxy.

The documentary is a time capsule treasure, because no one knows the future of this dance in the Middle East. To have captured all of these dancers, in their own words, and with footage of their dance to be forever preserved, it is something every dancer must see, and in my opinion must own. Just even studying the dancing is amazing.

The director's commentary was very interesting and brought even more light to the subject of women in the culture, and women and the dance. When you add in the performances (2 from each dancer), and the director's commentary, along with the original documentary, it has HOURS of information. It is a bargain at this price, but it is worth even more.

I purchased this as a gift for my own dance instructor, after I saw it myself. And, I purchased one for me. I think I am going to have all my dance buddies come over for an evening and view it. It's that good.

Seriously, there's a lot of dance stuff out there to purchase, and we (at least me) can't have it all, but I would have no problem, whole heartedly recommending this DVD. I wish the director would do even more!

Overall I liked this documentary.. If you are a dancer of any category I imagine this would be of interest because it focuses on the stories of the dancers, their determination and their passion.

The dancing clips in another chapter of this dvd is valuable, as it shows you the 'low class' nightclub setting and the wealthy wedding ceremonies, etc..

There is no glossing over in this dvd, they do a good job of presenting the reality of Egyptian dancers..

I also enjoyed the directors commentary chapter, a bit lengthly but very honest and humorous..

This is definitely worth buying just for the dance videos. They show truly authentic, beautiful dance, in many settings and styles.

It's also worth buying for the interviews as they show the amazing sacrifices and difficulties that these artists endure in the pursuit of their art.

However, I have some quibbles. The narrator indulges in a lot of annoying editorializing, telling us things unnecessarily. When the dance and interviews are this good, she doesn't need to tell us what she's already shown us. Also, the video quality is sometimes poorer than I would like, as the lighting or camera angle isn't good enough to really show the dancers. In one case, (perhaps because the original music wasn't available) she's clearly stuck the wrong piece of music onto a dance performance, which is jarring. One performance is in such darkness, I can hardly see anything. Another has a headache-inducing strobe light. But the dances I can see are great.

Despite its flaws, every belly dancer should own and study this video, at least until one with better lighting and less annoying narration comes out.

This documentary gives the viewer a glimpse into the recent history of bellydance in Egypt, and a cultural context in which to understand it. It gives a very insightful and honest view of cultural and religious barriers as well as the passion that drives women to persevere as dancers in Egypt. Several professional dancers are interviewed and share their stories of hardship, discrimination, joy and success. Included in the bonus features are performances by these dancers, which gives a great overview of the different styles and types of performance within the bellydance genera. I have to mention that this film is not high budget, though the quality of the information and "insider's look" into such a complex world is makes up for it by far. A must-see for anyone who is serious about bellydance.