Timeline of Egyptian Dance History showing important developments, influences
PLEASE NOTE IN THE INTERESTS OF ACCURACY-Some of the dates given are different in some sources - books,CD liner notes and on other internet sites. In this style of dancing there is very little that is definate and clear cut. I have gone for the generally accepted date or in other cases any dubious dates I have tried to indicate by putting ? or c for circa. My aim is to show the development of the dance and I have tried to be as accurate as I can. Although there are many theories of how this dance began nobody actually knows.
1299- Middle East-Ottoman Empire (ended 1923)
1798- Egypt- Napoleon occupies Egypt. About 400 of Ghawazee dancers killed beheaded and thrown into the Nile
Ghawazee-means invaders of the heart. Confusing because in some books all dancers are referred to as Ghawazee so can sometimes mean just a dancer,a gypsy dancer or can specifically refer to a style of dance done by a group of gypsy dancers. Reading accounts of the type of dances that the Ghawazee do it was vastly different a 100 years ago to the style the last Ghawazee dancers (Khairiyya Mazin and her family) do today. it is not a solo dance.
1830-UK /Egypt-Edward Lane publishes his book "An account of the Manners and Customs of th Modern Egyptians" With excellent descriptions of the Ghawazee dancers and also the information that the Ghawazee contributed a tenth of all taxes collected in Cairo.
1834-Egypt- Mohamed Ali bans female dances from Cairo. The Ghawazee flee some settle around Luxor and Upper Egypt where the last dancers of this type are still to be found.Back in Cairo their places are taken by dancing boys the Khawals. As a result of the banishment Cairo citizens have to pay more tax
1851-UK-The Great Exhibition features dancers from the Middle East (before the USA)
1866- Egypt- Ban of Ghawazee from Cairo lifted
1867- France- Paris Exhibition features dancers from the Middle East
1876-USA- First known exhibition of Middle Eastern dance in the USA in Philadelphia
1892-UK- Oscar Wilde write the play Salome in French to get by the censorship laws
1893-USA- Chicago World Fair. Sol Bloom acredited with calling dance Belly dance(actually taken from an earlier French phrase Danse du ventre). Cairo Street built with cafes,side shows and dancing. featured a regular daily "wedding procession". The dance captures the USA publics imagination and Burlesque imitators of the dance become common
1896-USA- Oldest surviving film of belly dance shot by Thomas Edison "Fatima's Dance"
1900- UK- Maude Allen performs the part of Salome in play by Oscar Wilde- dance of seven veils becomes "something to do" with Belly dance-although Maude Allen was not Middle Eastern nor a bellydancer.In a climate of people being fascinated with the Middle East, belly dance and 7 veils became forever stuck together in the minds of the general public-sigh!! Over the next few years the fashion of Salomania hit stage,dance venues and burlesque houses in USA and Europe-back in Egypt nobody danced with veils.. yet.
1903- Egypt -First record company Gramaphone
c1920s- Egypt- Shamadan is used in the Zeffa wedding procession-the originator of this is much disputed see Shamadan page
1927?- Egypt- Badia Mashabni-a Lebanese woman and also a dancer opens her nightclub Casino Opera in Cairo.Many alterations to the dance are credited with happening here
1. Different use of floor space-before the dance was done on the spot-now arabesques and moving steps added.
2. Arm movement- outstretched arms (borrowed from western dance and snake arms (from Indian dance)
3.The two piece costume-influence by Hollywood but not adopted by none nightclub dancers until the 1940s or even later
4.The custom of the dancer not playing the finger cymbals mainly because Badia herself. liked to play them for her dancers so it became something the orchestra did for you except at certain times in the show.
5.It is also credited in some opinions that the use of dancing with the Shamadan-as opposed to its use in the Zeffa procession started here
6.At first it was a troupe of dancers on stage but stars began to emerge like Samia Gamal and Tahia Carioka who were given solo spots.Singers and musicians like Farid Atrache also started here
7.Music changed to suit this new style of dancing-Raks Sharqi-that developed at this time
1934- Egypt- First film studio opens in Cairo
1936-52 Egypt- The reign of King Farouk. He is reported to have had quite an appreciation of belly dancers calling Samia Gamal Egypts national dancer and there is also an amusing legend of how Tahia Carioka once slapped his face for throwing an ice cube down her costume.
c1940s- Egypt- Acting on the advice of her Russian ballet teacher, Samia Gamal dances with a large piece of fabric that comes to be known as a veil in the West (A veil being a clothing item of modesty in the Middle East and not the same thing at all). She starts a fashion. sometimes the veil is part of her costume .i.e.joined on to it.
In later years the veil is developed into capes,see through coats -(sort of capes with sleeves)a bit like negligees (see Fifi Abdo videos of the 1980s) capes with sticks in to make them larger leading to the Isis Wings of today. Veil work in Egypt has never developed to the extent it has in other countries particulary USA
1950s- USA- Jewel in the navel-developed to get past the Hollywood Censor-not a Middle Eastern tradition
1952- Egypt- Revolution-and re-defining of the Arts. Rejection of Turkish Influence including banning hareem pants,floorwork and the Karsilama music.
Clamp down on belly dancers and the beginning of the elevation in status of folk dance. Beledi begins to be popular music for dancers to dance to again and having been thought fit only for low status dancers-now thought of as really Egyptian
1955- Egypt -Government requires dancers to cover themselves from shoulders to ankles
1959-Egypt- Ali and Mahmoud Reda form Reda Troupe
1964- Egypt- Government sponsor Reda Troupe. Mahmoud Reda develops folkloric styles using inspiration from existing dances,regional ideas. The version of folk dances you seen on stage today generally have more to with the Reda style than their original format -if indeed there was one. (Compare the footage on Aisha Ali's video Dances of Egypt with modern stage versions)
1966- Egypt- Queen of the modern dance scene Dina was born.
1968 -USA- Bal Anat group led by Jamila Salimpour develops a tribal style developed later by Carolena Nerricio
1969- USA -Bal Anat dance with snakes-as far as my research has found this is the first time snakes got into the act
1970s- Egypt -Shaabi music develops as a reaction to the old style of music. Often with polictical and sexual meaning the authorites pretended it did not exist. Thought of as working class music-people music
1973 -Egypt- Registration of dancers by the musannafat-morality police
1973/4- Egypt- Introduction of the music cassette
1975- Egypt- Egypts first band El Musrayeen (the Egyptians)-basically an Egyptian version of the Beatles. very shortlived. Generally bands in the western sense don't exist in Egypt the singer is all important and each singer has their own orchestra for public apprearance.
1970s/80s?- USA -Coin belt idea-that is hip scarves with coins on-credited to Morroco (dancer and dance historian from New York)
1980s- Egypt -Al jeel (generation)music develops- The start of Egyptian pop
1987- USA- Carolena Nericcio develops American Tribal Style and forms her troupe Fat Chance Belly Dance
1990- Gulf war contributing to the decline of the Egyptian Dance scene
2003 -Egypt- Foreign dancers banned in Egypt (ban lifted 2004)
2003-USA- Miles Copeland forms Bellydance Superstars originally to promote the music of the Middle Eastern music artists on his books-so that worked!!
2005-UK- FarhaTour- First major tour of Uk by an Egyptian Show- band Fer'et el Negoum,dancers Dandesh, Aida Nour, Yasmina and folkloric dancers Mohamed Khazafy and Sayed Amar full show-organised by Kay Taylor www.faridadance.com.
