Post 3 of 11.
Bellydance in Turkey: although it had long been a family folk dance in the Arab world, when the Ottoman empire expanded into Egypt and the Levant in the early 1500's entertainers like the Awalim were brought back to Turkey. (The harem-girl story came from Turkish odalisques who were trained in entertaining, although the female dancers usually performed for other women.) This of course had always been a 2 way street, with many Arabic instruments being perfected in Turkey. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire Turkey was focused on making a good impression with Western Europe, and downplayed it's Middle Eastern culture, bellydance was not a super popular form of entertainment and dancers from the courts left to find work elsewhere, including the Egyptian theaters.
Bellydance in Turkey: although it had long been a family folk dance in the Arab world, when the Ottoman empire expanded into Egypt and the Levant in the early 1500's entertainers like the Awalim were brought back to Turkey. (The harem-girl story came from Turkish odalisques who were trained in entertaining, although the female dancers usually performed for other women.) This of course had always been a 2 way street, with many Arabic instruments being perfected in Turkey. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire Turkey was focused on making a good impression with Western Europe, and downplayed it's Middle Eastern culture, bellydance was not a super popular form of entertainment and dancers from the courts left to find work elsewhere, including the Egyptian theaters.
This clip is from when oriental dance was just started making a comeback in Turkey, it is still normal to have a Rom style song as part of the set. As the article above mentions dancers were usually Greek, Armenian, and most popularly Rom, because Muslim Turks didn't condone public dance performing as an acceptable activity for themselves to engage in. This is one of the most direct ways the Drom migrations mentioned in the first post influenced the dancing.
A floorwork section is also a required part of a Turkish set, performed here by Princess Banu, it is often set to a chiftitelli rhythm. While Lebanese dancers also perform floorwork, and Egyptian Awalim would (if they think the police won't catch them), it is most strongly associated with the Turkish and Vintage American styles (for reasons explained in the next post).
Here is a Turkish dancer, Nejla Atas, who was famous for some racy costumes performing in an American movie, the Turkish style had a big influence on the vintage American style, in both movement vocabulary, finger cymbal playing, and the ubiquity of floorwork.
In Turkey the dance is a little more removed from home life and for most Turkish people it's an entertainment show (performed here by Birgul Beray) like it is in the US. Of course, check out Shems' playlists for more examples.
There was a "break in the lineage" between the dancers in the clips above and the modern Turkish dancers. There has also been a lot of influence of Arabic music. Although some dancers back in the day may have appeared to have a more Arabic style, like Nesrin Topkapi, the current style prevalent in Turkey has all the fire of the old style, with some new elements.
A floorwork section is also a required part of a Turkish set, performed here by Princess Banu, it is often set to a chiftitelli rhythm. While Lebanese dancers also perform floorwork, and Egyptian Awalim would (if they think the police won't catch them), it is most strongly associated with the Turkish and Vintage American styles (for reasons explained in the next post).
Here is a Turkish dancer, Nejla Atas, who was famous for some racy costumes performing in an American movie, the Turkish style had a big influence on the vintage American style, in both movement vocabulary, finger cymbal playing, and the ubiquity of floorwork.
In Turkey the dance is a little more removed from home life and for most Turkish people it's an entertainment show (performed here by Birgul Beray) like it is in the US. Of course, check out Shems' playlists for more examples.
There was a "break in the lineage" between the dancers in the clips above and the modern Turkish dancers. There has also been a lot of influence of Arabic music. Although some dancers back in the day may have appeared to have a more Arabic style, like Nesrin Topkapi, the current style prevalent in Turkey has all the fire of the old style, with some new elements.
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