Ancient Egyptian Dance

From paintings and etchings on the walls of tombs to clay figures with their hands held above their heads, it is
clear to historians and Egyptologists that dancing was a common part of life in ancient Egypt . There are
scenes  found in tombs dating as far back as the New Kingdom involving dancers at ceremonies, rituals, and
celebrations.

Ancient Egyptian dance varied from each instance to the next, with different movements and steps depending
on the kind of engagement the dancers were performing at. For instance, a military meeting would be different
from a more ritualistic time.

Dancers in Ancient Egypt

The dancers themselves were often groups, but only of one gender at a time, with little to no evidence of males
and females dancing together. The steps were choreographed to not echo one and another, but often, as in more
recent dance movements, each person has their own gestures and positions to make on their own, but each is
working together in very specifically organized ways.

Musicians and Dancers in Ancient Egypt

Movement
The downside is, as much of what we understand of ancient Egyptian dance comes from murals found on the
walls of tombs and temples, there is only so much information that can be taken from a simple snapshot.

With a culture so rich and heavily involved in religion, it is easy to say that the point of the dances were often
probably meant to honor the gods, or were designed with a certain purpose; but with the little that we know
past the pictures, it is hard to figure out what the movements were, not to mention what the movements meant.
Ancient Egyptian Dance Costumes
While many cultures have very specific and often elaborate dancing costumes, the clothes worn by Egyptian
dancers were hardly elaborate or involved enough to even call them an actual costume.

In many scenes that have survived the ages, dancers (females, specifically) are found moving their arms and
legs without being trapped by cloth of any sort, except for the occasional small fringed skirt or tunic, not
always worn simultaneously. There were other times when dancing took place in the nude, with nothing but a
single ribbon tied loosely about the waist.

Acrobatic Dancer

Ritual Dance
It is believed that the dances originally started as a way of both mourning the dead and appeasing the goddess
Sekhmet, who, as the myth goes, once nearly destroyed all of mankind when asked by the sun god Ra to punish
those who had forgotten him.

While we may not know the particular meaning of every step or movement made by a dancer during any given
dance they performed, we understand that they were almost entirely religious in nature, and meant to honor,
celebrate, mourn, or pacify.

As such, most of the rituals were performed in the name of one or many of their gods, who they believed
helped them frequently during the passage of a day, not to mention the passage of time.
Scribe Nebqued before Osiris, god of the dead

Other tomb depictions show dancers following funeral processions, and in some cases, performing moves
more closely associated with acrobatics and gymnastics than strictly dancing.

During these processions, it was common for dancers to skip or leap into the air, which was a way of honoring
and welcoming the goddess Hathor, who was believed to meet the dead at the entrance to the underworld. By
properly honoring Hathor, it assured them that the newly deceased would reach his or her destination well at the
hands of the goddess.

Facts about Dance in Ancient Egypt

 Dance played an important role in the lives of all social classes.
 Usually associated with religious rituals, music and dance were present in festivals and celebrations of
various gods.
 Dancers wore little clothing, but adorned themselves with jewelry and headdresses.
 Musicians are often depicted alongside dancers, with traditional string or percussion instruments.

Music in Ancient Egypt

In a culture as full of religious rituals as ancient Egypt, music tends to be a significant part of every day life.
With countless wall murals showing musicians playing while dancers danced and others stood off and watched.
Instruments have been unearthed as well. But, despite knowing how they played, the ancient Egyptian music
itself -- the notes, the composition -- is wholly unknown to us.

Music was as important in ancient Egypt just as it is today. This was especially true during Egyptian dynasties
when pharaohs were established. It is around this time that many historians have discovered music in many
parts of every day Egyptian life.

Musical Instruments
Through the study of hieroglyphs, researchers have learned that there were many ancient Egypt musical
instruments. There are depictions of instruments of all kinds, including string, wind and percussion. The
hieroglyphs also show those listening to music clapping their hands along with the performances.

© ketrin1407 - Wall Painting Depicting Musicians

Ancient Egypt musical instruments found buried with the dead often have the names of the Egyptian gods
Hathor and Bes, who were the gods of music, inscribed on them. Percussion instruments included rattles,
drums and bells as well as something called a sistrum.

The sistrum was a metallic instrument held in the hand that was in a “U” shape. There were small metal or
bronze pieces tied to the sistrum so that when it was moved, it made sounds. The sound differed depending on
the type of metal used.

© Daniel DeCristo - Relief of Ptolemy II with a Sistrum

The wind instruments found were similar to those used today, such as trumpets and flutes while stringed
instruments included lyres, harps and lutes. Ancient Egyptians did not use bowed instruments like today’s
violin, but instead played stringed instruments with their fingers. The lyres were introduced around 2500 BC in
nearby Syria , while the lute was used more widely during the New Kingdom period.

Harps were special in that they were of a much more complex design than other string instruments, and it was
also common to deck out a harp with precious materials such as ebony, silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite, or
anything valuable both monetarily and aesthetically.

Illustration of Musicians in Ancient Egypt

Professional Musicians
The highest status for a musician in ancient Egypt was for temple musicians as playing music for a particular
god or goddess placed someone in a high position in the culture. In addition, musicians who played for the royal
family were also held in high regard as were gifted singers.

Musicians who acted as entertainment, even for royalty, at parties and festivals, were lower on the social scale
than those who performed regularly in palaces or temples. There is very little information on amateur musicians
in ancient Egypt which indicates that it was not considered favorable to achieve musically unless the individual
was a professional.

Musicians in Ancient Egypt

 

Singing in Ancient Egypt

Musicianship was highly regarded in ancient Egypt and singing was no exception. There are references to many
during the era who were considered outstanding singers, including Amen Inaros, whose mother was also a
songstress. Singers became quite common among females who were related to high officials and they often
officiated at ceremonies.

Music was an important part of many ceremonies in the Egyptian culture with many inscriptions of songs
found in tombs to be sung to the accompaniment of harps. Researchers believe that the songs found in the tombs
were more than likely sung by priests and priestesses.

Clapping of hands during singing was an integral part of the culture during ancient Egypt, considered sacred. In
some professions, such as grinding corn, those performing the task would chant, or sing, praises to the master of
the house.

© ketrin1407 - Relief of Musicians

Ancient Egyptian Dancing

Not much is known about dancing in ancient Egypt, although there are depictions of dancing during the
enthronement of a new king. There do not appear to be any depictions of men and women dancing to music
together in ancient Egypt and their form of dance may have had Nubian influences. This type of dance became
popular in Rome and parts of the Sudan still dance in this manner today.

It appears that dances in ancient Egypt were similar to modern ballet, meant to be expressive, and some
appeared to include gymnastics. On special occasions, female servants or harem members were chosen to dance
slow, elegant steps which more than likely alternated with acrobatic movements. Dancing was also part of the
religious celebrations of the time.
Click here to learn more about Dancing in Ancient Egypt

Depictions of Arm Movements

One theory that developed among scholars who have studied facts about music in ancient Egypt, one that has
been largely disproved, was that depictions of arm movements in hieroglyphics were used to communicate
pitch to the musicians. However, recent research indicates that the arm movements were simply responses to
songs today where people raise their arms and move in time with the music.

It is possible that in some of the depictions, the arm movements may be indicating where a musician should
start or stop, but in all likelihood they are just people enjoying a song. One Terracotta figurine found by
archaeologists may depict music notes, but there is not much more than a few horizontal lines crossed by
vertical strokes. It is not until the Greek Period that a papyrus with musical notations was discovered, but the
music and notes are Greek, not Egyptian.

There is no doubt that music played an important part of ancient Egypt, even prior to the end of the Persian
rule. With musical instruments found in tombs that have been inscribed with the names of gods and goddesses,
as well as depictions in hieroglyphics of musicians, singers and dancers, it appears that music has been a part of
daily life for thousands of years.

Facts About Music in Ancient Egypt

 Songs were played during religious ceremonies and even in the tombs after people died.
 Like today, songs were heard while people worked, for royalty in palaces and even on battlefields during
times of war.
 Egyptian music, based on the holes found in flutes of the time, was a minor pentatonic scale of five
tones without half-tones.
 As ancient Egyptians conquered other cultures, their tastes adapted to those of the new lands, and new
sounds were introduced.
 In fact, Egyptians did not note music prior to the Greco-Roman period, indicating that it was not an
important part of daily life until the end of the Persian rule.
 Around the 18th Dynasty, music seems to take on an erotic connotation in the culture, with men and
women robed in semi-transparent clothing, lotus flowers and gestures from the banquet attendees.

https://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/egyptian-dance.html
La evolución del estilo egipcio en la danza árabe
Publicado el diciembre 21, 2012 por Giselle Habibi

Para quienes aspiramos a ser “puristas” dentro de la danza oriental (raqs sharqi), el estilo clásico egipcio es un
referente indiscutido. No obstante, desde los años 30 del siglo pasado (década en la comenzó el auge de la
danza árabe de la mano del cine egipcio) hasta la actualidad, este estilo ha experimentado una evolución sobre
la cual hablaré a continuación ejemplificándola con videos de algunas bailarinas icónicas.

Tomemos como punto de partida a la bailarina egipcia Samia Gamal, que nació en Dana en 1924 y cuya
mentora fue nada menos que Tahiya Carioca. Samia fue además pareja del cantante, compositor, laudista y
actor sirio Farid El Atrache. A lo largo de su carrera, participó en 39 películas.

Sus movimientos más característicos se basan en medias lunas, círculos, camels y un trabajo de brazos
constante a la altura del pecho. Tiene una sonrisa que refleja seguridad en sí misma y alegría.

Otro icono de la época de oro de la danza árabe es Souhair Zaki, que nació en 1944. Su baile se caracteriza por
sus graciosos movimientos de manos, los dislocamientos laterales de cadera, junto con círculos amplios y sus
mágicos ochos. Sus echadas de espalda hacia atrás, su candor, sus ochos de cadera, su graciosa figura
curvilínea…sus twists con shimmy.

Fue la primera bailarina en usar la música de la famosa cantante egipcia Um Kulthum. Mohammed Anwar Al
Sadat, el tercer presidente de Egipto, la llamó la “Um Kulthum de la danza”. Sobre su baile, dijo: “como ella
canta con su voz, tú cantas con tu cuerpo”. La última película en la que bailó fue Ana Eli Astahel en 1984.
Actualmente continua bailando en festivales de danza oriental en Egipto e impartiendo seminarios.

Mención aparte merece la bailarina Nagwa Fouad, quien introdujo muchas innovaciones a la danza oriental. De
padre egipcio y madre palestina, empezó a bailar por invitación de Mohammed Abdel Nabi, dueño del famoso
cabaret Auberge des Pyramides, quien también inició a Souhair Zaki en la danza. Llegó a actuar en más de 100
películas y bailó ante jefes de estado como el presidente francés Valery Giscard d’ Estaing, los presidentes
estadounidenses Richard Nixon y Jimmy Carter, así como para Henry Kissinger, el rey Hussein de Jordania y
el Shah de Irán. También bailó para los presidentes egipcios Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat y Hosni
Mubarek.
El gran músico egipcio  Mohammed Abdel Wahab, compuso para ella un tema:  “Qamar Arba’tashar”, y luego
otros compusieron temas para ella, entre ellos Set el Hosn de Mohamed Sultan. Con la ayuda del coreógrafo
Mohamed Khalil, empezó a crear números basados en coreografías y no en la improvisación. Tenía una gran
expresividad en los brazos y mucha creatividad en sus vestuarios. Para leer más sobre
ella: https://unmundodeluz.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/nagwa-fouad-la-reina-de-la-danza-oriental/

Otra de las bailarinas egipcias más famosas es Fifi Abdo. Nació en 1953 y empezó a bailar a los 14 años. Su
estilo se caracteriza por sus enérgicos shimmies laterales y en camel, ochos de cadera y golpes ascendentes y
descendentes de cadera, el trémolo del laúd en el meneo constante y breve de sus caderas y un círculo completo
y lento con la espalda echada hacia atrás.

Bailó en hoteles como Le Meridien, Mena House Oberoi y El Gezira Sheraton. Ha llegado a cobrar hasta
10,000 dólares por sus presentaciones. Se dice que tiene 5,00 trajes de danza, y el más caro de ellos cuesta
40,000 dólares. Actualmente sigue participando en programas de televisión relacionados con la danza árabe.

(Para leer la historia de las bailarinas más famosas de la época de oro, visita esta entrada de mi
blog: https://unmundodeluz.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/la-epoca-de-oro-de-la-danza-arabe/)

Dina es, por mucho, la bailarina egipcia más cotizada de las últimas dos décadas. Su danza se caracteriza por
sus shimmies interminables y sentidos, sus círculos completos de cadera con el trasero hacia el público (argh!),
sus rebotes de pecho, sus trajes escandalosamente atrevidos y su sonrisa, de quien se sabe una trasgresora
exitosa que se dedica a lo que ama. Sus giros para rematar. Sus pechos rebotan mientras vibra con su breve
cintura engalanada con una cadena de oro alrededor de ella. También están sus características carrerillas
traviesas por el escenario.

A sus casi 50 años, sigue siendo un mujerón. Está casada con un empresario egipcio orgulloso de su baile. Su
hijo también lo está, pese a que ambos son musulmanes. Ella dice que su momento de cubrirse aún no ha
llegado. En 2011 publicó el libro “Huryati Fi Al Raqs” (Mi libertad en la danza).

Empezó su carrera a principios de los años 70, con el famoso grupo egipcio de danza folklórica Reda Troupe.
En los años 80 se volvió solista y en los años 90 empezó a bailar en hoteles como el Sheraton. Actualmente
imparte seminarios por todo el mundo, en el Festival Ahlan wa Sahlan de El Cairo y baila en el hotel
Intercontinental Cairo Semimaris y en bodas, además de haber participado en distintos programas de televisión.

Para leer su historia completa y ver más videos y fotos de Dina, lee esta entrada de mi
blog: https://unmundodeluz.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/el-fenomeno-de-dina-la-bailarina-egipcia/

Junto con Dina, Randa Kamel es una de las bailarinas egipcias más famosas de la actualidad. Baila en el
crucero Nile Maxim del Hotel Marriot, además de viajar por todo el mundo impartiendo seminarios.

A los 15 años entró a estudiar folklor egipcio con el famoso grupo Reda, del cual formó parte durante 7
años. Randa comenzó su carrera como bailarina profesional de danza oriental a los 21 años, en Alejandría, en
donde vivió por dos años. Posteriormente, se mudó a El Cairo y trabajó en restaurantes y cabarets durante
cuatro meses hasta que entró a trabajar al Hotel Meridien de El Cairo, en donde compartió el escenario durante
una semana con la famosa bailarina Fifi Abdou. (Para leer toda su historia, visita esta entrada de mi blog:
https://unmundodeluz.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/randa-kamel-de-egipto-para-el-mundo/)

Sus shimmies son como terremotos y su estilo es sumamente dinámico. Suele interpretar una frase musical de 8
tiempos con 8 pasos distintos. Algunos de sus movimientos más característicos son el caminado con shimmy y
golpe hacia atrás, los círculos completos con shimmy, sus brazos altivos y perfectamente colocados en todo
momento, sus constantes giros y su encajado y desencajado de cadera hacia el frente y hacia atrás. Sus giros
múltiples y sus brazos en círculo hacia adelante, como nadando de croll, sus golpes de vientre hacia adelante,
sus brinquillos, sus círculos de hombros hacia atrás, sus círculos imposibles en el escenario en los que mueve la
cadera hacia al frente con shimmy y remata el acento.

(Tuve la fortuna de tomar 3 seminarios con ella en México en 2012: clásico oriental, moderno y baladi).

Aunque menos conocida internacionalmente que Dina y Randa, Aziza es una bailarina egipcia que ha cobrado
fama en los últimos años. Su baile se caracteriza por la perfecta sincronía con la música, que no deja ni un
acento sin marcar, sus shimmies que fluyen como cascada y sus ochos africanos (también conocidos como
omies). En su estilo, twist y camel caben en una misma frase musical, e incluso una ligera argentinización de los
pasos laterales, en los que la cadera arrastra al torso y el torso a la cabeza.

En 2016 tomé un seminario con ella en la Ciudad de México y para ser sincera quedé un poco desencantada de
cómo se había transformado su danza. Para leer más al respecto haz click aquí: Il raqs shai maftuh.

Otras bailarinas egipcias conocidas son Nancy, cuya danza también se distingue por sus shimmies inagotables y
sus movimientos sutiles, y Nagwan, que baila con una alegría contagiosa que tuve la fortuna de ver en vivo en
Mayo de 2010 en un viaje a El Cairo. También, en este solo de percusión en el crucero Nile Crystal, un claro
ejemplo de cómo la bailarina puede llevar la batuta al guiar al derbakista con el cuerpo.

De la nueva generación de bailarinas también se destaca Sahar Samara, que fue una de las finalistas en el
concurso “Al Raqisa The Belly Dancer” organizado por Dina Talaat.

Existen otras bailarinas que, aunque no son egipcias de nacimiento, han llegado a dominar este estilo. Una de
ellas es la rusa Nour, que comenzó su carrera como bailarina de danzas folkóricas de Uzbekistán, Tayikistán y
Azerbaiyán. Su amor por la danza árabe, que descubrió con Nagwa Foaud, la llevó a El Cairo, en donde se casó
con el cantante sirio Yasser Al Souvery y desarrolló su delicado estilo.

Otro ejemplo es Nesma de España, elegantísima bailarina que fue miembro del famoso grupo de folklor egipcio
Reda Troupe, la única extranjera en haber ocupado el puesto de bailarina principal. En el año 1995 llegó a bailar
acompañada del famoso cantante Ahmed Adawiya en el Sunset Night Club.

También bailó en el Nile Maxim con música en vivo, el mismo escenario en el que se ha presentado Randa
Kamel, acompañada nada menos que de Khamis Henkesh. (Tuve el privilegio de tomar un seminario de taqsim
de acordéon con ella en México en 2012).
La interpretación del estilo clásico egipcio de una de mis maestras más inspiradoras, la bailarina brasileña
Claudia Cenci, coreógrafa de El Clon con quien tuve el privilegio de estudiar en Madrid.

Ante la imposibilidad de abarcar a todas las bailarinas egipcias, sirvan estos ejemplos para  rendir tributo a la
valentía de estas mujeres, que se entregaron a su pasión por la danza pese al desapruebo social que suscita en la
sociedad egipcia.

(En 1999, el gran mufti Nasr Farid Wasil incluso emitió una fatwa en la que prohibía a las bailarinas de danza
árabe peregrinar en La Meca por su indecencia… luego, se retractó.  Asimismo, el abogado egipcio  Nabeeh Al
Wahsh presentó una demanda contra los productores del programa de televisión  “Shari’ Imhmad Ali” (Calle
Mohammad Ali) -presentado por la bailarina Dina- porque buscaba crear una nueva generación de bailarinas
de danza árabe, algo “éticamente intolerable”, por mencionar sólo dos ejemplos).

A lo largo de la historia han sido varios los intentos en Egipto de proscribir esta danza, afortunadamente todos
sin éxito hasta el momento. Hubo una época en la que se prohibió a las bailarinas mostrar el vientre, por lo que
la moda en los trajes de danza árabe empezó a incluir una malla semi transparente que les cubría el torso.

Lo curioso es que actualmente, en las bodas de lujo, en los hoteles de cinco estrellas y en los centros nocturnos
de la calle de las Pirámides de El Cairo el plato fuerte sigue siendo el espectáculo de danza árabe. Asimismo,
durante el auge del cine egipcio entre los años 30 y 60 de la década pasada, innumerables bailarinas aparecieron
en la pantalla grande.

Desde el punto de vista islámico, esta prohibido bailar este tipo de danza en público, puesto que la mujer sólo
debe mostrar su cuerpo a su marido. No obstante, ya sería tiempo de que Egipto se reconciliara con su danza por
excelencia y empezara a promoverla y valorarla como la expresión artística que es considerada en Occidente.

El estilo egipcio no es algo estático, sino que ha evolucionado con el paso del tiempo. Quizá el mejor ejemplo
de esta evolución sea Randa Kamel, quien dice que ahora los movimientos se sacan desde dentro. Un simple
acento de cadera ascendente se ve distinto cuando se hace con los músculos del vientre que cuando se utilizan
otras partes del cuerpo para mover la cadera, como las piernas, un estilo que ella considera anticuado.

Lo cierto es que el estilo egipcio es único y auténtico, no solo por el sentimiento que le imprimen sus
intérpretes sino por sus shimmies cadenciosos, por los delicados movimientos de manos y brazos y por las
figuras que dibujan las caderas de sus bailarinas, que dicen TODO sobre la música que interpretan.
Estilos de la Danza Oriental: Egipcio Clasico
Muchos de los movimientos del bellydance han sido utilizados por cientos de años en danzas
informales y folklóricas en el Medio Oriente. En la primera mitad de los años 20, nightclubs en
Egipto formalizaron esos movimientos o danza de entretenimiento llamándola "Raks Sharki".
Ésta fué la industria fílmica árabe, basada mayormente en el Cairo, éstas bailarinas estrellas del
Medio Oriente danzando en nightclubs árabes y turcos ayudaron a introducir la danza oriental
alrededor del mundo.

Movimientos:
 El estilo bellydance egipcio usa movimientos y técnicas refinadas y sutiles, especialmente en las
versiones más viejas. La bellydancer egipcia se esfuerza para las interpretaciones artísticas,
emocionales de la música y la interacción amistosa con su audiencia. Versiones más modernas
se han convertido más hacia el Este, añadiéndole algunas técnicas de forma como el ballet, pop
y musicales de Hollywood. Algunas hacen uso de los crótalos, el velo o el trabajo de piso (el cual
es ilegal en Egipto). Existen excepciones en las propuestas como los Raks Assaya (danza del
bastón) y Raks Shamadan (danza del candelabro).

Música:
En los nightclubs egipcios, las bailarinas danzan con largas orquestas de música árabe; Existe
una variedad de instrumentos incluyendo dumbeks (támbor árabe), kanoon (instrumento de
cuerdas), violines, ouds (similar a la guitarra), mizmars (de viento en forma de cuerno). En más
modernos estilos de música algunas veces se añaden intrumentos del Este como teclado e
instrumentos elctrónicos. Hoy en día existen más estilos modernos del Raqs Sharki que incluyen
instrumentos américanos o del world-beat.

Traje:
Desde los 50's en Egipto ha sido ilegal para un performance de una bellydancer en público llevar
el abdomen descubierto. Los trajes para el Raqs Sharki son usualmente uno largo de una pieza o
de dos piezas (brassiere y falda decorados) con una media escarpada cubriendo el abdomen. Los
trajes son usualmente elaborados y elegantes, con las telas muy decoradas, las joyas y la figura
moldeada. Los cinturones usualmente están cosidos directamente en la falda o vestido haciendo
juego con el resto del atuendo y los accesorios. En definitiva, el look para una Raqs Sharki es
glamoroso y femenino.

http://jamiprincess.blogspot.com/2011/10/estilos-de-la-danza-oriental-egipcio.html

http://www.actiweb.es/magiaydanza/danza_el_bellydance.html
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN DANCE

The ancient Egyptians were a dance-loving people. Dancers were commonly depicted on murals, tomb
paintings and temple engravings. Ideographs show a man dancing to represent joy and happiness. Pictorial
representations and written records from as early as 3000 B.C. are offered as evidence that dance has a long
history in the Nile kingdom. According to the International Encyclopedia of Dance , “dance was part of the
Egyptian ethos and featured prominently in religious ritual and ceremony on social occasions and in Egyptian
funerary practices regarding the afterlife."The study of ancient Egyptian dance is based mostly on identifying
dance scenes from monuments, temples and tombs and translating and interpreting the inscriptions and texts
that accompanied them. [Source: International Encyclopedia of Dance , editor Jeane Cohen]

According to the International Encyclopedia of Dance , dances were performed “for magical purposes, rites of
passage, to induce states ecstacy or trance, mime; as homage; honor entertainment and even for erotic
purposes." Dances were performed both inside and outside; by individuals pair but mostly by groups at both
sacred and secular occasions.

Dance rhythms were provided by hand clapping, finger snapping, tambourines, drums and body slapping.
Musicians played flutes, harps, lyres and clarinets, Vocalizations included songs, cries, choruses and rhythmic
noises. Dancers often wore bells on their fingers. They performed nude, and in loincloths, flowing transparent
robes and skirts of various shapes and sizes. Dancers often wore a lot of make-up, jewelry and had strange
hairdos with beads, balls or cone-shaped tufts, Accessories included boomerangs and gavel-headed sticks. Ab ,
the hieroglyph for heart, was a dancing figure.

The oldest depictions of dance comes from pottery from the predynastic period (4000 to 3200 B.C.) from the
Naqada Ii culture that depicts female figures (perhaps goddesses or priestesses) dancing with upraised arms.
Similar dancers are joined by men brandishing clappers in what is thought to represent mourners in a funeral
procession. Some scholars believed that ballet moves such as the pirouette and arabesque originated in ancient
Egypt.

Erika Meyer-Dietrich of Johannes Gutenberg-Universität wrote: “According to the Egyptian iconographical and
textual sources, dance is performed by animals, human beings (dwarfs, men, women, and children appear in the
reliefs), the bas of Pe, the deceased king or individual, the living king in a divine role, and gods and
goddesses...According to ancient Egyptian sources, contexts in which dance occurs spontaneously, or is
performed according to traditional ideas, include sunrise, banquets, funerals, the afterlife, joyousness, royal
ceremonies, and religious festivals. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz,
Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org <>]
“The most common noun for “dance” is jbAw, which was used continuously from as early as the Old Kingdom,
where it is found in the Pyramid Texts, through the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.), where we find it featured
in temple inscriptions. The determinative of the verb, and of the corresponding noun (“dancer”), is a man
standing on one leg with the other leg bent at the knee. Nevertheless, the iconographical sources show both
male and female dancers, and in a variety of contexts. Without exception dancers who appear in pairs or groups
are of the same gender. Their representation is abundant on reliefs and wall paintings in the tombs of private
individuals from the Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom. Dancers of non-Egyptian origin are a
prominent feature in processions of the 18th Dynasty. A Ramesside ostracon bears a satirical illustration of
dance. Textual sources for dance in religious ritual dominate in the Ptolemaic temples." <>

Categories with related articles in this website: Ancient Egyptian History (32 articles) factsanddetails.com;
Ancient Egyptian Religion (24 articles) factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Life and Culture (36 articles)
factsanddetails.com; Ancient Egyptian Government, Infrastructure and Economics (24 articles)
factsanddetails.com.

Websites on Ancient Egypt: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook:
Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Discovering Egypt discoveringegypt.com; BBC History: Egyptians
bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians ; Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for
Universities. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used
extensively to illustrate topics. ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt ; British Museum: Ancient Egypt
ancientegypt.co.uk; Egypt's Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org
; Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ; Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre in Paris
louvre.fr/en/departments/egyptian-antiquities; KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt kmtjournal.com; Ancient Egypt
Magazine ancientegyptmagazine.co.uk; Egypt Exploration Society ees.ac.uk ; Amarna Project amarnaproject.com;
Egyptian Study Society, Denver egyptianstudysociety.com; The Ancient Egypt Site ancient-egypt.org; Abzu: Guide to
Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East etana.org; Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Types of Dance in Ancient Egypt

The Egyptians word for dance was in . Types of dances for which there were specific words including striding
dance ( hbi ), the acrobatic dance ( ksks ), the leaping dance ( trf ) and the pair dance.

Dances were performed at births, marriages, funerals, royal functions and ceremonies for the gods. Reliefs and
murals depict, children, men, women, dwarfs, pygmies, kings, queens, animals such as baboons and ostriches
and gods like Thoth, Horus, Isis and Isis all dancing. Hathor was the mistress of dance. Divine dwarfs
performed the “dance of the gods." Professional dancers were either priests or slaves who performed in temples
or the homes of wealthy people. Priests performed dances in private called the "dance of the stars” in which the
dancers moved from east to west across symbols of the planets and stars. There is evidence of dance
instructions for girls as well as female dancers being members of the harems of kings and high officials.

dancing dwarf

Sacred dances were directed to the goddesses---namely Hathor but also to Isis and Mut---and gods---particularly
Amun but also to Min (god of fertility) and Maontus (god of war). These dances were featured in the Festival of
the Erection of Djed and the month-long Opet Festival. There were dances to honor the king when he received
foreign dignitaries and dances performed in association with the harvest and post circumcision initiation rites.
There were also combat dances and dance to entertain the king and queen.

The mirror dance from the Old Kingdom featured four dancers organized in pairs “capturing the hand of
Hathor” when the clappers clash. One boomerang dance featured young nude girls holding boomerangs
organized in two concentric circles running in opposite directions. There were also special stick dances for
boomerang-carrying men and one for dwarves.

The divine “god dance” performed by dwarves was greatly loved. If dwarves weren't available
chondrodystrophic cripples were used. Grotesque dwarf-figure toys and figures have been discovered. The
dwarf gods Aha and Bes figure as musicians and singers in reliefs of royalist rituals. There is also some
evidence that foreign “exotic” dancers---namely Libyans and Nubians---were in demand," There are images of
scantily-clad, black-skinned dancers at celebrations marking the arrival of the divine barks at Karnak. Libyan
dancers are pictured doing a boomerang hunting dance with phallic shapes and ostrich feathers in their hair.

Egyptian Dance In Different Periods

In the Old Kingdom the dances tended to be formal and restrained. In the Middle Kingdom leaps and stamping
were introduced. In the New Kingdom dancing became more graceful and fluid.
There are many depictions of dances from the Old Kingdom but the depiction vary little. The dances were
usually performed by women or young girls. One early dance for which there are images shows a group dance
by women with their arms raised above their head. Accompaniment is provided by women clapping and
perhaps calling out. Some dancers performed in the nude and had unique ball-shaped hair styles. Pair dances,
featuring men and women holding hands, are associated most with funerals. Images of women in loinclothes
and braids doing deep backbend, high kicks and other precarious postures are thought to have been of acrobatic
dancers or even erotic ones.

Middle Kingdom dances included acrobatic Hathor dances in which dancers laid on their stomachs are reached
backs until their heads touched their feet; erotic danced by skirted quartets of young girls representing the union
of the Sun god Ra with Hathor (“the mistresses of the sky”); large group dances with many men and women
held in conjunction with funeral processions. Dances in reliefs and murals show men doing pirouettes and
women mimicking the effects of the wind with their hands. One intriguing scene shows a man doing a squatting
“Russian style” dance. Finger snapping was added to the array of rhythmic sounds.

In the New Kingdom period dance scene show up frequently in banquet scenes and depict dance as much more
joyous endeavor. Magdeg Saleh wrote in International Encyclopedia of Dance : “These charming scenes are
radiant with clarity, harmony, grace, elegance and refinement---especially evident in the figures--- fluid,
sinuous curves and relaxed flow. They portray dancer-musicians in long, filmy gowns, delicately affecting head,
arm, torso or leg gestures while playing the lute, flute, double oboe, lyre or tambourine...Many dancers are girls,
very young and nude...some of them black. Movements are concentrated mainly on the upper body.
Occasionally, clappers are used...One notable scene is interpreted as a belly dance, exalting fertility."

In the New Kingdom acrobatic dances featured cartwheels and forward flips. Funeral dances featured robed and
naked women banging on tambourines in an agitated way and thrusting forward their torsos.

A Greek guest at a royal banquet in Memphis wrote: "two dancers, a man and a woman, went among the crowd
and beat out the rhythm. Then each danced a solo veiled dance. Then they danced together, meeting and
separating, then converging in successive harmonious movements. The young man's face and movements
expressed his desire for the girl, while the girl continually attempted to escape him, rejecting his amorous
advances. The whole performance was harmoniously coordinated, animated yet graceful, and in every way
pleasing."
Tomb of the Dancers

Difficulty of Studying Ancient Egyptian Dance

Erika Meyer-Dietrich of Johannes Gutenberg-Universität wrote: “ “The study of dance in ancient Egypt
presents problems of classification, representation, and interpretation. We do not possess sufficient information
to construct a typology of dance in terms of distinctive movements and rhythms. Although 18 different verbs for
“to dance” are attested according to the references given in the Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae, the terminology
applied to dance escapes our comprehension, and the association between terms and selected movements is
often obscure. Only a few names for body postures are attested. Extant artifacts (figurines in a dance posture)
are sparse. The “frozen” postures and gestures depicted on reliefs do not allow for the reconstruction of a
dancer's movements or the composition and tempo of those movements. Nonetheless, some scholars have tried
to deduce dance movements from gestures and body postures seen in Egyptian representations of dance.
Postures have been interpreted as the dancer's successive steps in a dance sequence, as if the artist tried to catch
a certain moment of the performance, sometimes choosing to depict the extreme position of a movement, the
body bent back, the legs spread in a split, and the arms stretched to the utmost. Ultimately, whether dance
movements should be understood as synchronic or diachronic representations of actions remains an unsolved
problem. According to pictorial representations, dancers were configured either in linear relationships—that is,
dancing toward each other in opposite rows— or in pairs. Solo dancers are rarely depicted. [Source: Erika
Meyer-Dietrich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009,
escholarship.org <>]

“Aspects of tempo and rhythm are not easily interpreted. Textual “commentary” can sometimes be enlightening.
In the tomb chapel of Khnumhotep II at Beni Hassan, for instance, the text adjoining a representation of dancers
reads “wind”. Comments like this may indicate that the dance movements portrayed were performed with
speed. An important aspect in regard to rhythm is the concept of “chironomy”—a memory aid through which
rhythm is reflected by hand movements that count the beat. In the Old Kingdom clapping and percussion
instruments were used to set the beat. In the New Kingdom, when there appears to have been a greater variety
of instruments, new types of rhythm instruments may have influenced the beat and the tempo of a performance.
<>

“The uncertain connection between dance and music renders the interpretation of reliefs and paintings difficult.
In representations before the 18th Dynasty the dancers are not integrated in musical scenes; rather, they are
depicted in a separate register. It is therefore not evident whether their dance is actually accompanied by the
instrumental music. Even in depictions in which a musician is shown with a dancer, it is not clear whether the
musician accompanies the dancer (musically) or whether the two are engaged in a dialog. <>

“The intended purpose of the representation of dance and its interdependence with the history of religion and
the history of art complicates the exploration of developments in dance. The function of an image might have
been that of a “picture-act” operating as a virtual performance. In a religious context, it appears that certain,
select dance movements were typically displayed in the iconography. However, artistic conventions might have
rendered the depicted body postures less concurrent with reality. Junker points out that, in the Giza mastaba of
Kaiemankh, it is in accordance with artistic conventions for the expression of formal events that the musicians
are depicted standing instead of sitting on the floor. In addition to their operationality as picture-acts,
representations can be understood in an art-historical context—that is, in terms of their dependency on earlier or
contemporary representations with regard to theme, composition, and style. These factors of “interpictoriality”
are well demonstrated in the artistic development of the wall paintings in the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1640
B.C.) tombs of Beni Hassan and in the Theban tombs from the time of Amenhotep II." <>

Artifacts and Texts Associated with Dance in Ancient Egypt

Erika Meyer-Dietrich of Johannes Gutenberg-Universität wrote: “Artifacts associated with dance have survived
as ceremonial objects and as gifts for the tomb owner. These valued objects possessed several layers of
meaning. While musical instruments, dresses, mirrors, jewelry, headgear, ribbons, braid-weights, boomerangs,
and sticks might be endowed with meaning based on their commissioning and design, the materials used in their
production, methods of their use, and even possibly the professional experience of the associated musicians,
they revealed symbolic performance-related power when employed in a dance context. This is especially clear
with regard to multifunctional objects and parts of the human body. Hair, for example, appears to have taken on
additional meaning when associated with dance, as is underscored by amagical text, according to which “the
one who dances without hair” must suffer at the place of the crocodile (i.e., suffer a terrible fate). [Source: Erika
Meyer-Dietrich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009,
escholarship.org <>]

“Literary evidence that the same complexity of meaning was valid for ceremonial objects is provided by the
story of the birth of the royal children in Papyrus Westcar. In this narrative, a group of gods in the guise of
traveling dancers reached the house where the royal children were to be born. There “they held out [to the
distraught landlord] their necklaces and sistra." Having thereby assured the landlord of their competence as
midwives they were allowed to enter. <>
“A meaningful discussion of dance in ancient Egypt must include not only its consideration as an art form and
as it is displayed in representations, but also its exploration in context, as performance. Common to the bulk of
iconographical and textual sources for dance is its ritual significance. Dance is embodied knowledge,
communicated and acted out by being performed as a dance. The particular dance executed is dependent upon
the situation, and the dance is performed in relation to another person. Conceptualized as a ritual practice, dance
can be characterized as the setting up of relationships between symbols by means of physical operations." <>

Earliest Images of Ancient Egyptian Dance: Animals, Humans and Dwarves

Erika Meyer-Dietrich of Johannes Gutenberg-Universität wrote: “According to the Egyptian iconographical and
textual sources, dance is performed by animals, human beings (dwarfs, men, women, and children appear in the
reliefs), the bas of Pe, the deceased king or individual, the living king in a divine role, and gods and goddesses.
Iconographical evidence for dancing animals appears during the 18th Dynasty. In the first hour of the Amduat,
dancing apes (carrying strong religious power) welcome the sun god at sunrise and sunset. The imagined space
that the animals create by jumping for joy at sunrise is the eastern horizon. At sunset, when the god enters the
West, the apes are depicted dancing on a sandy terrestrial domain. On a satirical ostracon from Deir el-Medina a
goat dances while a hyena plays the double oboe. Here, the animals represent human beings and shape a
gendered “sensual” space. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, UCLA
Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org <>]

Nebamun tomb fresco dancers and musicians

“The earliest known examples of a dancing human being come from the Badarian phase in plastic or incised
decoration. In these examples ritual dancing is expressed by a typical posture: the arms are lifted upwards with
incurving hands. According to Manniche the same position of hands and arms occurs in African fertility dances.
It has been suggested that this posture represents a cow's horns in a festive performance. The motif reached its
peak during the Naqada II phase, where it is exhibited in clay figurines and on pottery vessels painted in the
white cross-lined style. In the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. the motif is rare; more frequently seen
are depictions of a dancer and musicians surrounded by boats, flora, and water-birds, indicating the Nilotic
landscape. <>

“The dancing dwarf is situated in a multiplicity of contexts, the best known of which is a royal setting. Three
dancers with braided hair depicted on an Early Dynastic macehead from Hierakonpolis resemble dwarfs. One of
them holds a heart (jb) in his left hand. Morenz has suggested that this depiction is a cryptographic writing of
“dance” (jbAw). The king depicted on the macehead implies a performance in a royal scenario. According to
the Pyramid Texts, the deceased king dances in front of the throne in the role of the dwarf as “Dancer of God”
(jbAw nTr). A dwarf who cheers up the king by dancing is also attested in the well-known letter of Pepy II to
the governor of Elephantine, Harkhuf. Dancing dwarfs who entertain by comedic means are inserted in dance
scenes in the mastabas of private individuals in Giza. A girl's tomb in el-Lisht contained ivory carvings of nude
dwarfs who could be turned either to the right or left on a game board. Masked representations of the god Bes
carrying a tambourine or a pair of knives perform apotropaic dances. The dwarf Djeho who lived in the 30th
Dynasty mentions on his sarcophagus dances that he performed on the occasion of religious festivals to honor
Apis- Osiris and Osiris-Mnevis. According to Dasen the dwarf owes his role to his physical abnormality, which
is not regarded as a deficiency but rather as a divine mark. In ancient Egypt the concept of divine as
“generative," or sometimes “dangerous," is used to formulate borderlands. In a ritual environment, dwarfs
bringing regeneration and repelling evil may explain their appearance in the role of “Dancer of God," as
burlesque actors, and as apotropaic dancers, shaping and protecting liminal spaces." <>

Images of Dancers in Ancient Egyptian Tombs

Erika Meyer-Dietrich of Johannes Gutenberg-Universität wrote: “From the 4th Dynasty to the end of the New
Kingdom, dancers depicted in tombs of private individuals figure in three different contexts: the funerary rites,
the banquet scenes, and the cult of Hathor. In reliefs and wall paintings of the funeral, they appear in the
capacity of mourners and muu-dancers in processions accompanying the transport of the statue. Muu-dancers,
recognizable by their papyrus-stalk garland or reed-crown, personify “the bas of Pe." They are always male.
From the 18th Dynasty on they are depicted without such headdresses. They are commonly shown with both
fists placed on their chest (a gesture of veneration), with two fingers pointing to the ground, holding hands, or
touching each other with one finger while holding the other hand straight. Dancing in groups of three, or in
pairs, the muu hurry to meet the coffin (with its escort), follow it, and safeguard its journey. According to
Altenmüller they function as “ferrymen” for the deceased. A passage in Sinuhe reads: “. . . with oxen dragging
you and singers going before you. The dance of the Oblivious ones [the Muu] will be done at the mouth of your
tomb- chamber”. It has also been proposed that the muu serve as guardians of liminal space. Performing in the
necropolis as the bas of Pe, the muu- dancers come from the realm of the deceased forefathers. The imagined
space they create can be defined as the (liminal) passageway leading in both directions from the realm of the
living to that of the forefathers. [Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, UCLA
Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org <>]
dancing dwarf with a large penis

“In Old Kingdom scenes in the cult chambers of the mastabas from Saqqara, Dahshur, and Giza, dancers are
shown in a row with both arms raised above their heads. Offering bearers are depicted in the same manner. To
identify dancers in this formation and to distinguish them from offering bearers, the heel of the moving leg
lifted from the ground is a reliable indicator. This standardized depiction of dancers appears first in
representations from the 5th Dynasty. Already in the 6th Dynasty more extensive and varied body postures are
portrayed. Occasionally a nude girl joins the dancing. Titles inform us about the social group of female dancers:
“The singing by the harem (xnr) to the dance”. The dancers are subordinated to an overseer who can be either
male or female. Sometimes the dancers are singing or playing musical instruments such as clappers, cymbals,
drums, flutes, tambourines, and later even stringed instruments. Clapping hands, rattling jewelry, or snapping
fingers indicate the rhythm. The costumes of the dancers change depending on the context and the fashion of
the time. A short kilt and a garment of crossed bands that were knotted in the back were popular from the 5th to
the end of the 6th Dynasty. In the 6th Dynasty pair-dancing appears. Van Lepp has interpreted its depicted
gestures and body postures as the enacting of the funerary rites through dance In rites of passage the dance
shapes a transitional space. <>

“The Coffin Texts articulate the idea that the deceased continue their existence among the living and may even
dance among them: “Let him sing and dance and receive ornaments. Let him play draughts with those who are
on earth, may his voice be heard even though he is not seen; let him go to his house and inspect his children for
ever and ever”. Representations of dancing are requisite in banquet scenes. Kampp-Seyfried points out a shift in
emphasis that took place toward the end of the 18th Dynasty: from this time onward, the living ones join the
banquets of the deceased. Over time the representation of dancers in banquet scenes becomes increasingly
detailed. In the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.) female dancers are shown scantily dressed—perhaps wearing
only a slim belt around their hips, bracelets, anklets, and sometimes a diaphanous robe. Their hair is long and
loose, topped by a cone of ointment." <>

Dance, Religion and Emotion in Ancient Egypt

Erika Meyer-Dietrich of Johannes Gutenberg-Universität wrote: “In Old, Middle, and New Kingdom tomb
representations a dance with leaps and splits was performed by male or female dancers to honor the goddess
Hathor. Scenes of this dance in the 6th Dynasty mastaba of Ankhmahor, for example, depict dancers who wear
a long braid ending in a round weight. The latter consists of a ring or, as Hickmann has assumed, perhaps a
rattling clay ball. In early representations the dancers hold clappers and a mirror. Later the broad collar and its
counterpoise became the signifying attributes in the cultic dance for Hathor, such as we see in a representation
in the Theban tomb of the vizier Antefoker. The inscription above the dancers who are positioned before the
deceased's wife Senet reads: “The doors of heaven are open. Behold, ‘The Golden One’ has come!”. The ritual
objects used in the dance for Hathor produce the imagined space of a face-to-face encounter with the goddess.
[Source: Erika Meyer-Dietrich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
2009, escholarship.org <>]
“Middle Kingdom literature and biographies testify to dance inspired by emotion. The protagonists in these
examples are male. After Sinuhe has received good news from the king, who has just granted him permission to
be buried in Egypt, he spontaneously performs a dance of joy: “I roved round my camp, shouting”, the 12th
Dynasty Governor of Elephantine, Sarenput I, expresses joy about his promotion: “I danced like the stars of the
sky”. He goes on to further highlight the interconnectedness of dancing and rejoicing: “My town was in a
festive mood, my young people jubilating when the dancing was heard”. Two personifications of towns are
depicted in the Karnak Temple, dancing in front of Thutmose III, who celebrates the “Feast of the White
Hippopotamus”. In the Amarna tomb of Meryra II, jubilating and dancing men, women, and children celebrate
the recipient of great honors upon his return to his house. On the pillars that flank the entrance to the mammisi
of Edfu, a hymn of joy ends: “May the young women jubilate for him by dancing. Kamutef is his name”." <>

“Gods emerge as dancers in the inscriptions from Late Period temples. A pillar fragment from the Ptolemaic
mammisi of Edfu shows a newborn, unnamed god dancing on a lotus flower. On a Ptolemaic-Roman lintel in
Dendara, the seven “Hathors” play the tambourine before Hathor and her son Ihi. The fifth of them is specified
as “Hathor, Mistress of Kom el-Hisn, foremost of the place of inebriation [Dendara], Mistress of Dance," and
the seventh of them “dances for The Golden One”. In the pronaos of Dendara, Ihy himself bears the epithet
“The one who dances for his mother”, and Hathor is the one “for whom the gods perform the jbAw- dance and
for whom goddesses and musicians dance” Hathor-Tefnut herself dances in her temple at Philae, while the king
dances for her in the role of Shu. A unique iconographic testimony to the king as performer is a depiction of the
Roman emperor Trajan dancing for the goddess Menhyt-Nebtuu. The imagined space the gods create by
dancing in the seclusion of the temples is their own ontological realm, the realm of the divine. <>

“According to Spell 835 from the Coffin Texts, “the deceased is promised power over gods who will serve him
and not dance—that is, not be occupied with dance but instead be ready to serve the deceased. Magical papyri
provide evidence for religious concepts associated with dancing. For example, in order to help a sick child, a
magician draws an analogy to the dancing child-god Horus." <>

Dance and Religious Festivals in Ancient Egypt

Erika Meyer-Dietrich of Johannes Gutenberg-Universität wrote: “Priests and priestesses, foreigners, gods, and
the king in a divine role dance as celebrants in religious festivals. The instruments they carry were owned by the
temple. The rank of such ceremonial dancers was apparently high. Eighth Dynasty king Neferkauhor appointed
the second son of the vizier Shemai as a celebrant in order to dance and celebrate hymns before the god Min at
Koptos. The most reported events at which ceremonial dance was performed were seasonal and religious
festivals. In the Theban tomb of Kheruef, dancers at the Sed Festival of Amenhotep III are shown bent forward.
Significantly, the text above the dancers links the dancing to mythological concepts of harvesting. [Source:
Erika Meyer-Dietrich, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009,
escholarship.org <>]

dancer in an Ancient Egyptian costume

“From the time of Hatshepsut, dancers appear in the Opet-procession. They dance bent backward while entering
Luxor Temple (south wall, 3rd reg). According to Wild the dancers belong to the temple of Amun. Temple
personnel in priestly garments are frequently depicted as musicians and chironomists. In the scholarly discourse
on dance in ancient Egypt their activity as dancers is subsumed under the heading “musicians." The dance
performed at festivals by Egyptian dancers required physical training and religious knowledge, because the
dance expressed mythological acts and religious concepts. Possibly, the dancers were hired for the occasion or
belonged to alternating groups of officiants. Ptolemaic-Roman papyri allow us our first glimpse of the working
conditions of contracted dancers. Papyrus Cornell 26 informs us about the number of days a particular
performance lasted and the date of the performance, as well as the payment, the condition, and the transport of
professional dancers. <>

“Foreign dancers are attested as early as the Middle Kingdom. In the 18th Dynasty depictions of female Nubian
dancers in a marshy environment appear on decorated objects, such as flute containers and spoons, as gifts for
the New Year. At the same time male Nubians and Libyans are visible in representations of rituals performed in
public venues. In the Opet-procession , these male dancers dance along the riverbank, accompanying the divine
barque of Amun on its journey to Luxor. They are also part of the entourage in a Ptolemaic hymn that celebrates
the goddess Hathor upon her return from her journey to Nubia. The text from the temple at Medamud praises
Hathor, the returning “Eye of the Sun," as “The Golden Goddess who is pleased by dances at night." It begins:
“Come, oh Golden One, who eats of praise, because the food of her desire is dancing”. The imagined space
created by the dancers coming from the south is the far southeast region at dawn. <>
“Herodotus’ description of pilgrims on their way to Bubastis illustrates that the act of playing the flute and
dancing, paired with raucous banter and the women's exposure of their private parts, actually serves to define
the route of the pilgrimage as a gendered liminal space." <>

Theater and Drama in Ancient Egypt

Robyn Gillam of York University in Toronto wrote: “Drama is to be understood as a subset of performance
involving verbal and physical interaction between two or more persons. Finding evidence for this activity in
ancient Egyptian sources is challenging, but not without results. Dramatic texts appear to cluster between the
26th Dynasty and the Roman Period up to the second century CE and may point to the influence of Hellenic
culture. [Source:Robyn Gillam, York University, Toronto, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009,
escholarship.org <>]

“Textual materials, as well as some archaeological remains, provide evidence for the existence of a full range of
different types of performance throughout Egyptian Pharaonic culture. Performance may be defined as any
activity acted out by embodied subjects before witnesses and is a form of behavior found in all human societies.
It can range from a simple social interaction to a highly structured routine and encompass everything from
playful or entertaining activities to highly portentous, effective ritual programs. <>

“Egyptian documents that show the best evidence for performances of dramatic characters are almost all
connected with or part of ritual routines. Some of these routines appear not to involve interaction between two
actors but between one actor and a statue or between one actor or actors and a dead body. From a modern
perspective, these do not qualify as dramas, but it must be remembered that to the Egyptians, both statues and
mummies could possess full subjectivity. It may also be argued that singers, readers, and storytellers
“performed” literary, religious, and poetic texts for their listeners; but in the almost total absence of any direct
evidence as to how this was achieved, they must be omitted from this discussion of dramatic material." <>

Tomb of the Dancers dancers

Problems Defining and Finding Evidence of Ancient Egyptian Drama

Robyn Gillam of York University in Toronto wrote: “From our own culturally specific perspective, drama, a
subset of performance, may be defined in a number of ways. A standard definition is that of a situation in which
there is a conflict or interaction between two or more characters, which is resolved; and, by extension, any pre-
structured or scripted situation where role- playing individuals take up these agonisticpositions. Early Greek
theater, the only such form in the ancient Mediterranean world that is well documented and present for some of
the same time period as Egyptian culture, made use of a protagonist (joined later by a deuteragonist and a
tritagonist) and chorus. It involved the development of an argument (both in the sense of propositions and
subject matter) relating to gods and heroes. Ethnographic evidence shows that similar forms have existed in
other cultures , although there is almost no direct evidence for this kind of activity in Pharaonic Egypt. [Source:
Robyn Gillam, York University, Toronto, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org <>]

“The best evidence for drama in the Egyptian record should demonstrate the presence of dialogue between
living persons role-playing various characters in a situation deploying a narrative that is advanced by their
interactions. Ideally, some kind of audience would be involved, but direct evidence for this is seldom
forthcoming, except in the case of some processional festivals or public royal ceremonies. Unfortunately, the
detection of drama in Egyptian sources relies on the discernment of some or (rarely) all of these criteria as well
as the judgment of the individual researcher about the nature and purpose of the source. <>

“Poor rates of preservation for written documents in all but the later periods, as well as the restriction of writing
to a minority literate class, mean that evidence for the more social, casual types of performance is extremely
limited. Papyri originating from the New Kingdom workmen's village at Deir el-Medina suggest the existence
of staged political demonstrations, and assorted monumental and documentary sources point to the existence of
work related performances such as those connected with the moving of large statues and blocks of stone . More
indications can be found in the songs of laborers recorded in Old and Middle Kingdom tombs. <>

“Most evidence for Egyptian performance relates to highly structured ritual routines performed by and for the
elite in connection with the installation and appearance of the king and the cult of the gods in formal temples.
Such routines include the Sed (or Renewal) Festival, the appearance or coronation of the king, a variety of
execration rites performed for the king and the gods, as well as the daily cult of the gods in their temples, the
elaborate rites performed at royal and elite funerals such as the “Butite Burial”, the mummification ritual, and
the Rite of Opening of the Mouth, which is aimed at ensouling cult and funerary images. While all such routines
contain mythological allusions and often indicate that participants are to role-play various gods, any
mythological narrative remains peripheral to their ritual or magically effective character, and the actions
performed are mechanical rather than interactive. Furthermore, many of these ritual routines were performed in
secret by highly trained, initiated practitioners." <>

Activities That Might Qualify as Ancient Egyptian Drama

Robyn Gillam of York University in Toronto wrote: “There is, however, extremely limited evidence that
dramatic performance, as defined above, may have existed in Egyptian culture. The Late Middle Kingdom
Ramesseum Dramatic Papyrus preserves in tabular form a record of a divine narrative pertaining to the conflict
of Horus and Seth, divided up into a series of sections in which protagonists are given dialogue. There are also
sporadic indications of settings and props. Schematic drawings and labels seem to show that high ranking court
officials role-play these characters. Very similar, but somewhat simpler in layout and design, is the much later
text on the left side of the Shabaqo Stone. Eleven tableaux found on the inside of the outer wall of the temple of
Horus at Edfu also present the same myth, combining pictures of the gods, dialogue, and narrative as in the
Ramesseum Papyrus. “They also indicate the role of the king, royal children, and various priests in this routine.
Although the dramatic character of this document has been questioned the recent identification of a Demotic
text presenting dialogue and action for characters from the same myth makes it likely that narrative-based
performances with interaction between characters existed. [Source: Robyn Gillam, York University, Toronto,
UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2009, escholarship.org <>]

“Evidence for the selection of persons to play roles involving some kind of action and speech is indicated by
the practice of selecting pre-pubescent girls to play the roles of the djeryt or “kites”, Isis and Nephthys, in
mourning over their brother Osiris at state funerals and at the vigil for Osiris in the month of Khoiak, as
celebrated in the later periods. While the role fulfilled by these young women is arguably of a ritual nature, it
does have some dramatic aspects. The speeches and actions of these actors are recorded in the Bremner-Rhind
Papyrus from the c. fourth century B.C. and are also indicated in the texts and representations in the Osirian
chapels at Dendara of the mid first century B.C.. The Greek Serapeum Papyri of the second century B.C.
indicate the high prestige and remuneration attached to the position of twin sisters who played this role at the
funeral of the Apis bull. <>

“While almost all of this material relates to the myth of Horus and Seth, an inherently agonistic narrative, a
Roman Period text from Esna relates to the birth of the divine king, as recorded in earlier texts and
representations found in New Kingdom temples and Ptolemaic birth houses. This work does not include any
pictures or explicit stage directions and has been put together from texts found in different parts of the temple
by Serge Sauneron to include long, poetic speeches by the divine child and the gods who have created him and
bestowed upon him divine attributes. Their speeches are interspersed with equally poetic hymns, which not only
exalt the gods but comment on their actions. Sauneron's reconstruction has been criticized, but the clear
interactivity of the speeches of the characters makes its dramatic character hard to deny, even if there is no
evidence for its application. The existence of utterances in the first person plural in the Edfu text as well as the
reflexive character of the Esna hymns suggest the presence of a chorus and raise issues about the relationship of
Egyptian dramatic performances to Greek theater, which can be attested in Egypt from the early Ptolemaic
Period. <>

“Another significant element in this conclusion can be drawn from a comparison of the speeches of the
characters in the Edfu and Esna texts with those in the Ramesseum Papyrus and on the Shabaqo Stone. The
latter are so short and pithy as to not always be easily distinguishable from stage directions, while the former,
especially the Esna texts, feature long, poetic passages that both apostrophize the gods and describe their actions
and significance with vivid images and elaborate figures of speech. Although the content and imagery remain
purely Egyptian, the stylistic features of these speeches may recall the works of Euripides, ever popular among
the Greek-speaking community of Egypt, and even, especially in the case of Esna, the dense imagistic and
rhetorical style of Silver Age Latin verse." <>

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt
sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore,
discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine,
New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine,
Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated
Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, World Religions edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications,
New York); History of Warfare by John Keegan (Vintage Books); History of Art by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.), Compton's Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated September 2018

http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub365/entry-6140.html
https://www.ciudaddeladanza.com/bibliodanza/danzas-antiguas/la-danza-en-egipto.html

LA DANZA EGIPCIA 
 
 
y en los bajorrelieves nos muestran que el baile era parte obligatoria de las procesiones y las fiestas de cosecha o
vendimia. Con el tiempo la danza y la música se convirtieron en uno de los elementos más importantes de la vida
espiritual y social.
Los antiguos egipcios gustaban de la danza acrobática y apenas distinguían entre el bai le propiamente dicho y ejercicios
gimnásticos de considerable dificultad. Los bailarines so lían actuar casi desnudos y las mujeres llevaban vestidos muy
ajustados y transparentes con los senos descubiertos. Los bailes podían ir acompañados de cánticos y/o música. Es ta
última, a pesar de la gran cantidad de instrumentos que conocían y utilizaban (tambo res, panderetas, flautas, cuernos,
trompetas, laudes y liras) ocupaba un lugar secundario como acompañamiento de la danza, canto o declaración, no la
practicaban por el gusto de ella misma.
Como los otros aspectos de la vida egipcia, la danza tenía sus propios dioses. Hathor era la diosa de la danza sagrada, al
mismo tiempo que del amor y la borrachera, era muy hermosa, voluptuosa y exhuberante, gran amante de la fiesta,
siendo representada como mujer, como vaca y como leona indistintamente. Las danzas hathóricas eran cantos
coreografiados en su honor, divididos en funerarios y de fertilidad. A partir del Imperio Medio aparece el dios de la
danza popular, Bes, patrón de los bailarines profesionales y de los músicos; sus representaciones son frecuentes en el
periodo saítico y ptolomaico y aparece siempre grotesco, bailando y haciendo muecas.
La danza egipcia mantuvo desde la época arcaica unas características comunes y prácticamente inamovibles, pero es
quizá la disciplina, junto con la música, que más se dejó in fluir por otras civilizaciones. De hecho, se encuentran
bastantes analogías con las culturas mediterráneas; por ejemplo, la danza con las rodillas dobladas también se da entre
los hebreos, cretenses y griegos. Otra característica común a Hélade es el gesto de los brazos en oposición, una palma
hacia el cielo, otra hacia la tierra, como una svastika.

Conclusiones
La Danza del Antiguo Egipto alcanzó una gran difusión, técnica y perfección y que transformándose desde parte del ritual
sagrado hasta parte integrante en cualquier festejo o actividad social. Hemos visto que era considerada como un
espectáculo placentero, dig no de ser conservado más allá de la muerte, al mismo tiempo que cuidaban su significado
religioso. Los bailarines, en un principio sacerdotes y sacerdotisas, se van profesionalizan do hasta convertir la danza en
una profesión digna y considerada que continuará a lo largo de la Historia de Egipto, mezclando la tradición faraónica
con las culturas que posteriormente irán asentándose en el Valle del Nilo y su desierto.
Compartir

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 Danza Árabe

Danza Árabe
Desde los tiempos más remotos, los humanos han usado el movimiento como una forma común de expresión y
comunicación.

La danza, es una experiencia humana compartida, es un lenguaje universal que nos conecta a todos,
independientemente de su origen, raza, religión o política.

Antes del lenguaje escrito, la danza era un recipiente a través del cual las historias y los eventos pasaban de una
generación a otra.

Las danzas folklóricas del mundo son un mosaico histórico de nuestra historia, herencia y evolución
compartidas.

La historia de la danza árabe de Medio Oriente, comienza en los exuberantes prados de la Media Luna Fértil y
en las soleadas orillas del río Nilo.

Donde el entorno, el paisaje y las creencias espirituales dieron forma a las primeras versiones de esta danza.
Artefactos históricos de Mesopotamia y pinturas encontradas en tumbas egipcias representan danzas
ceremoniales, sociales y rituales que datan de hace, 4000 AC.

De asentamientos agrícolas neolíticos a las complejas sociedades de la Edad del Bronce, la gente de la «Cuna de
la civilización» creó danzas tradicionales inspiradas en la majestuosidad de los ríos y las montañas, la
generosidad de la cosecha, la valentía en la batalla y la divinidad de ídolos y dioses.

Con el tiempo, a medida que la Edad de Hierro dio paso a los Imperios del Viejo Mundo y se produjeron
conquistas, que dieron lugar a los intercambios culturales desde el desierto del Sahara hasta la región del
Cáucaso, las danzas evolucionaron.

Los califas árabes ampliaron aún más la diversidad de la región a medida que el Islam se expandió desde
Andalucía, hasta los Balcanes y Asia Central.

A lo largo de su historia, la danza árabe, ha sido un reflejo de su rico entorno y las diversas influencias que lo
crearon.

Las danzas de los beduinos, Derviches, Caña, Espada, Jarra, Salleh, Mahrama y los muchos bailes de línea
como Dabke, han sido el lenguaje que las personas que los crearon y han usado para comunicarse entre sí y con
el mundo.

De acuerdo con las tradiciones culturales y sociales de la región, los trajes son modestos tanto para hombres
como para mujeres y las interpretaciones son una tradición heredada de habilidad, técnica y ceremonia.

Tipos de Danza árabe

 Danza del vientre o Raqs Sharqi 
 Dabke
 Baladi
 Almeh
 Ghawazi
 Khaleegy
 Ouled Nail
 Shamadan
 Schikhatt
 Guedra
 Ardah
 Hagallah
 Zār

Las danzas folclóricas de origen árabe

Las danzas folclóricas árabes, también conocidas como danza oriental, danza del Medio Oriente y danza del
vientre, son las danzas folclóricas tradicionales de los árabes, en el mundo árabe.

La danza árabe tiene muchos estilos diferentes, incluidos los tres tipos principales de folclore, clásico y
contemporáneo.

Se disfruta y se aplica en toda la región árabe, desde el norte de África hasta el Medio Oriente.

El término «danza árabe» a menudo, se asocia con la danza del vientre.

Sin embargo, hay muchos estilos de danza árabe tradicional y muchos de ellos tienen una larga historia.

Estos pueden ser danzas folclóricas o danzas que una vez se realizaron como rituales o como espectáculo de
entretenimiento y algunas pueden haber sido realizadas en la corte imperial.

Entre las danzas árabes tradicionales más conocidas, se encuentran la danza del vientre y el Dabke.

El baile tradicional sigue siendo popular entre los árabes expatriados y también se ha exportado con gran éxito a
grupos internacionales de danzas folclóricas, grupos de danzas circulares y danzas expresivas en todo el mundo.

Todos los bailarines usan el traje tradicional, para encarnar la historia de su cultura y contar historias de sus
antepasados.

Historia de la Danza Árabe

Históricamente, la danza siempre ha sido una parte importante de la cultura árabe.

Uno de los más antiguos bailes sociales, con personas de todas las edades y género, que disfrutan los pueblos
árabes en el Medio Oriente y África del Norte en los eventos ceremoniales son, los llamados Raqs Baladi.

Durante la serie de invasiones que sufrió el mundo árabe, los europeos fueron influenciados por la cultura árabe.

Durante la campaña francesa en Egipto y Siria en 1798, los europeos se interesaron por el mundo árabe.

A mediados del siglo XIX, las tierras árabes, especialmente el Levante, Mesopotamia y Egipto, se denominan
colectivamente Oriente Medio.

Oriente Medio atrajo a pintores y escritores europeos en el siglo XIX, que llegaron a ser orientalistas, entre las
personalidades más destacadas se encuentran Jean-Léon Gérôme, Eugène Delacroix y Jean-Auguste-Dominique
Ingres.

El movimiento oriental sin duda, ha contribuido a la concepción errónea, de la danza popular, como una danza
de tentación, realizada para el placer de los hombres.

De hecho, debido a la tradicional segregación de género, las mujeres en el Medio Oriente generalmente bailan
solo en compañía de mujeres.

Hoy en día, la segregación de género no se practica estrictamente en muchas áreas urbanas y a veces, tanto
hombres como mujeres bailan socialmente en eventos familiares y/o comunitarios.

La danza árabe se realizó en los Estados Unidos en 1893 en la Exposición Mundial de Colombia, que incluyó
una exposición titulada «Las calles de El Cairo».

La exposición contó con la participación de bailarines de varios países árabes, del Medio Oriente y el Norte de
África, incluidos Siria y Argelia.

El término «danza del vientre» a menudo se le atribuye a Sol Bloom, su director de entretenimiento, pero se
refirió a la danza como danse du ventre, el nombre utilizado por los franceses en Argelia.

En sus memorias, Bloom afirma:

«Cuando el público se enteró de que la traducción literal era ‘danza del vientre’, concluyeron con deleite que,
debe ser salaz e inmoral… Tuve una mina de oro».

Tipos de Danza Árabe

Los árabes tienen su propia música y danza, que forman parte de su identidad .

Hay muchos estilos de danzas árabes tradicionales, ya que el mundo árabe está conformada por una vasta área.

Los hombres también están tan involucrados en la danza, como las mujeres.

Aquí hay cuatro tipos de danzas tradicionales en el mundo árabe.

Danzas clásicas árabes

Esas danzas datan de la antigüedad y no han dejado de evolucionar en la historia y en el tiempo.

DEMO «La Mágica danza del vientre y folklore Árabe» from raqisabellydance on Vimeo.

Danza del vientre – Raqs Sharqi

La danza del vientre también se conoce como danza árabe Raqs sharqi, es una danza expresiva árabe, que
enfatiza los movimientos complejos del torso.

Muchos niños y las niñas en países donde la danza del vientre es popular aprenderán cómo hacerlo, cuando son
jóvenes.

La danza implica el movimiento de muchas partes diferentes del cuerpo, generalmente de forma circular.

Tanto las mujeres como los hombres pueden bailar la danza del vientre.

Raqs Sharqi, es el estilo egipcio clásico de la danza del vientre, que se desarrolló durante la primera mitad del
siglo XX.

Esta danza es preislámica y es una tradición oral que ha cambiado, a lo largo de los siglos.

Algunas personas creen que se originó, como una danza de fertilidad o de adoración a la Diosa de la fertilidad y
en el norte de África aún, se puede usar para ayudar durante un parto.

Shamadan – Danza de Shamadan

Shamadan, es un gran candelabro equilibrado en la parte superior de la cabeza de un bailarín, en una tradición
única de la danza egipcia.

Este accesorio de baile se usa históricamente en la procesión nupcial egipcia o zeffah.

La procesión nupcial ocurre tradicionalmente de noche, serpenteando por las calles del vecindario, desde la casa
de los padres de la novia, hasta su nuevo hogar en la casa del novio.

Este es el movimiento oficial de la novia y está dirigido por un bailarín, músicos y cantantes, seguido de la
fiesta de bodas con sus amigos y familiares.
Danza de Baladi en Egipto

Baladi, significa «del país» y es un estilo de danza popular egipcia de principios del siglo XX que sigue siendo
muy popular hasta hoy.

Por lo tanto, ‘Baladi egipcio‘, significa, ‘de el país de Egipto‘.

Se produjo cuando los agricultores se mudaron a la ciudad y comenzaron a bailar en espacios pequeños.

Los egipcios tienen gente Baladi, pan Baladi, ritmos Baladi, música Baladi y baile Baladi.

Es una forma folk/social de bellydance.

Es más estacionario que raqs sharqi, con poco uso de los brazos y el foco está en los movimientos de la cadera.

La danza Baladi tiene un sentimiento «pesado», con la bailarina aparentemente relajada y fuertemente
conectada con el suelo.

Se realiza para música Baladi o música folclórica.

Almeh

Almeh, «para saber y aprender» era el nombre de una clase de cortesanas o animadoras en Egipto, mujeres
educadas para cantar y recitar poesía clásica y para discursar con ingenio.

Ouled Nail – Bailarina de Ouled Nail

Ouled Nail, originó un estilo de música, a veces conocido como la música de Bou Saâda, que es la ciudad cerca
de su tierra natal.

En la danza del vientre, el término se refiere a un estilo de danza originado por Ouled Naïl, conocido por su
forma de bailar.

Lo que implica movimientos pequeños y rápidos del pie junto con movimientos vigorosos del torso y la cadera.

Ghawazi – Ghazeee

Ghawazi, son bailarinas de Egipto, fueron un grupo de mujeres que viajan como bailarinas.

Los Ghawazee se presentan, bailando en las calles públicas, incluso para entretener a la chusma.

Su baile tiene poco de elegancia; su peculiaridad principal es un movimiento vibratorio muy rápido de las
caderas, de un lado a otro.

Danzas Folclóricas
Esas danzas se realizan durante las celebraciones civiles o eventos como el nacimiento, la muerte, la boda o una
ascensión social y a veces, durante las festividades religiosas.

Echoes from FJK Dance on Vimeo.

Dabke

Dabke, es un evento de danza popular árabe que forma parte del paisaje sociocultural compartido del Levante.

Dos veces, Dabke se convirtió en un canon fijo de patrones de movimiento y pasos que, a través de la repetición
del discurso, sirvió para consolidar las normas de comportamiento y culturales.

La leyenda dice que la gente en la región del Levante, durante esa época hizo los techos de sus casas con ramas
de árboles y barro.

Cada vez que cambiaba el clima, el barro se rajaba y miembros de su familia o comunidad venían y ayudaban a
parcharlo formando una línea y uniendo manos y pisoteando el barro en su lugar.

En los meses más fríos, cantaban para ayudar a mantener sus cuerpos calientes, mientras realizaban el trabajo.

Deheyeh

Deheyeh, es una danza beduina practicada en Palestina, Jordania, el norte de Arabia Saudita, algunos de los
estados del Golfo, el desierto sirio e Irak.

Se practicó antes de las guerras, para despertar el entusiasmo entre los miembros de la tribu y al final de las
batallas en la antigüedad describen la batalla y los torneos, pero ahora se practica en ocasiones como bodas,
fiestas y otras celebraciones.

Ardah

Ardah, es un tipo de danza folclórica de Arabia.

El baile se realiza con dos filas de hombres opuestos entre sí, cada uno de los cuales puede o no estar
empuñando una espada o un bastón y está acompañado por tambores y poesía hablada.

En los Emiratos, la versión local se llama Iyala.

El término ‘Ardah’ se cree que deriva del verbo árabe ard que significa ‘para mostrar’ o ‘para desfilar’.

Fue llamado así porque su propósito, era exhibir públicamente la fuerza de combate de una tribu e impulsar la
moral, antes de un enfrentamiento armado.

Aunque hay variaciones regionales de la interpretación particular de Ardah, el propósito al que sirve es casi
idéntico en toda la Península Arábiga.

Hagallah

Hagallah, es una danza folclórica de celebración conocida como hagallah, interpretada por los beduinos (bedu)
asentados de Mersa Matruh, en el oeste de Egipto y que a menudo se realiza durante la fecha de cosecha, que
también es la temporada de bodas, en esa zona.

Hagallah, también es conocida en áreas de la vecina Libia y está relacionada con bailes kaf (aplausos) en otras
regiones de Medio Oriente.

Hagallah, es realizada por los beduinos del oeste de Egipto.

Ha sido descrito como un baile de bodas y también como, un baile de la mayoría de edad de una niña.

Danzas Populares
Las danzas populares involucran a todas las formas de expresión artísticas de un pueblo.

Julia Rose | Belly Dancer | Buikdanseres | Khaleegy for students from Julia Rose Belly Dancer on Vimeo.

Khaleegy

Khaleegy, es un baile realizado en los países de la Península Arábiga.

Para este baile se usa un largo » Thawb», que es una prenda hasta los tobillos, por lo general con mangas largas,
similar a una túnica.

Pero la característica principal, de esta danza árabe, es el cabello arrojando al aire, mientras la cabeza se
balancea de lado a lado.

El nombre de la danza literalmente significa «golfo» en árabe y es bailada por mujeres locales en bodas y otros
eventos sociales.

Khaleegy es una danza alegre, vivaz, expresiva, gestual y delicada que se realiza en eventos que involucran
felicidad y celebración, como por ejemplo: las bodas.

Las mujeres bailan en complicidad y a menudo se inicia con una de ellas paradas en la pista de baile para
comenzar el baile y luego, las demás, se unen a ella.

Las partes principales del cuerpo involucradas en la danza son: las manos, la cabeza y el «Thawb» en sí mismo.

El pelo, aparte del «Thawb» es el elemento principal utilizado para bailar Khaleegy: las mujeres dejan que su
cabello largo «baile» moviéndolo de un lado a otro, hacia adelante y hacia atrás, en círculo y haciendo otras
figuras.

Recientemente se ha vuelto muy popular entre las bailarinas, de danza árabe.

La danza de Khaleegy se realiza más comúnmente a un ritmo hipnótico de 2/4 con dos ritmos fuertes y una
pausa, llamada ritmo saudi, khaliji o adany (de Yemen).

Cabe señalar que no hay un solo ritmo khaliji sino cientos, ya que este baile representa a muchos países del área
del Golfo.

Schikhatt

Schikhatt, en árabe clásico, la palabra sheikha es el femenino de jeque: una persona con conocimiento,
experiencia y sabiduría.

En Maghrebi (árabe marroquí), «sheikha» limita su significado, para especificar a una mujer con conocimiento
carnal, lo suficientemente extenso como para enseñar a otras.

Es una danza erótica, solo para mujeres, originalmente realizada para la novia antes de su boda, con la idea de
enseñarle cómo se esperaría que ella se mueva en la cama matrimonial.
Guedra

Guedra, es un baile de la región desértica del suroeste de Marruecos, realizado para inducir un estado de
conciencia alterado, con un solo intérprete que comienza la danza con movimientos de la mano y luego
balancea la cabeza y el torso hasta que alcanza un estado de trance.

Las bailarinas de Guedra, son mujeres solteras o divorciadas.

A veces los hombres de la audiencia preguntarán por ellas, si tienen algún interés matrimonial.

Yowla

Yowla, es una danza tradicional en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos.

Se trata de girar y lanzar un muñeco de rifle hecho completamente de madera y enchapado en metal.

Danzas Árabes Sagradas

Las celebraciones de Mwald, de la familia del Profeta en Egipto son las mejores tablas extendidas e
insinuaciones de los días de la eternidad y celebra al pueblo de Dios en Egipto.

Esas danzas sagradas, están relacionadas con la religión dominante del mundo árabe, que es el Islam.

Están particularmente vinculadas al sufismo, que es el corazón de la tradición islámica inaugurada por el
Profeta.

Tanoura Dance from TCI on Vimeo.

Tanoura

Tanoura, es una danza folclórica egipcia, con evidentes orígenes sufíes, que hoy se convirtió en un ritual
importante, de los rituales de celebración, que se realizan en muchas ocasiones.

Esta danza árabe, es una danza rítmica realizada colectivamente por movimientos circulares, que se deriva del
sentido místico islámico de la base filosófica.

Ve, que el movimiento en el universo comienza desde un punto y termina en el mismo punto y por lo tanto
refleja este concepto en su danza.

Sus movimientos vienen, como si dibujaran halos, empapados en el espacio.

La palabra tanoura o tannoura se refiere a la falda colorida que lleva el girador, con un color que representa
cada orden sufí .

Zar

Zār, es una danza ejecutada para ahuyentar a los espíritus malignos.

HISTORIA DE LA DANZA ÁRABE

 

Aunque sus orígenes precisos son inciertos, hay documentos que comprueban que sus
orígenes primarios son en el Egipto entre 1200-1300 a.C., utilizada por las sacerdotisas
de las orillas del río Nilo.

Antecedentes de esta danza, se daban  en todos los pueblos de la antigüedad; se pensaba

que la fertilidad humana estaba directamente relacionada con la tierra. A las mujeres se
les atribuían poderes mágicos. Por ejemplo, en la Anatolia Central y mediterránea (hoy
día Turquía), hace miles de años las mujeres tenían danzas rituales en honor a estos
poderes mágicos; los hombres estaban excluidos de estos ritos. En la antigua Grecia y
Roma, se realizaban diferentes danzas de fertilidad basadas en la rotación de caderas y
vientre. Muchas de estas danzas, eran en honor a diosas provenientes de Turquía y Siria.
En Chipre, lugar de nacimiento de Afrodita, las mujeres realizaban danzas rituales
eróticas acompañadas de cantos y percusión mediante las cuales se ponían en trance, en
algunas ocasiones, las mujeres se ofrecían a los hombres en honor a la Diosa, para que les
concediera fertilidad. Estos mismos ritos, tuvieron lugar en Mesopotamia, Fenicia,
Egipto, y la India.

Después, durante el siglo IV d.C., el cristianismo pasó a dominar a medio oriente,

instaurando la sociedad patriarcal con base en un Dios masculino y prohibiendo así las
danzas femeninas relacionadas con la sexualidad, la fertilidad y herejía. Los coptos
(cristianos provenientes de Egipto), mantuvieron viva esta danza realizándola en secreto,
aunque con algunos cambios adaptándola a su nueva religión. Luego, los esclavos
sacaron la danza, los cantos y la música de los templos, aunque los intérpretes no se han
podido quitar el estigma atribuido a su profesión.

Posteriormente, a principios de la Edad Media, se instauró el islamismo, lo que significó

una nueva erradicación de la danza en las calles. Reaparece en el siglo XVIII a través de
círculos de esclavas. Más tarde, con la llegada de los turcos (esclavos en su mayoría), esta
danza se enriquecería con mayor calidad técnica.

Estas esclavas, retenidas en los antiguos califatos medievales, representaban su poderío,

por lo que se cotizaban la belleza y habilidades de las bailarinas (canto, poesía,
recitación). 

En el siglo XIX existían en Egipto dos tipos de bailarinas: las ghawazee, que habían
regresado a El Cairo tras su exilio al Alto Egipto, ordenado en 1834 por Mohammed Ali,
el gobernante que tomó el poder después de Napoleón, y las awalim (en francés almées),
que eran más respetadas porque además de bailar, cantaban y recitaban poesía en las
casas de familias ricas. Las awalim eran altamente respetadas e influyentes en los
palacios; actuaban en las casas de ricos acompañadas de nay, oud, kanoon y tabla,
mientras ellas interactuaban con zagats (crótalos) y con espadas de algunos espectadores. 
Algunas veces eran complementados sus shows con magos o encantadores de serpientes.

Las ghawazee o gitanas egipcias, que bailaban al aire libre para audiencias de clase social
baja, acompañadas de nay, oud y tabla. Se caracterizaban por conservarla esencia
espiritual y estética del baile. El origen era fenicio, cartaginés. Adoraban recorrer largas
distancias y leían la borra del café y las ostras; compartían escenario con juglares,
adivinadores, magos y otros personajes de la era medieval. La vestimenta de estas
bailarinas, llevaba muchos adornos, brazaletes, colgantes, monedas, colores vivos y muy
alegres.

En esta etapa nace la costumbre de dar dinero a las bailarinas, premiando su talento por
medio de joyas o monedas; actividad que a la fecha se sigue realizando. Para finales de
los años 40 la tradición de las awalim había desaparecido. Y  una de las últimas familias
ghawazeee que se dedicaba a esta forma de entretenimiento fueron las hermanas Mazin.

Durante esta época el baile en todos los casos era siempre improvisado, fue hasta 1926
que la libanesa Badia Masabni, abrió una  sala de fiestas en El Cairo llamada Casino
Badia ( en otras versiones Casino Opera) que llegó a  ser muy popular. Tenía un
programa basado en oriente que incluía bailarinas, cantantes, músicos, comediantes y
algunos números europeos.

Badia Masabni comenzó a profesionalizar la danza (que siempre había sido bailada en
lugares pequeños como casas o cafés) adaptadola al gran escenario del Casino Badia. Fue
entonces cuando incluyeron giros y grandes desplazamientos provenientes de Europa
(ballet). Las bailarinas actuaban normalmente en grupos y es cuando se empezó a
coreografiar , aunque las bailarinas que destacaban por su talento podían hacer un solo.

En esta época, se produjeron muchas películas en Egipto y era habitual incluir escenas de
danza, por lo que muchos cazatalentos acudían al Casino Badia buscando bailarinas.
Muchas de estas bailarinas descubiertas en el Casino, llegaron a ser estrellas de cine muy
populares y adquirieron un estatus que nunca habían tenido. Algunas de las que más
sobresalieron fueron Tahia Carioca,  Samia  Gamal, Hekmat Fahmy, Pepa Ez Eldin y
Naima Akef.
El vestuario preferido en esta época fue el inspirado en las películas americanas: de dos
piezas, con flecos y pedrería.
 

A la siguiente generación de estrellas de la danza oriental pertenecen :  Fifí Abdou,

Nagwa Fouad y Suheir Zaki, quizá la reina entre todas y la primera en bailar con la
música de la cantante más querida en la historia de Egipto: Um Kulthum.
 

Actualmente, la danza oriental, en la mayoría de los países árabes es parte de la cultura  y

una celebración sin un espectáculo de danza no está completa. En los países árabes donde
más se ha desarrollado es en Egipto, Líbano y a pesar de no ser árabe,  en Turquía.
También, por la emigración árabe, se ha desarrollado en países como Alemania, Francia,
Brasil Argentina y Estados Unidos.

Las bailarinas famosas suelen bailar en hoteles de cinco estrellas o grandes teatros,
acompañadas con orquestas con instrumentos clásicos y modernos. El vestuario suele ser
exclusivo y el espectáculo en su mayor parte es coreografiado. El primer número suele
ser una pieza especialmente compuesta para la bailarina seguido por canciones populares.

Algunas bailarinas orientales famosas de hoy  son: Amani, Mona Said, Laila Haddad ,
Soraya Hilal, Randa Kamel, Aziza, Nancy, Leila Farid  y la reina de todas: Dina.
 

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