Created by Ranya Renee, New York City-based star performer and
instructor of Arabic-style belly dance, The Baladi: Bellydance
Egyptian Style is a comprehensive program that will immerse you
in the beautiful world of traditional Egyptian dance music,
soulful and spirited baladi improvisation, and delicious, dynamic
moves!
This 5-hour-long 2-DVD set covers the structure, rhythms and
musical flavors of typical baladi progressions, teaches the
essential technique and dance vocabulary of baladi, and provides
drills for developing your own improvisational practice.
The Baladi: Bellydance Egyptian Style is the first program to
combine instruction in core Egyptian dance technique with a
wealth of detailed cultural information and tools for learning to
interpret the music and for daily dance practice. The program is
a valuable resource for belly dancers of all levels of experience
as well as for dance instructors.
Baladi is the social dance style of the Egyptian people, often
featured in a special section of the traditional belly dance
show. This video focuses on the taqsim baladi a style of
improvisation that starts slow and gentle, building to a climax
of exciting rhythms, faster steps and shimmies. During a live
music demonstration of baladi progressions, Ranya analyzes the
structure, common features and stylistic differences between
men's style (tet) and women's style (awadi) baladi dancing, and
offers a step-by-step explanation of what is happening at each
transition in the music.
Master accordionist Nabawy provides an introduction to baladi
music and explains the different melodic styles, and the drummers
demonstrate some of key rhythms used in the baladi. You will also
receive an introduction to the concept of maqamat, or Arabic
musical modes, that are the source material for taqasim, the art
of melodic improvisation.
The technique section is organized by style and type, so you can
match the appropriate movements and traveling steps to each part
of the baladi progression: From the slow, fluid taqsim, through
the sekkat accent breaks, and on to the maqsoum-based rhythm
sections and the fast ingerara section that transitions into the
drum solo. This framework enables you to develop the instinct you
need to select authentic movements that correctly match the
music, recognizing the essential features of melody and rhythms.
Ranya gives guidance for beginning or developing your
improvisation practice, no matter your level of experience as a
dancer.
With looped recorded music drills created specially for this
program, Ranya gives you the tools for a rigorous baladi dance
practice while simultaneously honing your listening skills. The
format of the drills is an flow, preserving the
improvisational nature of the baladi so you learn in the way
Egyptians learn, by watching and following along. Absorbing the
feeling of baladi naturally will help you to improvise with more
confidence on your own. The looped music repetitions allow you to
review key movements over and over as you build an
familiarity with the musical nuances, and condition your physical
dance response to them. DVD options allow you either to dance
through a full baladi piece or to work on isolated sections of a
baladi, focusing on short portions of music to drill your steps.
With all the drills, Ranya provides voiceover commentary to call
your attention to melodic and rhythmic motifs, or to remind you
of technique pointers.
The program also includes extensive sections on posture and
muscle work for Egyptian dance, framing and transitions, arms and
hands practice flow, and cooldown stretches.