15 ARABIC WORDS EVERY BELLY DACER NEEDS TO KNOW

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 Through mere osmosis, belly dancers absorb a lot of Arabic and Turkish words. Just by listening to our favorite songs, we know that “habibi” means sweetheart, and “ana bahebek” means “I love you”.

 But do you know the difference between a taxim and a chiftetelli? What the heck is a mergence?  Here is  list is a  short compendium of some  basic, often-heard  Arabic terms relating to music and dance.  Some of these words are commonly used  by belly dancers, others, not as often.  Though I’ve included names of some popular rhythms (definitely not all of them!)  I’ve left out the names of instruments, because there are so many, it could be a blog post on its own.

 BALADI (variously spelled BELEDY, BALADY) In Egyptian Arabic, this word   means “of the country”. For example, “bint al baladi” roughly translates to “country girl”, and in Egypt,  “baladi bread” is what they call home made pita.  But baladi also refers to the name of a rhythm, as well as dance and musical traditions that developed when Egyptians from the countryside migrated to urban areas like Cairo and Alexandria in the first half of the 20^th Century.  Raks Al Baladi refers to the social dance of every day people, while Raks Sharqi  (“Dance of The East”) is the refined - and often staged- version of women’s solo dancing.

 BALADI PROGRESSION This is an improvisational interlude stemming from folkloric Egyptian musical traditions. The structure of a typical baladi progression usually begins with an improvised solo-or series of solos by several instruments. Usually, the baladi progression begins without percussion, and as it progresses along the rest of the band, including the drum  (tabla or doumbek) is added in, gradually building to a climax that often culminates in a full-blown drum solo. There are patterns in the music such as a call and response between the tabla and whatever instrument(s) is soloing, so that each and every version can be identified as a baladi progression.

CHIFTETELLI   A Greco-Turkish rhythm, often used in context with a taxim.

Doum tek tek-a-tek-doum-doum-tek

HAFLA The original meaning of this word describes informal dance party where guests get up to cut a rug. Nowadays, within the belly dance world, this word basically means the same thing, but with dancers performing in costume, to live or recorded music. Also, it can refer to an event where admission might be charged.

MAKSOUM An Arabic time signature similar to baladi,  even though  many dancers refer to  maksoum as “baladi”.

 Doum Doum Tek A Tek Doum Tek A Tek

MAQAM  (plural- MAQAMAT) There are many different maqamat or Arabic musical scales, which are or melodic modes arranged in quarter tones as opposed to the Western version which uses half-tones.  The word “maqam” in Arabic means “place”, or position or location.

MAWAL (or MAWWAL) A traditional vocal prequel to a song, wherein the singer will demonstrate and highlight his or her prowess and talent through a series of non-metrical improvised calisthenics using the voice alone.  This is usually performed in colloquial (as opposed to classical) Arabic language (kind of like American Blues music) and has roots in the historical traditions and Arabic poetry.

MERGENCE (variously spelled MAGENCEY, MAGENCIE) A complex, dynamic multi-rhythmic Oriental opening piece, meant to display a belly dancer’s skills. A mergence is often written specifically for a dancer, such as “Set Al Hossen”, which was composed for Nagwa Fouad by composer Mohamed Sultan. Some other examples of   the mergence:  “ Ma’shaal”, “Alf Layla Wa Layla”, “Sahra Saeeda”(written for Sahra by Ashraf Zakariah)  “Amar El Laily”, written especially for Russian star dancer Katia, who lives in Cairo.  Though many classical Arabic compositions are multi-layered and have many parts, such as “Enta Omri” by Om Kalthoum, they are not necessarily a mergence, because they are usually too slow or moody to be used as an opening piece.

RAKASSAH (variously spelled RAQQASA, RAKASA, RAQESSA, etc.) A female professional dancer.  The male version of the word leaves the “a” at the end off, spelled “rakass”…or any of the other ways.

SAIDI is a term relating to Upper Egypt. Saidi is an Arabic rhythm as well as a folkloric style of music. Saidi dancing often-but doesn’t always- include raks assaya, or dancing with a cane?

SAGAT is the Arabic word for finger cymbals, known in Turkish as ZILLS

SHAA’BI Modern street music, often an urbanized version of older or more traditional songs. Often, the lyrics are way more overtly political or sexual than standard Arabic pop songs.

 TAKHT A small orchestra or ensemble of musicians. The word itself means “bench” or bed, and in the old days, musicians often sat on benches as they played together.

TARAB The transporting sense of pleasure, elation or ecstasy that manifests in listeners while hearing soulful Arabic music…the term tarab can also be applied to dance, singing, or other forms of art.

TAXIM (variously spelled TAXEEM, TAKASIM TAQSIM) Many dancers think a taxim is a song- but it is not- it is an improvised presentation of the Arabic maqam or scale, performed by a solo musician. Though many taxims are recorded (giving the impression that they are, in fact a song) when played live, the taxim is an improvisation, and in the context of a live performance, the dancer and musician improvise together, presenting a seamless representation of the music. Though it may seem so, the improvisation being played isn’t really free form; it follows the rules of Arabic musical theory, with an emphasis on the player’s emotion and expression. A taxim can be played by a solo instrument (an oud, nai, accordion, kanoun, organ, violin, etc.) and is usually never played on any percussion instrument, such as a tabla or riqq.  Sometimes the solo instrument is backed by a drone, or even with soft percussion, usually set to the maksoum beat, making it a “balady taqsim”. A taxim is also popularly set to a chiftetelli beat; but many dancers use the terms “taxim” and chiftetelli interchangeably, even though they are not.  A taxim can be a chiftetelli, but a chiftetelli cannot be a taxim- chiftetelli is the name of a certain rhythm.

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Photo and Graphics by Maharet Hughes

A BELLY DANCE MUST-HAVE: KARIM NAGI'S NEW RHYTHMATIQ CD

Karim Nagi is a one-man multi-cultural revolution. If you're a belly dancer and don’t know about him, you should… and if you are already familiar with his work, you’re probably a big fan! Hugely talented as a traditional Arabic drummer and folk dancer, he’s also an extremely creative and forward thinking composer and DJ.

A native Egyptian, Karim has spent so much time in America and Europe that even the smallest cultural nuances don’t elude him, which is just one of the reasons why Western dancers adore him. With his super-charged knowledge, cultural duality and open artistic persona, he has a unique understanding of global pop culture and Arab traditions that is endlessly appealing to members of all camps. Highly educated in musical theory and master of many instruments, his academic study and applied knowledge of Arab folkloric dances is just as impressive as his musical chops.

To list all of his credentials would be impossible, but he’s performed, taught and lectured at places like Harvard and The Smithsonian; he’s released several CDs and DVDs on Arab music and dance and he’s been the director of the highly popular Arab Dance Seminar for nearly a decade.

Karim also heads up the Sharq Ensemble, a pan-Arabic musical performance group he founded in 1999, and his Arabiqa program has educated children and teens in over three hundred schools. Oh, and he constantly tours internationally... usually for over three-quarters of every year. Suffice it to say that this man knows his shit.

Karim has an endlessly quirky sense of humor, which onstage especially, is as endearing as it is comical. Combined with the obvious joy that emanates from him as he performs, and his enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge of traditional and contemporary Arab music and dance with students, he’s truly hard to resist.

He also has a brand new CD out, which is why I’m raving about him!

(DUM + TAK) x TARAB = DANCE

RhythmatiQ is a musical project that probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day if Karim was “only” a musician… because it’s tailor made for dancers. Consisting of fifteen tracks which are all under four minutes long, the premise of RhythmatiQ is that everything on it is meant to be mixed and matched, enabling dancers to use the pieces individually or to combine them to formulate personalized performance or practice sets of different lengths. Each track on this CD will not only compliment the others, but would be just as cool when paired with tracks by other artists as well. The fact that Karim uses traditional rhythms and concepts but then filters them through his own outré -and dare I say hip - sensibilities means that RhythmatiQ as a whole is a multi-genre work that could be used for any type of belly dance, from cabaret to tribal, and would be also be great for troupes or different types of fusion belly dance, too.

Additionally, the inside cover features a chart with many Arabic rhythms annotated both by counts as well as a written verbalization of the Dums and Taks (that’s Arab musician -speak for the lower or higher drum pitches) plus each track highlights a certain Arabic rhythm, such as Fellahi, Hagalla, Ayoub, Masmoudi and so on, meaning that RhythmatiQ would also make a terrific teaching tool for dance instructors.

The CD opens with the Darabist Drum Solo, highlighting Karim’s signature tabla playing, which is always a rowdy crowd-pleaser, dynamic but done with finesse. Live or recorded, he always wrenches incredible tones from the tabla, from powerful slaps to quick finger work.

Some of the songs I really like a lot are the haunting Khaliji Rhythmatiq from the Arabian Gulf, the Sonbati Rythmatiq (which many dancers would probably identify as a quick chiftetelli) the high-energy Dabke Rhythmatiq. The quick Masri Rhyhtmatic with its rattly riq literally travels through Egypt referencing all sorts of rhythms. I’m also particularly fond of the gorgeous Andalusi Rhythmatiq, with its contra tiempo palmas, or hand clapping that counters the rhythm. Originating in the Muslim-ruled Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) between the 9^th and 15^th centuries, the traditional Moorish music Tarab Andalusi is popular throughout North Africa.

Ok, so now that I’ve gushed about most of this album, I might as well add that Karim played most of the percussion instruments and the buzuk, did the vocals and the re-mixes and also conceptualized and executed the cover artwork, too... Yep, he’s a regular Renaissance man.

Even though he’s already got a big ole body of work, he’s so creative, prolific and driven, that I have a feeling that it’s all just the tip of the iceberg!

You can purchase RhythmatiQ on Amazon: Rhythmatiq

Karim will be appearing in Knoxville, Tennessee this coming weekend, September 14-16, 2012, before going on to Tai Pei and Singapore for two weeks (October 1-19) followed up by Acapulco, Mexico on the weekend of October 26-28^th… and that’s just for starters.