Hi Everybody,
I have some fun clips to share today, and at the bottom of this post there are some class updates if you’d like to skip ahead.
Shaabi Movies
This post is one I have been dreaming of doing for a long time. It’s pure joy, which is something we can probably all use more of right now.
A few weeks ago I did a short post featuring a film clip from the 1970s of the Egyptian belly dancer Souheir Zaki performing with the Shaabi singer Ahmed Adeweya.
Fast forward 40-something years and Egyptian cinema and TV movies still love belly dancers and shaabi singers together. Today I want to feature one of my favourite combinations, the belly dancer Safinaz and the Egyptian singer Mahmoud El Leithy.
Safinaz /صافيناز
Safinaz (صافيناز) is the stage name of the dancer Sofinar - I’ve seen her listed both as Sofinar Gourian and Sofinar Grigoryan. Either way, that is an Armenian name! I have followed her career with interest in part because I am also an Armenian belly dancer, but mostly because I just love her dancing. She is one of the most popular dancers in Egypt today and has been featured in several Egyptian films.
Although technically a foreign dancer in Egypt, I think she must be so popular among Egyptians because she does have the essence of Egyptian style in her soul. Her interpretations are nuanced and beautiful when the song calls for that, and she also exudes a kind of warm, playful, even silly, joy. She doesn’t seem to take herself too seriously and she doesn’t over do it. She has brought her own personality to Egyptian belly dance rather imposing another style of dance and simply calling it belly dance.
Safinaz and Mahmoud el Leithy /صافينازومحمود الليثى
Safinaz has paired with the Egyptian singer and actor Mahmoud El Leithy (محمود الليثى) in several films. His music is in the shaabi/mahraganat style. You can seen from these clips that he also has a lighthearted sense of humor and I think they are so much fun to watch together. The songs below are what I would call the lighter side of Shaabi music. For a more complete explanation of Shaabi, I highly recommend my teacher Amina Goodyear’s Shaabi music history page.
So without any more delay, here are a bunch of fun clips with this pair from their various movies. They never fail to make me smile. PS: If you are reading this in email, you actually have to click through to the post on my website to see the videos. I am not sure why, but you do!
I hope you enjoyed the clips and I will end this post with a few pictures of Safinaz too.
Class Updates:
I have a few class updates:
First of all, the City of South San Francisco is making three of my virtual beginning belly dance classes available for FREE in July. You can go to this post to see the class days and times and to get information on how to register.
I am also planning a drop-in virtual finger cymbals (zils) class for later this month and also working on my August schedule, so please contact me if you would like information on upcoming classes!
Happy Dancing!
صافيناز
Armenian Belly Dancer Safinaz - Sofinar Grigorian
صافيناز
Armenian Belly Dancer Safinaz