Baladi Dance

Baladi (also spelt beledi or balady), means “of the country” in Arabic and is a style of Egyptian folk dance from the early 20th century which is still very popular. This is a term used by villagers who emigrated from rural communities into Egyptian cities. They referred to their culture and music as the music from their home, the villages in the countryside. Raqs baladi is usually danced socially, during celebrations and gatherings. Nowadays it is also performed on stage.

Baladi Music

Traditionally, baladi music has a framework divided into sections, during which musicians and dancers improvise. Generally speaking, these are the main sections:

1.  Taqsim –melody without percussions, played originally on oud, more recently on accordion, sax or keyboard. The dancer dances on the spot with small and contained movements. Usually the dancer sways to long notes (this type of music is called awwady) and shimmies to tremolando sound.
2. Me-Attaa – the rhythm, played on tabla, is introduced gradually with a question and answer between the instrumentalist and the drummer. The dancer dances a bit faster but still conservatively. The rhythm gets faster gradually.
3. Maqsoum – uptempo rhythm.
4. Tet – nostalgic rhythm played on mizmar.
5. Another Me-Attaa, this time with fallahi rhythm.
6. The music slows down gradually back to the initial awwady taqasim, until it stops.

Enjoy it !!!

Astamtae biha !!!