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Online Video Lessons All Lessons Second Lesson
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Well, did you get a chance to practice your twist since the first lesson? The music in this lesson is the song "Efred" by Hakim, from the album by that name from 1997. Hakim is a well known and popular Egyptian singer, very different in style than Hussein el Masry's music we heard last time. This style is called "Sha'abi" – it refers to a style of living, a style of dance, and a style of music. The word is Egyptian Arabic ״´״¹״¨ refers to the poorer, more common sections of the city – "the people". It is somewhat rougher and more playful than the rest of Egyptian pop music. The dance is more assertively sexual than the ordinary Egyptian dance. To read more about it, use wikipedia. Want to see Hakim singing "Efred"? Here it is… Now let's see a dance video! This time I will recommend one of the well known classics, of the magnificent Naima Akef dancing to Tamra Henna – Naima is undoubtedly one of the greatest belly dancers of Egypt. From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naima_Akef Naima Akef (1929-1966) born on 7 October 1929 was a famous Egyptian belly dancer during the Egyptian cinema's golden age and starred in many films of the time. Naima Akef was born in Tanta on the Nile Delta. Her parents were acrobats in the Akef Circus (run by Naima’s grandfather), which was one of the best known circuses at the time. She started performing in the circus at the age of four, and quickly became one of the most popular acts with her acrobatic skills. Her family was based in the Bab el Khalq district of Cairo, but they traveled far and wide in order to perform. Dancing The circus disbanded when Naima was 14, but this was only the beginning of her career. Her grandfather had many connections in the performance world of Cairo and he introduced her to his friends. When Naima’s parents divorced, she formed an acrobatic and clown act that performed in many clubs throughout Cairo. She then got the chance to work in Badeia Masabny's famous nightclub, where she became a star and was one of the very few who danced and sang. Her time with Badeia, however, was short-lived, as Badeia favored her, which made the other performers jealous. One day they ganged up on her and attempted to beat her up, but she proved to be stronger and more agile and won the fight. This caused her to be fired, so she started performing elsewhere. A star The Kit Kat club was another famous venue in Cairo, and this is were Naima was introduced to film director Abbas Kemal. His brother Hussein Fawzy, also a film director, was very interested in having Naima star in one of his musical films. The first of such films was “Al-Eïch wal malh” (bread and salt). Her costar was singer Saad Abdel Wahab, the cousin of the legendary singer and composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. The film came out on the 17th of January 1949, and was an instant success, bringing recognition also to Nahhas Film Studios. Retirement and death Naima quit acting in 1964 to take care of her only child, a son from her second marriage to accountant Salah Abdel Aleem. She died two years later from cancer, on April 23, 1966, at the age of 37. If you like her style, watch more videos of her. Go to the video gallery, enter the category "belly dance classic stars" and there you will find a sub category dedicated to Naima Akef. As always, a hip scarf like the one I wear here can be bought in the boutique.
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