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What is Pharaonic Dance? - Page 5© Shira
Costuming
The abundant supply of Egyptian artwork that has been discovered on tomb walls provides many costume ideas. Spend some time studying books about the art and history of ancient Egypt to look for ideas that appeal to you. Music For music, we know from ancient artwork that they used harps, flutes, stringed instruments that resemble the modern-day saz (long-necked lute), frame drums, and sistrums (type of rattle). Some of the illustrations in Ancient Egyptian Dances distort the shape of the fingers, as if they were playing finger cymbals or castanets. This allows us to make some guesses about the type of music that may have been used. My favorite music for this is "Ancient Egypt", composed in 1978 by Ali Jihad Racy, an Egyptian ethnomusicologist for the King Tutankhamun Exhibit in Seattle. Racy has conducted extensive research into musical notations and instrumentation from ancient times and composed some fascinating music based on what he learned. It's probably the closest you're likely to get to music that captures the true flavor of ancient Egypt, short of finding an ancient CD in an as-yet undiscovered tomb. Many dancers choose New Age music for their Pharaonic interpretations, particularly if they choose to enact a temple scene. The band named Desert Wind has a number of CD's that may provide inspiration. My favorite Desert Wind CD's are Kali Ma and Return to the Goddess. Volume 6 of the Eddie Kochak "Strictly Belly Dancing" recordings contains one song titled Phaedra Pharaonica which is intended for this type of dance interpretation. Movement Don't limit yourself to those funny arm and hand poses that everyone thinks are typically Egyptian. If you want to throw some of these poses in because it matches your creative vision, that's your privilege as an artist. But don't feel that you're required to. Try to expand your thinking beyond the obvious cliché, and unleash your personal creativity. Start with a view of what message you want the dance to portray. Then pick music that evokes that message in you. Once you have your message and your music, the movements will follow. Just make sure that your movements and your desired costuming approach will work together! Resources to Inspire You
The copyright of the article What is Pharaonic Dance? - Page 5 in Middle Eastern Dance is owned by Shira. Permission to republish What is Pharaonic Dance? - Page 5 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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