On Saturday 21 st April 2007, Katie Holland hosted another superb Bodies & Beats event in Shoreham, West Sussex, England. Entitled A Celebration of Dance & Rhythm, dancers from all over the south of England came to indulge in fitness yoga, Bollywood, African Dance and drumming, Poi dance, Samba, Salsa, Tribal and Flamenco but the stars of the day were Hossam and Serena. They delivered a morning workshop on Egyptian dance rhythms and its interpretation in movement and an afternoon class in musical interpretation before starring in the evening gala.
“Rhythm is a musical sound characterized by regularly occurring accented beats”, says the master himself, Hossam Ramzy. I didn’t know that all Egyptian rhythms come from one, the Wahda Kebira (it means ‘the big one’!) From this eight beat rhythm cut in half comes Maqsoum, and from that, the two beat rhythm Fallahy. Drop the first ‘tak’, you get Zaar, and drop a ‘dum’ to get Malfouf. This in turn leads to Adani, Khalidji (Adani with decoration) and finally Karatchi, all stemming from the same rhythm, Wahda Kebira. So simple when you know!
Hossam and Serena were taking part in an event with other dancers for the first time, and I attended their morning workshop. After an hour master class in rhythm, a little chilly from sitting, we gratefully warmed up with Serena before departing on a journey with her and Hossam to learn and move our bodies to the choreography prepared for us. Listening and counting the rhythm seemed much easier when we knew what to listen for and, as the choreography ‘sunk in’, we began to feel the music, be observant of the ‘hits’ and stops and relax into the interpretation of the dance. The class was full of smiles as we broke for much needed sustenance.
I was lucky enough to be able to speak to Hossam and Serena over lunch and find out more about their shared passion for Eastern music and dance. Hossam’s belief is that the music and dancer become one during a performance. The dancer’s body becomes her instrument to play her tune, in time with the other instruments. The music, therefore, is the basis from which the dance is inspired and it is happy music because, originally, that’s when the Egyptian people would dance, at celebrations, weddings, birthdays and christenings. We spoke about baladi, the dance of the people, the real people of the country of Egypt and Hossam explained that, in Egypt, if you asked a woman to dance, she would dance baladi. He believes it’s a great place for beginners to start to learn bellydance, interpreting the music, telling the story and moving as the Egyptian people do.
We spoke of his vast career (he’s been to all five continents, five times!) and I asked him what it was like to work with Western musicians and why he’d enjoyed it. He had been brought up with Western music, jazz, blues and funk and he found working with Western musicians a real privilege. As across the Middle East, music has been influenced by many other cultures, so Hossam has loved joining with Western musicians to inject the flavour of the East and increase our knowledge of Arabic music. He feels strongly that beginners and advanced dancers alike, should start with the music and, that the moves and steps come out of it, rather than fitting them to the music. For new tabla players, he recommends getting familiar with the instrument first then devoting time to learning the letters of the language (a good ‘dum’ and ‘tak’), before learning the rhythms. Hossam is a real exponent of all fusion, as long as there is a good understanding of all parts so that they truly fuse together.
He then spoke at length about the joy of his work with Serena. It hasn’t always been easy for them but Hossam has been very careful not to stifle Serena’s own style and interpretation. It is obvious how proud they both are of each other and this joining has been a positive, profound experience for both of them, living, working and performing together. In Egypt, most dancers are taught by their drummers and Hossam and Serena continue to research and observe whilst they travel the world so their performances are constantly inspired. Learning from a multitude of sources produces the ‘individual’ dancer, as opposed to a clone, and Hossam stressed the importance of this for all dancers. The old Egyptian dancers were all unique and it is from this background we must learn.
The Ramzys told me about their dream for the future, that they are bringing down to earth; Villa Ramzy in Egypt, complete with dance studios, music studios and accommodation to facilitate an amazing learning experience in the land where it all began. Dancers and musicians will be able to learn, work and share in a unique atmosphere, motivated by the Ramzys’ passion for Eastern music and dance.
We concluded with Hossam talking about the love and admiration he feels towards the Bedouin musicians who play on his Gypsys of the Nile CD and his forthcoming Tribal Bedouin CD. These musicians live today ‘off the Nile’ (how the wording was originally meant to be!), in tents hosting satellite dishes and with mobile phones upon their persons and yet, though they now live in the 21 st century, the music is the same as it has always been; the original music made by the original people of Egypt.
Wendy Cook
May 2007