Our music for belly dance class this week is “Sahara City” by Firqat al-Tooras. This piece of music is a bit of a mystery! After consulting some dance colleagues more focused on history and research, I learned that this was likely composed by Ahmed Fouad Hassan, who was a prominent composer for Egyptian films. It’s unknown whether this particular piece was in a film.
Although this appears on a CD of “Golden Era” music for Taheya Carioca, the fact that Hassan’s movie compositions were from 1964 to 1982 doesn’t put him in the same era as Carioca’s dance career (early 1940’s – mid 1950’s). The structure of this music also suggests that it’s newer – it has many of the features of what we now call a “majence” or entrance piece composed for a dancer.
So, you see the mystery here! I’m intrigued, so I’ll keep searching for info on this piece!
Either way – it’s a great song with interesting and varied sections! Listen to it here:
We’re dancing to the part that starts around 1:35.
Some important foundation skills in this week’s combo:
