The dance is a Ghwazee Tribal Wedding dance. It incorporates the basic steps found in most Middle Eastern dance, however it is embellished with the accents only the Ghwazee can give it. These accents include: the distinct front cross kick of the feet; the use of triangle and box traveling steps; the sudden stops and abrupt starts of isolations; the continual feeling or pulsing of the rhythm; the more forward and suggestive use of pelvic and hand moves; the heavy use of hip moves (from 65 to 75 percent) in the dance. The Ghwazee did not traditionally choreograph their dances in the sense that other tribes had set movement patterns and strict rules concerning women's and men's dances.

This dance has very little resemblance to ancient or modern Egyptian dance. It is a Wedding Dance done by women for the bride. In most cases it was not danced in mixed company. the bride's female friends and family members would gather around her and start to play and sing music. Then usually the dancers would start one at a time - slowly at first and then building to a peak and then coming back down. In this particular style of dance no props were used. Rarely a dancer would accompany herself on tar or finger cymbals, most of the time the other women would accompany the dancer.

This dance was used to instruct the bride about some of her marital duties... therefore, it includes suggestive movements that are not usually seen in ethnic Middle Eastern dancing. Some of the noticable moves include the forward push of the hips, pelvis, and chest, on circles and thrusts. The hands are used softly with sensual moves and held rigid with hard hip snapping moves. At times the hands are used to offer parts of the body to the onlookers, yet at other moments in the dance the hands are used to be shy. The facial expressions vary with the hand movements to complete the body language of the dance movement.

The dance includes the usual step, close, step, kick of the Ghwazee, however this step is featured in the traveling triangle and box steps where the dancer traces the shape with her feet on the floor. The dancer uses controlled body vibrations and breaks. The dance contains intricate hip work and very little floor work. If you need a dance move or step demonstrated and clarified please ask!

As a tribe of entertainers the Ghwazee were born to the dance, because of this they were allowed some artistic freedom in the dance. They would perform for pay at both private and public celebrations. This is not a public dance, rather it is one of the tribe itself. As in all Middle Eastern Dance the moods and emotions of the dancer and the music are constantly interchanging.

The music used for the dance is from a live recording by Leona Wood. This has a similar piece on Aisha Ali's album, Music of the Ghwazee. The instruments used are the salameya, tar and darabukka. The salameya is a short high pitched end-blown reed flute. The tar is a tambourine. The darabukka is a goblet shaped drum made of earthen ware; it's single head of fish skin or goat skin, produces the two pitches necessary to the structure of Middle Eastern rhythms. The Ghwazee usually had a few musicians and not the large full sound that can be heard in other forms of Middle Eastern music. Their music is often heavy in percussion with the interaction of clapping, trilling, and zills from tribal onlookers. There are few remaining practitioners of the dance and music associated with the Ghwazee and this piece of music was recorded at an Ethnic Festival in Thebes.

As in any Ethnic form of dance the music and the proper costuming are necessary to achieve the whole picture. For our purposes there must be added the justification of the dance in our time frame. This is not easily done. The evidence exists that around 633 A.D., the Prophet Mohammed considered the dance as a direct link to the Mother Goddess religion and discouraged it as being unworthy of a true believer. Many tribes submitted to Islam, however the Ghwazee refused. La Meri, a foremost authority of Dance, suggests that under Mohammed's rule the ritualistic significance of certain dances was destroyed. Mohammed banned music and dance for it was the cornerstone of the Mother Goddess religion.

The Ghwazee were one of the most famous dancing tribes of Egypt. Their exact origin is lost in time, however, they claim descent from the Barmacide family, the viziers of Haroun al'Rasheed. In 786 A.D., Haroun al'Rasheed was the Caliph of Baghdad. It is recorded that in 807 A.D., he sent embassies, GIFts, and flowery expressions of diplomatic praise to Charlemagne.

Scholars believe that the Ghwazee are one of the last links to the Mother Goddess religion. In their tribal customs the women inherited the wealth of the tribe. Girl babies were prized above boys. The women were the bread-winners. The husband depended upon his wife for food, clothing and shelter. The women were trained from birth in dancing, singing or prostitution. Very seldom would a woman marry outside of the tribe. Occasionally a woman would marry outside of the tribe. When this happened she would demand any sum to be paid to her family before the marraige.

At first glance the Ghwazee appear to have been among Egypt's most fortunate citizens. Their economic structure allowed their women to acquire considerable wealth, fame, expertise in lovemaking and good marriages. Some Ghwazee acquired wealth, rich homes, slaves and cattle. However, there was some resentment, among the upper class and especially the religious, toward the Ghwazee. The Ghwazee were dishonorable because their women never wore a face veil. Furthermore, they danced in public and engaged in prostitution which were moral transgressions under Islam.

Despite the ban on written descriptions of the dance, an Arab historian, al-Mas'udi, in his history of the world entitled "Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems", quotes a scholar who told the Caliph Mu'Tamid, during the 9th Century, that a dancer must have, among other things, "Loose joints and a great agility in twirling and in swaying her hips."

The rise of Islam contributed to the influence of the Middle Eastern dance in Europe by way of the violent cultural comingling of the Crusades (1096 - 1300). The soldiers brought dancing girls back with them and some great courts contracted professional dancers to come and entertain. During the 12th Century, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, imported dancing girls, from Egypt, to entertain his guests. His Sicilian court was a source of culture where he gathered scholars, men of letters, musicians and international entertainers.

The costume of the Ghwazee differed little over time. From the 12th Century on it consisted of harem pants, an undercaftan, outer Ghwazee coat, hip band, skirt and headgear. The fabrics used were cotton, brocades, silk, satin, velvet and wool. The Ghwazee coats usually had cord loop buttonholes and ball type buttons. Stripped fabric of unusual color combinations were used and dancers would mix strips and designs in the costumes.

The Ghwazee coat is a very distinctive garment. It is usually a semi-fitted coat of various lengths, from hip to floor. The coat must be tailored perfectly to give the dancer both freedom of movement and a superb glove-like fit through the torso. I made my Ghwazee coat from a 5 yard length of 100% cotton stipe fabric. It has 36 small buttons (see sample card). I hand made the 90 inches of multi-colored cord that is used for the loop buttonholes. The coat is tailored by the cut of the fabric and the side seams, there are no darts used.

My undercaftan is cut in the style of a Farrajiyah (this shows the influence of the Turkish court). I used 5 yards of a 100% cotton damask fabric imported from Egypt. The fabric itself includes the period documentable designs of the Turkish crescent moon and star, the popular grouping of three circles, and the separating scrollwork stripe. All of the edges of the garment are hand sewn. The sleeves can be worn loose, drawn in at the wrist or with the arms out of the long slits. The sleeves show again the Turkish influence on the garment.

The hip band and belt are both decorative and functional. The purpose of the bands and belt are to define the hip movements of the dance. The Ghwazee would trim their belts with coins. When a dancer would be paid in coin most of it would go into her dowry. Ghwazee girls wore their dowries on their costumes and in their jewelry. The belt is designed by the dancer to fit their individual taste and dance style. My belt is made up of Middle Eastern coins from different countries and colored glass beads to add some sparkle. It weighs approximately 10 pounds. Some of the coins are from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, and Iran. I made the different tasseled bands hanging from the belt. Normally, the cords would be made from silk but due to the cost I used a rayon blend wrapped around cotton.

My hat is red velvet with sequin trim I made. The use of sequin embroidery did exist in period in Egypt. The headgear is usually a trimmed small hat, a turban, or a headpiece trimmed with coins and tassels. My hair is plaited in the style of the Ghwazee from the 15th Century. Dancers would work their hair into many small braids and leave them.

All of the jewelry I wear were gifts from friends. The pieces I wear today are very special. The two necklaces - one long and the one short are period. The short necklace is from a dig in Iran and dates to 2500 B.C. (Kingdom of Sumer) and on the long silken cord hangs a Persian Miniature on Mother of Pearl from the 17th Century. The two cuff bracelets are not period but are antiques. The silver one is a 90 year old example of Middle Eastern Bedouin filigree metalwork. The blue and green one is a 75 year old example of Turkish enamel work and metal casting. It was common for dancers to have 'special' good luck pieces that would be handed down from dancer to dancer and these are such pieces.

My skirt is actually two skirts. The top one is of silk and the bottom one is of a fine cotton. I made the skirts and they are not circular cut. Each skirt took approximately 10 yards of fabric for a total of 20 yards. I made my harem pants out of 4 yards of 100% cotton fabric. The harem pants have drawstrings and not elastic. The skirts also use drawstrings.