The memorable Al Tanoura dance, (Monday, May 27, 2013) pg 33
Cairo, Egypt
Courtesy: Egyptian Embassy in Ghana
When colour, elegance and culture melt into an Arabian pot on a cold night in Cairo, Egypt, the result is an energy-sapping dance moves marked with precision.
It starts with a flute and 'dondo'-look-alike drums and metals creating a rhythm that get patrons tapping their feet and nodding their heads in unison to the rhythms but as the tempo gets higher the feet tapping and head nodding are lost to the ebb and flow of the dance moves.
With the dancers clothed in white and green flowing robes and turbans at the Wekalet al Ghoury opera house and the multi-coloured lights cast on the stage, the dancers set the opera house alight with their unlimited moves in the Sufi Tannoura dance.
Performing in a packed house, the Al Tannoura Troupe for Cultural Heritage lived up to its hype in the two-hour performance, leaving the audience to ask for more.
The Sufi Tannoura is accompanied by musical interlude that magnificently displays the skills of the musicians and the capabilities of the instruments itself.
The dance has a very special characteristic as it relies heavily on the dancer's unlimited moves in circles. According to Egyptian mythology, the round movement is a reflection of a special philosophhical concept in the Islam Sufi rituals known as the Mulawia sect. Believers of the concept hold the view that the universe stems
from the same point of rotation.
As the universe starts and ends from the same point, the senior dancer(Lafife) who represents the sun, will always start and end his movement from that point. He moves twists and turns in an infinitive circle.
In the mean time, the junior dancers (Hanatia), representing the stars, will be moving around him. The all move anti closewise, in concurrent circles echoing the four seasons----winter, summer, spring and autumn and very much like the pilgrims' movement around Ka'ba (the Muslims' holy shrine in Mecca). The dance depends mainly on the dancer showing off his skills using many unfolded costumes of the Tannoura
and his physical expression.
Once the senior dancer stretches his right hand upward while pointing down his left hand, he would be establishing the connection between the earth and the sky.
Moving in circles, the dancer is very much like alleviating his worldly burdens, reaching ecstasy in a symbolic attempt to approach heaven.
Once he unties the belt around his weight which blossoms into a mushroom shape while he rotates, the dancer would be rhetorically moving upward to heaven.
The dance is full of philosophical concepts reflecting man's spiritual dilema in understanding the universe from Sufi's point of view.
However, the dance which involves many religious perspectives of life that could be found in many Islamic states, has been enriched by the colourful variations of the folk Egyptian life style. The musical rhythms that flutter from slow, moderate to accelerated tone add to reflections and spiritual impact of the dance.
The very rich and colourful costumes which are authentic reflections of the local environment in Egypt, have been added to the dance.
The show is however not complete without the praise of Prophet Mohammed and Muslim saints, along with other accompanying in songs about generosity, wisdom and mercy.
These virtues, the Al Tannoura Troupe executed so well in their dance steps as the dance steps and enrgy ebbed and flowed with the the musical instruments which included flutes, drums and tambourines.
Formed in 1988, the troup is one of the Egyptian folk groups established by the Egyptian General Organisation responsible for cultural palaces in the country's Ministry of Culture.
The group which performs three times a week--Saturday, Monday and Wednesday apart from performing in all national festivals has been a globe trotter over the decades. It has performed in Japan, Italy, Canada, Norway, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Hong, Germany, China, Qatar, Romania, Finland, Portugal among other countries.
So on the night Cairo's busy streets almost emptied into the Wekalet al Ghoury, the Al Tannoura Troup was on fire in a performance that earned them a global applause from the audience made up mainly of tourists.
The next time you find yourself in the craddle of world civilisation, you might want to take a bite of the memorable Al Tannoura dance.
Courtesy: Egyptian Embassy in Ghana
When colour, elegance and culture melt into an Arabian pot on a cold night in Cairo, Egypt, the result is an energy-sapping dance moves marked with precision.
It starts with a flute and 'dondo'-look-alike drums and metals creating a rhythm that get patrons tapping their feet and nodding their heads in unison to the rhythms but as the tempo gets higher the feet tapping and head nodding are lost to the ebb and flow of the dance moves.
With the dancers clothed in white and green flowing robes and turbans at the Wekalet al Ghoury opera house and the multi-coloured lights cast on the stage, the dancers set the opera house alight with their unlimited moves in the Sufi Tannoura dance.
Performing in a packed house, the Al Tannoura Troupe for Cultural Heritage lived up to its hype in the two-hour performance, leaving the audience to ask for more.
The Sufi Tannoura is accompanied by musical interlude that magnificently displays the skills of the musicians and the capabilities of the instruments itself.
The dance has a very special characteristic as it relies heavily on the dancer's unlimited moves in circles. According to Egyptian mythology, the round movement is a reflection of a special philosophhical concept in the Islam Sufi rituals known as the Mulawia sect. Believers of the concept hold the view that the universe stems
from the same point of rotation.
As the universe starts and ends from the same point, the senior dancer(Lafife) who represents the sun, will always start and end his movement from that point. He moves twists and turns in an infinitive circle.
In the mean time, the junior dancers (Hanatia), representing the stars, will be moving around him. The all move anti closewise, in concurrent circles echoing the four seasons----winter, summer, spring and autumn and very much like the pilgrims' movement around Ka'ba (the Muslims' holy shrine in Mecca). The dance depends mainly on the dancer showing off his skills using many unfolded costumes of the Tannoura
and his physical expression.
Once the senior dancer stretches his right hand upward while pointing down his left hand, he would be establishing the connection between the earth and the sky.
Moving in circles, the dancer is very much like alleviating his worldly burdens, reaching ecstasy in a symbolic attempt to approach heaven.
Once he unties the belt around his weight which blossoms into a mushroom shape while he rotates, the dancer would be rhetorically moving upward to heaven.
The dance is full of philosophical concepts reflecting man's spiritual dilema in understanding the universe from Sufi's point of view.
However, the dance which involves many religious perspectives of life that could be found in many Islamic states, has been enriched by the colourful variations of the folk Egyptian life style. The musical rhythms that flutter from slow, moderate to accelerated tone add to reflections and spiritual impact of the dance.
The very rich and colourful costumes which are authentic reflections of the local environment in Egypt, have been added to the dance.
The show is however not complete without the praise of Prophet Mohammed and Muslim saints, along with other accompanying in songs about generosity, wisdom and mercy.
These virtues, the Al Tannoura Troupe executed so well in their dance steps as the dance steps and enrgy ebbed and flowed with the the musical instruments which included flutes, drums and tambourines.
Formed in 1988, the troup is one of the Egyptian folk groups established by the Egyptian General Organisation responsible for cultural palaces in the country's Ministry of Culture.
The group which performs three times a week--Saturday, Monday and Wednesday apart from performing in all national festivals has been a globe trotter over the decades. It has performed in Japan, Italy, Canada, Norway, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Hong, Germany, China, Qatar, Romania, Finland, Portugal among other countries.
So on the night Cairo's busy streets almost emptied into the Wekalet al Ghoury, the Al Tannoura Troup was on fire in a performance that earned them a global applause from the audience made up mainly of tourists.
The next time you find yourself in the craddle of world civilisation, you might want to take a bite of the memorable Al Tannoura dance.
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