Is it Baladi or is it " Trivial"?

That is the question

Written by:
Mohamed Shahin
Hanna St. John

This article is to address a massive confusion that is taking place these days about what is or
is not Baladi.
The Arabic word Balad means "people", "country" or "land". Baladi (adding the "i" at the
end) is the adjective form, meaning "village-like", "provincial", "local" or "rural",
comparable to English "folk" (with a working-class connotation) . This word may refer to an
Egyptian musical and dance style. However, in Arabic, the word Baladi is not only applied
to music and dance, but can also be applied to many other things that are considered native,
rural, rustic or traditional, for example, Baladi bread, Baladi people, Baladi area, Baladi
music or Baladi food of Egypt.
(Note that adding "i" to the end of an Arabic word can also create singular possession.) So if
you hear the word "baladi" sung in a song, they could be saying "my country", "my land",
"my people" or "this Baladi girl". But in the case of arts, we are using the adjective and
gender form of the word Baladi, which means "village style."

Baladi music is an urban style, which developed from traditional Egyptian musical styles in
the early 20th century, as large numbers of people migrated to Cairo from rural areas. The
sounds of the accordion and saxophone are the identifying marks of Baladi music and dance
style.
Baladi can also take the form of traditional songs, often with a verse-chorus structure, some
popular examples being 'Taht il Shibbak' as a baladi song and 'Awadi', 'Tit', 'Ament be-ellah'
and 'Hassan Ya Khoulli' like an accordion improvisation. Baladi is a structured form of
musical improvisation, usually using a dialogue between a Tabla player and an accordionist
or saxophonist. Baladi improvisations usually begin with an accordion solo (Taqsim). Next,
there is usually a call and response between accordion and tabla, which flows into a slow
rhythm section. More call and response sections and faster rhythm sections may follow.
Music generally speeds up over time. The final section is usually fast tempo, and staccato
accents on the off-beat, and may end with a short drum solo.
Baladi is an urban social form of Egyptian dance. It is more stationary than the classical
oriental or oriental routine, with little use of the arms. The energy and focus is on the hip
movements, without extreme backbends or acrobatic movements. Baladi dance has a
"heavy" feeling; with the dancer appearing relaxed and strongly connected to the ground,
and very earthy. The feeling is more internally focused than in the external focus of Oriental
Routine.
The costume for performances of this Baladi style is a long dress that covers the stomach
(Galabeya), which can be plain and traditional, or highly embellished. You should not dance
Baladi in a two-piece oriental suit, unless in passing, during an oriental routine where the
dominant music is oriental and not Baladi. Traditionally, a Baladi dress resembles a
theatrical version of traditional Egyptian clothing, with a hip scarf and headband.

I hope this sheds some light on what Baladi is especially when it comes to dance and music.
Baladi is just Baladi, there is no fusion Baladi, Modern Baladi, pop Baladi or Baladi
Nostalgia. As an analogy; A sonata is a piece of music that follows a very specific structure;
without that structure it is not a sonata. If you write a concerto and call it a nostalgia sonata,
that doesn't make it a sonata. It is misleading and provides incorrect information about a
very specific definition. Let a sonata be a sonata and a concert be a concert. Preserve your
creation and give it an original name.
This is important especially for musicians these days. It is extremely important to preserve
the structure of the original piece of music once a specific name is used to connect to a
culture; otherwise, use a completely new, "creative" name.
This is true for dance styles such as Tango, Flamenco or Debkeh. Picture this, I take a song
like Por Una Cabeza, add a little Mizmar intro, unfold it, layer Rababa with Tabla and
create a new dance form called "Egyptango". Doesn't feel good, does it?
One may argue, what is the problem, isn't art a freedom of expression? Isn't art a way to
express yourself? Yes it is; Go ahead and explore, try new things but don't teach it as an art
form with an authentic name that belongs to a specific culture. Create another definition for
this or another name and no one will object.
For as long as I have been teaching and performing around the world, I have been seeing a
mutation of the dance, subtle changes and name changes, repackaging and rebranding,
everyone wanting to be the "original" and the "first." ", to make an idea your own, while the
intention may come from "creativity," one must be very careful when distorting information
about a culture. This is where sin is committed in the name of creativity.
Distorting and manipulating a culture to suit one's own needs should never be okay, the
beauty of our differences is that our differences create this incredibly beautiful combination
of colors that makes us all wonder about each other as a culture.
Baladi is a wonderful style of Egyptian dance that can inspire people to love that earthy and
local side of Egyptian culture.