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Belly Dance - Arabic Dance - Egyptian Dance
Pharaoh Acrobatics
Lessons _ Classes - Shows _ Performances
LONDON (UK) - AL-ANDALUS (SPAIN)
“In ancient Egypt, dance was a time marker. It evidenced the moment of radical change, when something ends and else begins. It protected from the dangers of what was dying and celebrated what was to be born anew.” (Donald B. Redford - The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Ancient Egypt).
“The oldest dances known from ancient Egypt are those related to different phases in funerals. In some Old Kingdom tombs, just after mummification was completed, dances were first performed by a specialized group, the ladies of “the acacia house”. The members of that institution were concerned with the appeasement of the dangerous lion goddess Sekhmet and the rejuvenation of the dead. The ladies mourned the dead but also celebrated the regenerated body. Dances performed during religious ceremonies related to turning points in the year can also be considered moments of renewal. During the Valley festival at Thebes, the god Amun left his temple at Karnak to visit the tombs on the western bank, after crossing the Nile River on his bark. While transported overland, the bark was escorted not only by priests but also by musicians and dancers. Acrobatic dances executed by groups of women were the most characteristic feature of these processions”. (Dimitri Meeks).
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