Music is very big in Egypt, every festivity, party, wedding, or celebration has vibrant music and dancing. In the Anceint period, the Egyptians tended to use a large variety of instruments, and the scale of the music was based on tones of five with no halftones. They used symbols, clappers, bells, tambourines, drums, flutes, trumpets, the harp and many more. Dancing was a very important custom in Egypt during celebrations and a ritual during weddings. Although Egyptians werent known to dance around in public if it wasnt for an event. Dancing was for both social and religious importance.
Here is a link to a short youtube video, in which an Arab man is dancing and twirling around for a few minutes with swords and other objects. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfAl8jEJ1hk&feature=related>
Another video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6uS5a5u954 was from an Egyptian wedding that was held in Los Angeles, California were a belly dancer performed in the middle of the dance floor at the wedding reception.
The Wedding of Leila and Ahmed was a beautiful video to watch. It was an Egyptian wedding held in Jew Jersey. At the wedding reception there was Hisham Barakat and his band that led the bride and groom down the stairs on to the dance floor, playing their instruments. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Oy4orPFmg
"Music and Dance in Egypt, Music and Dance of Egypt, Egyptian Music and Dance, Ancient Egypt Music and Dance." Cheap Hotels & Accommodation at AsiaRooms, the Last Minute Hotel reservations booking experts. Web. 6 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.asiarooms.com/en/travel-guide/egypt/culture-of-egypt/music-and-dance-in-egypt.html>
" Egyptian Wedding in Los Angeles - YouTube ." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. . N.p., 20 Oct. 2010. Web. 6 Jan. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6uS5a5u954>.
" Arab Wedding Leila & Ahmed Part 1 - YouTube ." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. . N.p., 12 June 2011. Web. 6 Jan. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Oy4orPFmg>.
The Egyptian whirling dance with swords etc is a good example of how the Sufi whirling tradition is also commercialized into performance. Of course this even happens with the more traditional Sufi rituals, for example in Istanbul tourists can pay to attend Sufi whirling every day at the Orient Express Train Station.
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