Gilded
Serpent presents...
Cairo's Costume Disasters
Tacky, Bizarre, and
Surprising Costumes Worn by Cairo's Stars of Oriental Dance
What was she thinking when
she acquired that costume?! Have you ever been watching a dancer
in performance - a big star, perhaps one of your favorites - when
that question seized your brain so completely that you were no longer
able to appreciate her dancing?
If not, then some might say
that you haven't ever been to a performance.
1992, 1994, and 1995: Perhaps something blew into Cairo on
the warm desert winds, or maybe the phase of the moon was warped. Whatever
it was, these were the years when I saw three of Egypt's best - Mona
Said, Dina, and Negwa Fuad - wearing the kind of costumes which made
the audience more inclined to wince than watch their favorite dancers'
performances.
In 1992, Mona Said and Dina appeared in "surprising"
costumes. Could it be that "surprise" was their motive? Dina's
black lycra miniskirts were certainly
"surprising," maybe even a little bit shocking.
It was the first time I'd seen anything other than bedla (two-piece
cabaret costume), balady dress (folkloric one-piece dress), or thob
(gown style cabaret costume) on a dancer. Yet here was Dina, trotting
out two lycra miniskirt and bra costumes in one show! One of them (Exhibit
A) was a black lycra miniskirt gathered vertically at
the front, decorated with multicolor beads and sequins.
Her black strapless bra was restrained by comparison, with
a minimal amount of multicolor beads and sequins. The second
outfit (Exhibit B) consisted of a black lycra miniskirt which
sported large holes just above the hemline. Each hole was surrounded
by faux gems and sequins of assorted rainbow hues, and a strapless
(again, minimally-sequined) black bra, which was cleverly held up
by netting attached to a neck band.
Then I went to see Mona Said. Oh, Mona! Her show started out
on a "surprising" note as well, with an appearance in
black spandex bike shorts, a sequined black bra, a light bolero
vest, and a sequined black gaucho hat! (Exhibit
C) She wore
several costumes that night, ranging from the outlandish Zorro costume
through the bizarre lime-green "Mary Tyler Moore" minidress
for Melaya Luff (Exhibits
D and E), to the
hot pink sequined balady dress with johnny collar and big fat zipper
up the front which she wore for the zar!
She truly accomplished her objective, that
is, if the objective was to be "surprising" and a
gossip item for the next several weeks. To Mona's credit,
however, I still remember how wonderfully she danced.
Two years later, in 1994, Dina was the queen
of tacky, with her black gown, slit diagonally from right shoulder
to left front hemline, pinned together across her torso with
giant safety pins covered with rhinestones. (Exhibit
F) During
that show, the pin placed strategically at the bust popped open
and she spent the next few LONG seconds trying to pin it back
together! (Perhaps this was more "surprise"
than she had intended.) Her other costumes that evening
included an orange knit evening gown, from which one of her
breasts kept trying to escape, a peach bedla generously decorated
with opaque multicolor plastic beads shaped like miniature
fruits and flowers, and a bedla made of black beaded bra and
belt with a sheer green chiffon skirt through which her black
panties were visible front and back. "Surprise"
and "tackiness" seemed the themes of the show. On
the other hand, when asked about another dancer's revealing
skirt, Mme. Abla was quoted as saying: "Of course you
could see her panties. That shows that she's a 'good girl'
and wears them!"
And no, I don't remember how
she danced. All I remember is the costuming.
In that same year, Mona came a close second to Dina in the
"tacky competition" in her balady dress, which in the front
was cut off diagonally above her knees and in the back boasted a full-length
half-circular skirt. (Exhibits
G and H) The edges
and seams were decorated with sequins and hundreds of beads resembling
hard candies shaped like miniature fruits, flowers, and nuts. Mona's
other costumes for this show were stunningly elegant gowns, lavishly
embroidered with rhinestones, each one featuring daringly placed cutouts
filled with sheer flesh-tone fabric. One hot pink gown, accented
with rhinestones and cutouts trimmed with rhinestones and silver sequin,
made me exclaim as she entered the room, "Ooooooooh, I WANT this
costume!" When she passed my table and I got a look at the two
large cutouts which left her buttocks covered only with sheer flesh
tone fabric, I added, "...with MODIFICATIONS!!!" (Exhibit
I. I just didn't
have the courage to take a flash photo of the rear view.) When
I saw the expressions on her musicians' faces, I realized it was a NEW
costume! To their (immense) credit the musicians didn't miss a beat,
but it's a safe bet that they were "surprised!"
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The next year, 1995, Negwa
showed us that she too isn't immune to the impulse to wear something
shocking. Her claim to costume notoriety was a sheer black tulle
balady dress worn over a flesh-tone,
full-length body stocking and a multicolored faux-jewel bra
and belt. (Exhibit J)
Two weeks after I took the photograph, the costume proved
to be a real "show stopper." The international press
reported that when Negwa appeared in said outfit, a man sitting at
a table adjoining the stage jumped to his feet, shouting that the show
must be stopped so that she could put on some clothes, because he'd
brought his family to see her perform. Negwa stopped the band,
put her foot on the man's table and demonstrated that she was fully
covered by stretching out the edge of the body stocking at her ankle.
As they say, no matter how "surprised" the audience may be,
the show must go on!
Apart from these "surprising" costumes to which I've borne
witness, I've found descriptions of some other
"gems" posted to the Middle East Dance internet mailing list
in July, 2000. In one posting, Najida mentioned an "unusual" costume
worn by Dina on a video.
"The Dina Droopy Drawers costume is on the 1994 PEKO Cocktail
Video...sorta like black hot pants and a silver sequin bra....covered
in this sheer net thingie with a crotch at her ankles.... Just FUGLY!" (The
year this video was made, 1994, was a good year for surprises in Cairo's
nightclubs.
Is it a coincidence, or is there a deeper pattern here?
Hmm...)
Natasya Katsikaris soon posted "Yep, HATED it.
Meanwhile ... Men LOVE this costume! Go figure. Every woman who
watches this video says, great dancer, beautiful bod - what's up with
the stupid pants? Every man who watches it says, ... I don't
know... I think it's kinda sexy ... like she's dancing in her pajamas
... and I get to see 'em ... heh heh heh heh ..."
My curiosity was piqued, when my friend Yolanda said she
had a copy of the video, I jumped at the chance to see it. Dina's
"Droopy Drawers" costume is likely to provoke a strong reaction
from almost anyone. The black "sheer net thingie" is
very full shalwar (harem pants or pantaloons), with the crotch at about
her knees and the leg bands just below that. Some may classify this
as tacky, others as bizarre.
Personally, I think it's a cute sexy idea, which only a star
of Dina's stature, not to mention beautiful body, could successfully
present. Your mileage will undoubtedly vary. Certainly,
if you haven't seen this sort of thing before, prepare yourself for
a "surprise".
Tara Tuatai continued with yet another sighting of a Cairo
star wearing something unusual. "I saw Hendaya in a miniskirt
and bra with a soccer ball pattern on a red base circa 1995ish - unfortunately
the Semiramis where she was performing didn't allow photos." I
must admit that sounds a little bizarre, but considering the popularity
of soccer in Egypt, it's not too surprising - at least, not to the
Egyptians in the audience.
Probably the most bizarre "surprise" costume was sighted
by Morocco "The Dancer, Not the Country"
and her accomplice Scheherezade (AKA Lucy Smith), on none
other than one of the icons of Egyptian Danse Orientale, Negwa Fuad. In
true Negwa Fuad style, she did it several years before anyone else! I
include here, as the final and (in my opinion) best entry in this collection
of unusual costumes, Rocky's description of Negwa's "Seafood Delight"
costume, as well as the next day's visit with the costume's
designer Mme. Abla.
When: August 1986
Where: Meridien Hotel, Cairo
Witnesses: Scheherezade, AKA
Lucy Smith (we had no camera because our purses were monopolized by
big cans of Deep Woods Off to deter the cannibal-size mosquitoes).
What: Negwa Fouad's infamous seafood costume. The
skirt was made of half-ripped-up tulle, to look like a fisherman's net,
and it had appliqués of clamshells and snails coming up the open
sides and on the bottom.
That I could live with ...
The belt had: a background of black sequins and beads and
right smack all over the front center was a BIG crab appliqué,
claws and all (and they didn't have a clue as to what "crabs"
are in American English).
But that wasn't the end of
it ... oh no ....
In the back, ALL OVER the back of the belt, was a BIG red lobster,
claws, swimmerets and all.
But that wasn't the end of
it ... oh no ....
On each cup of the bra was a BIG crab, with the claws coming
around to the
inner, upper top - as though they were grabbing each cup, if
you know what I mean ...
But that wasn't the end of it ... oh no ...
Hanging from her bra strap, looking like it was gonna bite
her a good one right on top of her right breast, was what I thought
was a scorpion. However, Lucy pointed out to me that it was actually
a shrimp, head and feet and all!
At this point, we were laughing so hard (and were the only
ones who were getting the "joke") that we had to leave the
table and run to the ladies room.
But that wasn't the end of
it ... oh no ...
The next day: I'm at Madam Abla's having my Shemodan dress
fitted. Lucy is sitting in front of me, out of Abla's line of
vision. Abla is sticking pins all over me.
She asks where we went the night before.
Me: "To see Negwa at the
Meridien."
Abla: "Did you like the show?"
"Of course."
"Did you like the costumes?"
"Most of them."
"Did you see the one with all the sea creatures on it?"
"Yes." (Uh-oh!)
"I made that one. I can make you one just like it."
(Now, keep in mind that I love that woman. She has made me some
of the best costumes in the
entire world.) "Um - Abla, habibti, it's like this: everyone
in America and all over the world knows about
Negwa Fouad. They know about every costume she wears.
If I turn up in the same costume,
they will say that I am imitating her instead of being me.
I'm sure you can understand...."
EXHALE.
Lucy almost chokes. When Abla leaves the room, Lucy says I should
get the Nobel Prize
for diplomacy. I say I want my Oscar for THAT acting job, so I
can thank the Academy and all
those little people out there in the dark...
Do I ever wish we had had a camera.
Have
a comment? Send us a letter!
Check the "Letters to the Editor"
for other possible viewpoints!
Ready
for more?
9-16-05 Ahlan
Wa Sahlan 2005, Cairo a review and diary by Leyla Lanty
On
Monday night, the opening gala was a great success in all senses
of the word! It was one of the best large scale events I've
attended.
11-16-01 Giza
Club Lecture, Wacky Woman Traveler- Leyla Lanty
Hard
work and familiarity pays off.
3-3-01 Giza
Academy Awards of Middle Eastern Dance Video 2000 by
Leyla Lanty
And the winners
are.... Photos added on 5-1-01 take another look!
12-27-00 Special
Master Class Weekend with Amina Goodyear and Jacques al Asmar, by Leyla
Lanty
....This
is why there are many repetitions of words, verbal and musical
phrases in Arabic music so that the musicians, singers, and
dancers can build on movements with the repetition. |

Exhibit A - Dina 1992
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Exhibit B - Dina 1992
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Exhibit
C - Mona 1992
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Exhibit D - Mona 1992
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Exhibit E - Mona 1992 |

Exhibit F - Dina 1994
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Exhibit G - Mona 1994
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Exhibit H - Mona 1994
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Exhibit I - Mona 1994
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