Music on a Bellydancer’s Playlist

I’m always looking for new music!  While I certainly have plenty of the classics to keep me busy, I love discovering new versions.  It’s also exciting to hear original songs from the traditional Middle Eastern orchestras.  And who can resist the fun songs that the pop starts keep churning out?

Some recent favorites:
Bellydance Superstars Volume 7 – This volume features mostly pop, remix, and fusion type songs.  I was happy to see this album available for download (at least through Amazon) since volumes 3, 5, and 6 are only available in CD form.

Tahia’s Dance – If you haven’t already downloaded all of Jalilah’s albums, DO IT.  They are an amazing resource for fully orchestrated versions of classics.  There are nice breaks in the long songs (such as this one) in case you need to cut it for length.  Anyway, this particular track is just over 16 minutes (what a bargain for a $.99 download!!!!) and has a classic intro beginning, taqsim section(s), baladi, Hassan Ya Ghouli with vocals, and an exit.  It’s a treasure trove, even just for listening.

Amal Hayati – This is an under-four-minutes snippet of this classic, sung by Oum Kalthoum and composed by Muhammad ‘Abd al-Wahhab. I’m adding the original to my listening study list. I came across this page with a translation and the opportunity to listen to the original (essential homework before even attempting to dance to an Oum Kalthoum piece!)

Ba’ed Annak – At the end of June, I spent five days learning from Sahra Saeeda (in a group of nine dancers) and at the end of our time together, she (at our request) danced a little for us.  This is one of her trademark songs.  Now whenever I hear it, I can only think of her excellent dancing and how generous she is. She is exquisite! (You can see her perform to this on the IAMED DVD called, “Belly Dance!”.  This performance and several others can be found on YouTube.  I believe the version used in those performances can be found on the CD, “Layali Zaman”.)

Of course, I try to keep my list on BellydanceDownloads.com updated, so check there to see what I use for my restaurant shows and for class.