Travel Steps Study Guide 4.2: Reference Notes, Egyptian Folklore

Egyptian Folklore (Theatricalized Style)

Hold, Step, Step, Step

		Hold	Step	Step	Step
26:08	1	·         front extension (parallel variation) ·         rotation over the standing leg	walk
26:18	2	·         front extension (parallel variation)	walk

In this sequence, the initial hold, layered with a front extension, creates a floating transition into the steps that follow.  In the first variation (shown three times), I begin facing downstage, but rotate my torso over my standing leg, creating turnout in the standing leg’s hip.  Put another way, my extension points to the “side” relative to the audience, but it is a forward extension relative to my body.

Step, Step, Step-Hold

		Step	Step	Step	Hold
26:30	3	forward	together	back	·         bent-knee touch front ·         Egyptian hip drop, twist forward

This sequence is sometimes called a “belly dance pas de bourrée,” and the hold is usually layered with unweighted hipwork and danced with the body facing side so that the working hip is downstage.  The footwork is a simple step sequence, layered with subtle rotation that changes the dancer’s orientation 180 degrees while she crosses the stage.  Most sequences don’t use any pivoting footwork; the change in the body’s orientation is created by rotating the body over the standing leg, in the hip, using the technique shown in this section’s opening combo..

		Step	Step	Step	Hold
26:54	4	across in back	side	across in front	·         Straight-leg touch side ·         Hip twist

With the body facing in the same direction throughout the sequence, this combination is a true grapevine.  Taking the initial step back gives a relaxed impression of falling or melting in to the combination. 

Hold, Step

		Hold	Step
27:06	5	·         pivot to close ·         front extension ·         leg sweep	across in back
27:17	6	·         pivot open ·         arabesque extension ·         leg sweep	across in front

This section illustrates a 2-count component used in longer combinations. Many folklore combinations contain 2-count hold-step sequences with the arm and leg layering variations shown here.

8-Count Combo 1

		Step	Hold	Step	Hold	Step	Hold	Hold	Hold
27:30	7	across front	·         straight-leg touch side ·         hip lift ·         rotate over the standing leg	front	·         pivot open ·         straight-leg touch side ·         hip lift	side	·         pivot to close ·         straight-leg touch side ·         hip lift	wait	wait

This is a turning step-lift combo.   The turning component of this combination comes primarily from pivots, but the dancer also helps the turn along by reorienting her body over the standing leg.  After the first hip lift, the dancer rotates into a turned-out position on her standing leg in preparation for a step forward on count 3.  

8-Count Combo 2

		Step	Step	Step	Hold	Step	Step	Step	Step
27:41	8	ball-change ·         full shift side ·         arm undulation		across front	·         arabesque ·         leg sweep	across front	side	ball change back ·         undulation, back on “7”

The steps in the second half of the combo turn the dancer using the same technique as belly dance pas de bourrée.  In preparation for the step on count 7, the dancer rotates her body over her standing leg, creating turn-out in the standing leg’s hip and transitioning into a side-facing orientation for the undulation on counts 7 and 8.

16-Count Combo 

		Step	Step	Step	Hold	Step	Step	Step	step
28:14	9	walk			·         arabesque ·         leg sweep	across front	In place	across back	In place

(9 cont.)	Hold	Hold	Hold	Hold	Step	Hold	Step	Hold
	hip circle				side	·         Pivot open ·         Straight-leg touch side ·         Hip lift	side	·         Pivot to close ·         Straight-leg touch side ·         Hip lift

Counts 5 – 8 use a grapevine step.  Unlike the cross-in-back variation shown in combination 4, this grapevine is led by a step across in front.  The hip circle in counts 9 -12 transfers weight around the front to the free foot, then around the back, returning weight to the same foot as when the circle started.  Counts 13-16 use steps from combo 7, turning step-lifts.

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