raqs al assaya

lorelle_stick
Lorelle with cane

Raqs al Assaya, the Egyptian women’s cane dance, is said to have developed as an imitation of tahtiyb, the men’s martial arts dance.

Tahtiyb originated Upper Egypt or the Said, which is in the south of Egypt. Traditionally in the Said, men carried long sticks (asa) as weapons, and the male stick dance evolved out of displays of combat skills using these sticks. A tahtiyb performance consists of the men acting out a mock conflict; striking the ground or each other’s stick, circling the sticks above their heads and performing hops and jumps.

The female version is more lighthearted and flirtatious and the canes (assaya) are generally thinner, more lightweight and often have a hook at the end. The costume worn is usually a Baladi dress – a long straight dress with a sash tied around the hips – but it is also acceptable to perform Raqs al Assaya in a cabaret costume if the music is more modern or time does not permit a costume change. Raqs al Assaya is often performed as the “folkloric” part of a longer cabaret set.

The most common drum rhythm for performing Raqs al Assaya is “saidi” and the mizmar (clarinet) usually features as an instrument.