Wedding Ceremonies - Egyptian Music

As in the past, many weddings in Egypt are still arranged, and the custom of the groom's family proposing to the bride is often practiced. Just before the marriage vows begin there is a musical wedding march called the Zaffa. There is traditional Egyptian music, belly dancers, drums horns and performers with flaming swords. Traditionally, Egyptians believed that the ring finger has the "vein amoris", the vein of love, which runs straight to the heart.

All wedding ceremonies have one thing in common, during the wedding reception all relatives dance. The Egyptian style of dance places a bigger importance on the delicate movements of the human body and is far more moderate than Turkish dances, although they have a similarity to the Lebanese dance styles. The basic dance vocabulary of all belly dance styles is very similar, with for example hip figures of eight, shimmies and the like.

The fact that Egyptian style is more moderate than Turkish or Lebanese styles is also reflected on the clothing. Although some Egyptian belly dancers wear the two piece costume, they usually have to wear at least a sort of stocking type of fabric to cover their bellies, for decency reasons. Also, in Egypt whole dresses that cover the torso are common, especially in folkloric styles.
The Raqs Sharqi (Oriental dance) is an Egyptian dance which has its roots in a folk style of dance (‘Baladi'). In the early 20th century, this style of dance was performed in cabarets, in a formal setting for the first time and, although it maintained some elements of its origin, the dancers were influenced by western dances, such as ballet. Hence, Egyptian raqs sharki developed as a new approach within the Egyptian custom. The three styles of Egyptian dance traditionally linked to the belly dance include the Baladi/Beledi, Sha'abi and the Sharqi. Other dances include performances by the Ghawazee who are professional dancers from Egypt, the Melaya Leff which is a character dance using a shawl, and the Zar, a dance of Sudanese origin, that is performed by Egyptians to drive away evil spirits. In any case, if there's a Egyptian wedding, there has to be dancing.