Fifi abdou the message
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Fifi Abdou, Queen of Oriental dance
Text: Hilde Lund
Fifi Abdou is a living legend. She is a household name in Egypt and in big parts of the Arab world. If an Egyptian understands that you dance belly dance, the first question he or she will ask is: "Do you know Fifi Abdou?" Their eyes sparkle a little when they ask this question. To know who Fifi Abdou is, means that you don't only know Fifi Abdou the dancer, but that you also know of all the intriguing and exciting scandals that surround her.
The life of Fifi Abdou is a real life Cinderella story. In true Diva style, she keeps her background a little mysterious, with different versions given at different times.
She was born in Embaba, a poor Cairo neighbourhood, in April 1953. She was named Atiyat Abdul Fattah Ibrahim. At 10?, 12?, 14? years of age, she started dancing in a neighbour's folklore troupe, against her parents will. However, her parents eventually understood that she wanted to become a dancer, and gave her their support. Her rise to fame started in the 1970s, when she became the main
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Continuing with my education and research into the nomenclature of our bellydance lingo, I have spent the last few weeks playing detective with a move called ‘fifi.’ I only learned the move a few years ago myself, having been involved in bellydance for 12 years now, but I chalked that up to the fact that it seemed like more of a cabaret or oriental style bellydance move rather than tribal style, which is where my focus of study has been. But as it turns out, it’s not a common vocabulary move, and it has a fun origin story that I’m happy to share!
What’s the fifi?
A few years ago, I attended 3rd Coast Tribal convention in Texas, where I enjoyed a sort of self-imposed intensive with Mardi Love, taking nothing but her workshops all weekend. Having never studied with her before, I was treated to a whole weekend of her fabulous, stylized moves, including one she called “fifi.” It described a move where you complete a series of heavy hip drops on one side while creating a horizontal hip circle. She suggested executing the movement by co
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Fifi Abdou
Egyptian belly dancer and actress
Fifi Abdou | |
|---|---|
Fifi Abdou as seen on "Ten PM" TV show | |
| Pronunciation | ˈfiːfi ˈʕæbdu |
| Born | Atiyat Abdul Fattah Ibrahim (1953-04-26) April 26, 1953 (age 71) Cairo, Egypt |
| Occupations | |
Fifi Abdou (Arabic: فيفي عبده, IPA:[ˈfiːfiˈʕæbdu], born Atiyat Abdul Fattah Ibrahim (عطيات عبد الفتاح إبراهيم), [ʕɑtˤejˈjɑːtʕæbdel.fætˈtæːħebɾˤɑˈhiːm]; April 26, 1945) is an Egyptianbelly dancer and actress. She has been described as "synonymous with belly dancing in the years she was performing."[1]
Early life and career
Abdou was born as 'Atiyat Abdul Fattah Ibrahim in Cairo on April 26, 1953. Her father is a policeman and she has 11 siblings, including her brother Abdelraheem Abdul Fattah Ibrahim, who encouraged her career. When she was 12 years old she joined a baladi troupe[2] and later found work as a model.[3] She began to gain attention in the early 1970s when she became the main attraction at the Arizona.[4] Over the years s
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