La Belle Fatma
La Belle Fatma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Rachel Eny 29 January 1868 |
| Died | 4 September 1913 (aged 45) 4th arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Other names | Fatma Eny Fatma Ben-Eny Fatma Ben-Eni Rachel Bent-Eny |
| Occupation | dancer |
| Known for | Concert Tunisien 1878 Paris Exposition 1889 Paris Exposition 1900 Paris Exposition |
| Relatives | David Eny (grandfather) |
Rachel Eny, known by the stage name La Belle Fatma, was an Algerian dancer during the Belle Époque in France.
Career
According to the French theatre historian Arthur Pougin, Rachel Eny first attracted public attention as a child at the 1878 Paris Exposition. At the time, a small concert Tunisien was situated near the Pont d'Iéna. Pougin described its principal musician as a large Algerian man known as the “Géant de Souze” (“Giant of Souze”), who was Rachel's father. During the exhibition, he reportedly encouraged his seven- or eight-year-old daughter to dance for the visitors. Having been impressed by the “danse du ventre” (belly dance) she had seen in Algiers, the child imitated it, initially “somewhat awkwardly, without putting any particular intention into it”. According to Pougin, the performance proved highly popular: she received numerous caresses, coins and even silver pieces, and repeated the dance daily, sometimes several times a day. Pougin identifies the child by her real name as “Rachel Bent-Eny” and states that she later became known to the public as “la belle Fatma”. [1]
In December 1886, concerts tunisiens was the advertised title of an attraction at the Eden Theatre in Paris featuring Rachel Eny. The theatre's operating company had installed an “immense baraque” in the public foyer for the exhibition of the “belle Fatma”, accompanied by her regular musicians.[2]
In 1889 La Belle Fatma returned to the 1889 Paris Exposition where, according to Pougin, her previous success made an appearance seem almost inevitable. She performed at several locations during the exposition. She appeared first at the Grand Théâtre de l'Exposition in early June, before the Gitanas of Granada became one of its major attractions. She subsequently appeared, according to Pougin, at one of the two Moroccan tents on the Rue du Caire, before establishing herself near the Gitanas in the bazaar surrounding the Grand Théâtre, in a small establishment.[3]
Pougin described seeing her at the small establishment called the Concert Tunisien. He gave a detailed description of the venue and its performers. The room, decorated with tapestries, was small enough to accommodate approximately fifty spectators, many of whom had to remain standing. La Belle Fatma occupied a raised position at the back of the stage, seated before a large mirror and holding a tambourine. Her father, whom Pougin again called the “colosse de Souze”, performed beside her on a stringed instrument. The ensemble also included several percussionists and dancers, as well as a Tunisian pianist living in the Batignolles district of Paris.[4]
According to Pougin, the approximately twelve-minute programme consisted of three dances: a “danse algérienne”, described by him as a stylised or imitation belly dance; a “danse circassienne”, presented as a sword dance; and a “danse tunisienne”, performed by La Belle Fatma herself. The admission price was one franc for civilians, soldiers and children's nurses. Pougin remarked that the Tunisian dance could be repeated several times a day without apparently exhausting its performer.[5]
In December 1891, a Bordeaux newspaper reported that la troupe du Concert-Tunisien performed during the intervals at the Folies-Bordelaises. The programme featured Fatma Eny in the “danse du Sérail de Tunis”, followed by the “Danse algérienne” performed by Baya Adge-Kelil, the “Danse égyptienne” by Zora Kadour, the “Danse circassienne” by Aïcha Kedaouedje, and the “Danse du Soudan” by Sidi Yousef Rahman. The newspaper noted that the troupe would remain in Bordeaux only temporarily.[6]
References
- ↑ Arthur Pougin (13 December 1886). "Le théâtre à l'Exposition universelle de 1889 : notes et descriptions, histoire et souvenirs" (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ "Journal des débats politiques et littéraires" (in French). 13 December 1886. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
- ↑ Arthur Pougin (13 December 1886). "Le théâtre à l'Exposition universelle de 1889 : notes et descriptions, histoire et souvenirs" (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ Arthur Pougin (13 December 1886). "Le théâtre à l'Exposition universelle de 1889 : notes et descriptions, histoire et souvenirs" (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ Arthur Pougin (13 December 1886). "Le théâtre à l'Exposition universelle de 1889 : notes et descriptions, histoire et souvenirs" (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- ↑ "Le Drapeau radical : journal républicain de combat" (in French). 20 December 1891. Retrieved 21 August 2026.