Belly Dance

Belly dance or Bellydance is a Western-coined name for a traditional Middle Eastern dance, especially raqs sharqi . It is sometimes also called Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance in the West, or by the Greco-Turkish term çiftetelli .

The term "Belly dance" is a misnomer as every part of the body is involved in the dance; the most featured body part in raqs sharqi being the hips. Belly dance takes many different forms depending on country and region, both in costume and dance style;; and new styles have been invented in the West as its popularity has spread globally. NOTE for professional dancers in this genre the spelling as one word, "Bellydance" is preferred as it takes the focus off the word belly.

Raqs sharqi is the style more familiar to Westerners, performed in restaurants and cabarets around the world. It is more commonly performed by female dancers but is also sometimes danced by men. It is a solo improvisational dance, although students often perform choreographed dances in a group.

Raqs baladi, is the folkloric style, danced socially by men and women of all ages in some Middle Eastern countries, usually at festive occasions such as weddings. (Hanna, 14)

As with any dance of folkloric origin, the roots of belly dance are uncertain. The authenticity of even "traditional" or "classical" forms of belly dance is open to question and often hotly disputed.

The origins of belly dancing, though unclear, can be traced to the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Africa. In fact, in the Arabic language, the term belly dancing is Raqs Sharqi and in Turkish, it is Oryantal dansi. The Turkish term Oryantal dansi can be roughly translated to mean "exotic oriental dance" and the Arabic term Raqs Sharqi is claimed to be of Egyptian origins. Because these terms suggested an exotic dance that originated elsewhere, the art of belly dance was held in higher esteem than local dances. Historical evidence shows Egyptian tomb paintings dating from as far back as the fourteenth century BC that depict partially clad dancers whose callisthenic positions appear to be very similar to those used in belly dancing. Belly Dancing also has been depicted in Persian miniature paintings from the 12th and 13th centuries. The popularized connotation between belly dancing and exotic harems is due largely to the Romanticism movement in the 18th and 19th century as artists depicted their interpretation of harem life of the Ottoman Empire. But for Saudi women, the dance itself was considered to be sacred, and not intended to be seen by men at all. Oriental dance is uniquely designed for the female body, with an emphasis on abdominal muscles, hip moves, and chest moves. It is firm and earthy, traditionally with bare feet connected to the ground. It is a dance characterized by smooth, flowing, complex, and sensual movements of the torso, alternated with shaking and shimmy type moves. There are various forms of belly dancing, including Turkish, Egyptian Oriental, and American Tribal. More information about these styles can be found ...