Belly dance what is

The earliest forms of belly dance were the Egyptian ghawazi dance during the 19th century, and Raqs Sharqi , an Arabic dance of the 20th century.

Despite Egypt's location in Africa and contributions from other nations such as France, Turkey and the United States, the term belly dance is usually used today to include all traditional dances of the Middle Eastern region, including those not geographically situated there.

The first belly dancers were a group of traveling dancers known as the ghawazee. These women were considered gypsies in Egypt in the 18th century, and were banished from Cairo during the s, but went on to perform in Upper Egypt and later in the Middle East and Europe.

Belly dancing was, during this time period, often known as "Oriental" dancing, and the women were made famous in Europe by authors and painters intrigued by the exotic nature of the art. From the ghawazee troupe, the raqs sharqi genre of belly dancing began to develop. More urban than the purest dance forms in earlier belly dancing history, it quickly became popular and took cues from not only the ghawazee but also various folk dance styles, ballet, Latin dance , and even American marching bands.

Belly dancing gained popularity in the United States in the s and s during a time when more women were becoming free spirits. By this time, the dance had quite a sensual reputation, and western women worked hard to reinvent it as a woman-focused dance that was performed in conjunction with female celebrations such as childbirth and new-age Goddess worship. While belly dancing is very showy in style and costuming, the basic dance requires the disciplined skill of isolations. For this reason, those with experience dancing jazz or ballet will do well with basic belly dance technique.

The core muscles of the dancer's body execute each movement, as opposed to the use of external muscles alone. The majority of movements come from the hip and pelvic region; however, isolations of the shoulders and chest are also vital to a fluid-looking performance. There are many steps found in the various styles of belly dancing performed all over the world, but the classic steps that come back throughout several periods in the history of belly dancing are:. Shimmy - vibrating hips using the muscles of the lower back.

You may shimmy front to back or side to side to create this vibration, and occasionally it is also performed in the shoulders. Undulations - flowing, fluid movements throughout the body, including a pulsating rhythm of the chest and a circular twist of the hips and stomach regions. Hip hits - a sharp and quick pulsation of the hips moving out from the body. When performed up to speed, it looks as if the pelvis is swinging, but it is actually the weight of the legs pulsing quickly in alternation that creates the hip illusion.

In this setting, dance was adapted to the stage, set choreographies and group performances were introduced and also there was a big influence from western types of dance, such as ballroom dancing and ballet. The costumes changed as well. Up until that point dancers wore a wide long skirt, a shirt and a waistcoat. Middle Eastern dance spread into Europe and the USA at first because of European travellers who went to the Middle East and northern Africa from the late s and through the s.

However, as the majority of these travelers were male, they did not have access to all types of performers, as some would only perform for women only audiences.

They were only able to see performers on the street or those women dancers who were willing to perform privately in front of a male-only audience. With the universal exhibitions, curiosities from all over the world were brought into Europe and the USA.

In particular, the Chicago World Fair was especially significant for the spread of belly dance in the west. Some loved her movements but others were scandalised by them think of what effect must have had a dance in which the torso moved freely, in a society where women wore corsets. Many imitated her movements, but exaggerating the hips and torso movements in a way that many considered vulgar.

Also, western people had an imaginary picture of the orient in their minds, as a land of passion and moral ambiguity. Hence, oriental women and dance were seen in the same light. This distorted image of the orient became a subject of many popular books and was promoted even further by Hollywood movies.

Belly dance also influenced burlesque in the s and this contributed to confusion in the mind of many between these two genres. In recent years, thanks especially to the feminist movement in the s and s, more and more women in the USA first, then all over the world, including Europe, Oceania and the Far East have discovered the empowering nature of this dance form for women.

As for men, they still dance folkloric styles in the countries of origin of belly dance, but not raqs sharqi. In the west, there are some male belly dancers but still very few and far in between at the moment. Email address:. History and Origins of Belly Dance. Valeria : twitter facebook pinterest. Search for:. Recent Posts. Most belly dancers use only one name. They are generally expected to have large breasts and a healthy size bottom. A little plump is better than too thin. Traditional belly-dancing costumes consist of a glittering, sequined halter top and long, gauzy skirt.

Sometimes the belly is covered and highlighted with fringe or a a wide embroidered panel. Some dancers have 5, costumes that come in a variety of color, sequin ranges and locations of slits and cuts. The Egyptian Takia Karyoka is regarded by many as the best belly dancer of all time.

She was also an actress. Egyptian films from the s and 50s often had a belly dancer at the center of their story. In Egypt, the romances, tiffs, scandals, wealth and salaries of celebrity belly dancers provides juicy material for gossip columns.

Top dancers in the s included Lucy, Fifi Abdou and Dina. Lucy owned about costumes while Fifi Abdou owned about 5, Israeli-Egyptian ties were slightly damaged by allegations that the Egyptian ambassador to Israel sexually assaulted an Israeli belly dancer. Many people resented what he was doing. People in the audience squirmed in their seats. Some taunted and heckled him. A few throw things at him. In the mids, everyone in Cairo was talking about he belly dancer Diana and her decision to forsake the traditional sequined costume for biking shorts an a bikini top, with gold chains rapped around her waist.

The controversial designer of Diana's belly dancing outfits, Ahamd Diaa Eddin, runs a shop in Cairo, has his own website and publishs a quarterly magazine. Japanese Kasumi Kimura is the only Asian professional belly dancer in Cairo. She taught yoga and dance after finishing junior college and was inspired to take up belly dancing after seeing it in a movie. After studying under famous choreographers in Turkey and Egypt she made her debut in and was still performing in Belly dancing is very popular in the West.

Most American cities have belly dancing schools and community centers that offer belly dancing classes. It is also a fixture of some Middle Eastern restaurants and dinner clubs. They refuse to perform at bachelor parties out of concern of being confused for something they are not. Pressure by Islamists have caused the shows to tone down their erotic aspects and require dancers to cover their belies. In some cases belly dancing shows are banned outright.

She was thin, with a narrow forehead, her eyes painted with antimony, a veil passed over her head and held with her elbows. She was followed by a pet sheep, whose wool was painted in spots with yellow henna. Around its nose was a black velvet muzzle. When she bends, her flesh ripples in bronze ripples. On her right arm is tattooed a line of blurred writing. After he finished, I go down and follow his example.

The best was the second copulation with Kuckuk. Effect of her necklace between my teeth, her cunt felt like rolls of velvet as she made me come. I felt like a tiger. Kuchuk Hanmen and Bambeh begin to dance.