Belly Dancing Movement

Most of the movements in belly dancing involve isolating different parts of the body (the hips, shoulders, stomach etc), which appear to be similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet, but are often driven in a different way.

All belly dancing movements take into consideration the entire body, but it is best to practice each move individually to build on your isolation techniques, which enables you to make a smooth transition from one move to the next. The hips and pelvic area play a key part in the art of belly dancing, however, the position of the head, shoulders, arms, legs and feet are crucial to each movement.

There's no rule book that says how you should put the moves together to create a dance, but they need to be arranged in way that allows you to flow elegantly into each position without looking clumsy. Egyptian belly dance, like any other dance, needs to be creative and expressive as well as reflecting the rhythm of the music. It is important to understand the history and culture of Egypt and the Middle East to appreciate the art form and the music that accompanies it.





Sources/Research: You Tube / Shira

Belly Dance Costume

One of the most appealing aspects of this dance is the variety of costumes in bright colours and flowing fabric, with delicate beading and shiny jewels. The costume is great for accentuating moves, adding effect and creating a mood.

However, it's not what belly dancing is about, the costumes are purely for an aesthetic reason and various costumes were introduced worldwide when the dance entered stage and screen. Saying that, it's important to know what is appropriate and the type of costume available.

Most beginners will start by wearing a hip scarf which can be very noisy but it helps the student with the sound of movement, which in turn will eventually help to create fluid movements that are integrated with the music.

A hip scarf can be worn tied up in the middle or tied up at the side, most prefer the coins to be resting on both hips either side. The hip scarf can have straight, curved or angled edge. Egyptian dancers traditionally dance in bare feet, but these days often wear shoes and even high heels.

The costume most associated with belly dance is called bedleh (which is Arabic for suit) but it is not authentic Middle Eastern dress.

The bedleh style includes a fitted top or bra and hip belt, both can be richly decorated with beads, sequins, braid and embroidery. This can be combined with either a skirt or harem pants and the belt may be a separate piece or attached. Sometimes pants and a flowing skirt are worn together, in which case, the skirts are usually made of multiple layers of sheer fabric such as chiffon. The other type of skirt is made from a figure-hugging lycra material which is usually worn on its own.

In Egypt, America and Europe dancers wear full-beaded dresses for the folkloric and baladi dances. But generally costuming varies with the particular style of dance.

Costume Worldwide:

Since the 1950s, it has been illegal in Egypt for belly dancers to perform publicly with their abdomens uncovered or to display excessive skin. It is therefore becoming more common to perform in a long, lycra one-piece gown with strategically placed cut-outs filled in with sheer, flesh-coloured fabric.

In Lebanon, the bedleh style is quite common and the skirts tend to be a skimpier than Egyptian outfits, showing more of the dancer's body.

Turkish dancers also wear bedleh style costumes. In the 80s and 90s the art became debased in Turkey and a 'stripperesque' costume style developed, with much shorter skirts and bras that display a large amount of cleavage. Such styles still exist and reflect the playful, flirty style of Turkish belly dance. However, there are also many who opt for the more moderate costumes.

Dancers in America and the United Kingdom often purchase their costumes from Egypt or Turkey. However, American costumes are likely to include a headband with fringe, sheer harem pants or skirt rather than tight lycra and the use of coins and metalwork for decoration.

Sources/Research: Wikipedia / Shira
Here are a selection of my favourite costumes from http://www.turkishemporium.co.uk. The prices are high, but they do a very wide range and not necessarily Turkish.

Benefits of Belly Dance

'Many women today approach belly dance not only as a dance form, but as a tool for empowerment and strengthening of the body, mind and spirit.'(Quote)

Belly dance is especially good for women, it can reduce the risk of osteoporosis, there's minimal stress on the knees and feet, it can improve circulation and assist in building cardiovascular strength (if choosing to make it physically challenging). The advantage of belly dance is that it is suitable for all ages and body types. Many belly dance moves develop the ability to move various muscle groups independently, increasing flexibility in the torso and back, whilst the legs are strengthened by hip movements.

It can also burn as many calories as light jogging, swimming or riding a bike!

Music and use of expression is just as important as learning the movements of belly dance alone. Dance is an art and involves the 'inner self' as much as the 'physical self'.

It is, fundamentally, a solo improvisational dance with its own unique dance vocabulary that is fluidly integrated with the music’s rhythm.

'Raqs Sharqi dancers internalize and express the emotions evoked by the music. Appropriately, the music is integral to the dance. The most admired Raqs Sharqi dancers are those who can best project their emotions through dance, even if their dance is made up of simple movements. The dancer’s goal is to visually communicate to the audience the emotion and rhythm of the music. This is especially apparent during the drum solo portion of a performance.'

Souces/Research: Wikipedia / Esto / YouTube

Origins of Belly Dance

Belly dance, otherwise known as raqs sharqi in Arabic (meaning oriental dance), is a folk dance native to the Middle East. Due to its popularity worldwide, belly dance differs from region to region in both dance style and costume, suggesting that other forms of dance have been incorporated into more traditional styles of Middle-Eastern dance. However, it is still extremely difficult to trace the origins of this art form but there are two dominant possibilities of how this dance originated.

The first being that it is 'a reworking of movements traditionally utilized to demonstrate or ease childbirth, and was used by women for that purpose.' During a performance, dancers will predominantly work the muscles of the abdomen and back, as well as the rest of the body.

The second possibility is that poor women in the Middle-East learned the dance as a way to make money by entertaining rich men. Thus, resulting in the stigma attached to belly dance. On the contrary, many believe it was Western culture that created the negativity towards belly dancing through 'commercialisation' of the art form through films and on the stage.

But the Egyptian movie industry soon followed and its performers were placed in costumes similar to those produced halfway across the world. Egyptian dance was soon being viewed as a performing art, rather than a social dance. So the early 'stars' of Egyptian dance are considered to be a big part of Arabic cultural heritage.

I prefer to believe that the role of oriental dance in Middle-Eastern society has been that of a folk dance that people would do at joyous occasions such as weddings, the birth of a child, community festivals, and other events that bring people together to party. It was a dance that men, women and children did for fun, not a "performance" done to entertain an audience. It just so happens that its entertaining value and enjoyment for both the performer and those watching has helped to shape the future of the dance to this day.

A very thorough and informative article can be found at: http://www.venusbellydance.com/2008/articles_history.html

Sources/Research: Wikipedia /Shira / YouTube