Combining Belly Dance With Other Dance Forms

It is becoming more and more popular to incorporate other styles of dance from all over the world into belly dance. These combination performances can be extremely impressive to watch but at other times, it can look a bit of a mess (to say the least). Possessing a large amount of knowledge concerning different forms of dance you choose to blend into belly dancing will help to improve the overall performance.

Here are two videos to give an example of just how eye-catching or mildly confusing it can be to watch belly dancing that combines more than one dance style.

Belly Dance & Cairo Today

Cairo has always been associated with beautiful dancers showing off their traditional moves with elegance and ease. There are fans of the sparkling sequins and jangling beads all over the world. However, today you'd be lucky too find a single belly dancer in Cairo that is Egyptian.

In Egyptian films, belly dancers are typically depicted as prostitutes or thieves and the very word in Arabic for dancer, raqasa, comes with connotations of immorality.

Egyptians may dance at home or at family weddings, but belly dancing as a profession is strictly off-limits to most young women in this predominantly Muslim country. In most cases, it's fun to watch, as long as it's not your sister, daughter or wife undulating on a public stage. If this happens, many are disowned by their families and they suffer from the shame.

Thousands of foreign dancers will travel to Cairo each year from countries such as Russia, Japan, Cyprus and America. The locals, including skilled musicians and costume suppliers, all depend on foreign currency. Egyptians have had to suffer to keep this dance alive.

The shrinking Egyptian belly-dance community welcomes foreigners but their hospitality can turn cold when attempting to set up a business in Cairo.

In 2003, Egypt's iconic dancers rebelled against the influx of foreign belly dancers and persuaded the government to stop issuing performance permits for non-Egyptians. They were getting prime spots on the Cairo night scene and at popular resorts.

The ban was later lifted, but resident foreign dancers still have to go through many bureaucratic channels that are often expensive, which may or may not result in licenses for public performance.

While lifelong friendships can develop, it is mostly one of mutual dependence. The Egyptians get the finances to keep their musicians and shops afloat, and the visiting dancers get a real taste of Egypt and take it to their audiences elsewhere.

It needs to be respected and taught correctly so that it can be kept alive. The essence of the dance is about feeling, the interpretation of music and emotional input — That's truly Egyptian.

The Windows To Your Soul

Belly dancers not only need to express their emotions through their movement but also through their eyes. The eyes are known as 'the windows to the soul' and should be used throughout a performance.

Make up is very important, the right make up can be extremely hard to apply and may need the help of a make-up artist. Experimenting with different colours and finding new ways to line the eyes is a good start. Usually the eyes are dark, deep in colour and heavy, with elongated tails at the outer corners.

If you love make up, then experimenting will be a lot of fun and eventually you'll be able to create those beautiful Arabic eyes when ever you need to. The eyes are intense and almost mesmerising - It should be hard to look away without being 'seduced'.

Remember the shape of your seductive eyes and the emotion that you are trying to express. This way you won't end up applying it incorrectly and look more like someone ready for halloween. Mix some light shades on the lid and below the eyebrow after applying deep dark colour to the lid-crease and outer edges. This cleans up the look and keeps the eyes 'light-reflective'.