Aretia's Tribe

Belly Dancing

Belly Dancing is a traditional form of dance from Middle East. Also referred as Arabic dance, Belly Dance had become popular across borders in the present day world. The dance form does not describe the term “Belly Dance” in true sense. The performance requires movement of all body parts, specially hips, and not just belly.

The form of belly dance may vary from region to region. The costumes and dance styles may also differ to match with the global audience.

Forms of Belly Dance:

• Raqs sharqi: Generally performed in cabarets and restaurants, this form of belly dancing is more popular in the Western world. Raqs sharqi, although is more often performed by female dancers, sometimes it is also performed by men.

• Raqs baladi: This is a more authentic form of belly dancing. Performed in the folklore style, Raqs baladi is performed by both men and women mainly during weddings in the Middle Eastern.

It can’t be stated from where and when belly dance came into practice. There is also a whole bunch of debate over the legitimacy of the “traditional” or “classical” forms of belly dance. As much as evidence is found about the history of belly dance it shows that this dance form was originally performed by women for women. Another evidence also states that belly dancing was originally developed in Northern Africa and was then slowly spread to the Middle Eastern regions by Caravans. However, there is no prove to state such folklores as true facts.

After Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 it is said that belly dance was performed in public for the first time. Later in the 18th and 19th centuries this form of dance became more popular with the Orientalist artists portraying the images of harem through their dance forms.

Costume

The costumes worn during a Belly Dance performance also varies from region to region. Bedleh, which is more commonly known as an Arabic suit, is the more often worn during a belly dance. Bedleh is two part costume: a skin fitted blouse or top and a skirt or harem pants along with a hip fitted belt. The costumes are very richly decorated with beads, sequins, gold braid and coins.

The belt may be lose or sewn to the skirt or pants to fit and cover the hip. The skirts have multiple layers and come in fabric like chiffon or lycra. In most of the countries, belly dancers get their costumes stitched from Egypt or Turkey, where the dance form is more popular.

Various props are used while performing belly dance to add to the glitz and glamour of the dance. Some of the props that are more commonly used are:

• Finger cymbals
• Veil
• Sword
• Candelabra headdress
• Fire sticks
• Tambourine
• Snakes