HISTORY OF BELLYDANCE

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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 translation of the French "danse du ventre" which was applied to the dance in the Victorian era. It is something of a misnomer as every part of the body is involved in the dance; the most featured body part usually is the hips. Belly dance takes many different forms depending on country and region, both in costume and dance style, and new styles have evolved in the West as its popularity has spread globally. Although contemporary forms of the dance have generally been performed by women, some of the dances, particularly the cane dance, have origins in male forms of performance.

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.

Origins and early history

Belly dancing arose from various dancing styles which were performed in the Middle East and North Africa. One theory is that belly dance may have roots in the ancient Arab tribal religions as a dance to the goddess of fertility. A third theory is that belly dance was always danced as entertainment, some believe that the movements of dancing girls depicted in carvings from Pharaonic times are typical of belly dancing. As the term belly dance has come to refer to a wide variety of dance practices, predominantly performed by independent female dancers, it is very difficult for any single claim to be upheld.