Bellydance by Sonia

• What is "Bellydance?"

A brief history of bellydance

"[A good bellydancer] must express life, death, happiness, sorrow, love and anger, but above all she must have dignity." -Tahia Carioca

            The word “bellydance” or “danza du ventre” is a term entirely coined by European travelers to the Middle East and north Africa.  Most cultures that practice it are Arabic, and they call it “raqs sharqi” which means “eastern” or “oriental” dance.  Turks often call it “gobek tansi,” which can also refer to a comic wedding dance as well as bellydance.  (The two dominant camps of bellydance style are Egyptian and Turkish, broadly speaking.)  It is important to note that this is just one of MANY styles of dance of the area, and all cultures that have bellydancing have many other unique styles of dance.

            The exact origins of bellydance are unclear, and are made even murkier by all the gossip and urban legends propagated by word of mouth, and more recently on the internet.  What is clear about the dance, is that it has historically been prevalent in many Gypsy cultures.  (“Gypsy” referring to the ethnic group, NOT a lifestyle.)  When some of the gypsies of northern India were expelled they began to migrate throughout south Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe.  Different varieties of bellydance, and dances that share its characteristics can be found in nearly every region with a Gypsy population.  Today you can still see traces of East Indian dance all the way in Spain in flamenco, the dance of the Spanish Gypsies.  Whether the various Gypsy peoples brought the dance with them to different parts of the world, or whether they adopted and improved upon local dances is still subject to much debate.

            The classic image of bellydance today has been largely shaped over the last hundred years.  The traditional garb of female dancers from Morocco to Turkey and through the Persian gulf varies largely from region to region, but they were all covered from head to toe.  (The diversity of cultures throughout this region meant that the specific practices and acceptability of the dance have varied largely.)  

            The two piece costume that dominates bellydancing today was largely born out of European fantasy.  The Orientalist movement in Europe loved to imagine the Middle East and its alluring harem women in paintings, stories, and sculpture.  As more and more Europeans flocked to the Middle East and North Africa they wanted to see the region’s dancers, and the performers began to wear what their audience expected to see. 

            In Egypt, bellydancing experienced its Golden Era from the 1930’s through the 1950’s.  At this time bellydancing was wildly popular in the films of the era, and the most famous dancers are still household names today.  The Golden Era of Eastern dance was greatly influenced by the nightclub scene, especially by Badia Masabni, a Levantine entrepreneur who set up her business in Cairo.  Many of the greatest dancers of the era made their name in her nightclubs, and began to modify their dancing.  Because bellydancing had moved to a large stage with a full orchestra the dancers had to modify their dance to be more appealing on a large stage.  Many dancers began bringing in aspects of ballet, with it’s emphasis on traveling and creating lines with the body.

            This was also the time that many famous composers were creating masterpieces for the great dancers of the era.  Even in music the emphasis moved to creating a stage worthy performance; music was written for and performed by full orchestras using classical European instruments as well as traditional Egyptian instruments.  A large portion of the music that bellydancers use today emerged from the Golden Era of Eastern Dance. 

            Bellydance was first introduced to the United States at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.  "The Street in Cairo" exhibit proved to be one of the most popular, with the dancer "Little Egypt" amazing and scandalizing her audiences.  The stage name "Little Egypt" was then adopted by numerous other acts, some authentic and many not.

            Over the last century bellydance has continued to grow in popularity both in the United States and around the globe.   

  Resources for further inquiry into bellydance

websites:

For current events and news, as well as interviews and history: http://www.gildedserpent.com/

Bellydancer Morocco has helpful and interesting articles posted:  www.casbahdance.org

This is the website of the bellydancer Artemis Mourat, an expert in bellydance history (especially Turkish tyle)  www.serpentine.org/artemis/artemis.htm

For additional history and even song translations from Shira:  www.shira.net

Yasmina's page with all sorts of usefull links: www.joyofbellydancing.com

Usefull information on lyrics and translations for bellydancers and all lovers of Arabic music: www.arabicmusictranslation.com/