Product Code Database
Belly dance () is a Middle Eastern dance (2025). 9781440800580, Greenwood. ISBN 9781440800580 (2025). 9780863566288, Saqi. ISBN 9780863566288 (2025). 9789774160547, American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774160547 that originated in Egypt, which features movements of the hips and torso. A Western-coined exonym, it is also referred to as Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance. It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style; with the styles and costumes of Egypt being the most recognized worldwide due to Egyptian cinema. Belly dancing in its various forms and styles is popular across the globe where it is taught by a trainer of schools of dance.
The first known use of the term "belly dance" in English is found in the writing of Charles James Wills in 1883.
Raqs sharqi ('Eastern Dance' or 'Dance of the Orient') is a broad category of professional forms of the dance, including forms of belly dance popularly known today, such as Raqs Baladi, Sa'idi, Ghawazee, and Awalim. The informal, social form of the dance is known as Raqs Baladi ('Dance of the Country' or 'Folk Dance') in Egyptian Arabic and is considered an indigenous dance.
Belly dance is primarily a torso-driven dance, with an emphasis on articulations of the hips. Unlike many Western dance forms, the focus of the dance is on isolations of the torso muscles, rather than on movements of the limbs through space. Although some of these isolations appear similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet, they are sometimes driven differently and have a different feeling or emphasis.
In addition to these torso movements, dancers in many styles will use level changes, traveling steps, turns, and spins. The arms are used to frame and accentuate movements of the hips, for dramatic gestures, and to create beautiful lines and shapes with the body. Other movements may be used as occasional accents, such as low kicks and arabesques, backbends, and head tosses.
In his book, Andrew Hammond notes that practitioners of the art form agree that belly dance is lodged especially in Egyptian culture, he states: "the Greek historian Herodotus related the remarkable ability of Egyptians to create for themselves spontaneous fun, singing, clapping, and dancing in boats on the Nile during numerous religious festivals. It's from somewhere in this great, ancient tradition of gaiety that the belly dance emerged." (2025). 9781851094493, ABC-CLIO, Inc. ISBN 9781851094493
The courtly pleasures of the Umayyad dynasty, Abbasid dynasty and Fatimid dynasty caliphs included belly dancing, soirée and singing. Belly dancers and singers were sent from all parts of the vast empire to entertain. During this era of slavery in the Muslim world, these artists were often slaves. No free woman could perform in public due to the Islamic sex segregation, but female slaves were trained to entertain male guests in singing and other art forms, such as the qiyan slave artists, who became common during the era of slavery in the Umayyad Caliphate.Textiles of Medieval Iberia: Cloth and Clothing in a Multi-cultural Context. (2022). Storbritannien: Boydell Press. p. 180-181 During the era of slavery in Egypt, female slaves were trained in singing and dancing and given as gifts between men.Fraser, K. W. (2015). Before They Were Belly Dancers: European Accounts of Female Entertainers in Egypt, 1760-1870. USA: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. 35-36
In the Ottoman Empire, belly dance was performed by women and later, by boys, in the sultan's palace.
Belly dance remains common in Egypt, where it has two distinct social contexts: as a folk or social dance. As a social dance, belly dance (also called Baladi or Raqs Shaabi in this context) is performed at celebrations and social gatherings by ordinary people (male and female, young and old), in their ordinary clothes. In more conservative or traditional societies, these events may be gender segregated, with separate parties where men and women dance separately.
Historically, professional dance performers were the Awalim (primarily musicians and poets), Ghawazi. The Maazin sisters may have been the last authentic performers of Ghawazi dance in Egypt, with Khayreyya Maazin still teaching and performing as of 2020. Gilded Serpent "The Ghawazee: Back from the Brink of Extinction". Belly dancing is part of Egyptian culture culture, and is part of Arabic culture culture as a whole. Throughout the Middle East and the Arab diaspora, belly dancing is closely associated with Arabic music that is modern classical (known as "al-jadid").
Professional belly dance in Cairo has not been exclusive to native Egyptians, although the country prohibited foreign-born dancers from obtaining licenses for solo work for much of 2004 out of concern that potentially inauthentic performances would dilute its culture. (Other genres of performing arts were not affected.) The ban was lifted in September 2004, but a culture of exclusivity and selectivity remained. The few non-native Egyptians permitted to perform in an authentic way invigorated the dance circuit and helped spread global awareness of the art form. American-born Layla Taj is one example of a non-native Egyptian belly dancer who has performed extensively in Cairo and the Sinai resorts.
Egyptian belly dance is noted for its controlled, precise movements.
Although belly dance is traditionally seen as a feminine art, the number of male belly dancers has increased in recent years.
Over time in her presentations Shakira added this dance mixing it with Latin dances, like Salsa and Afro-Colombian, and she also she expressed that she began to dance these movements since she was little thanks to her Lebanese grandmother. Nowadays the belly dance is a characteristic dance of this singer which presented a variant with a rope entangling it in her body and dancing to the rhythm of Whenever Wherever. Shakira is the only artist in the music industry who has used belly dance on several occasions in her artistic career. She inspired Beyoncé to explore this type of dance in her Beautiful Liar collaboration where she also acted as choreographer. At the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show event she returned to the belly dance with rope during the transition from Ojos Así thus to Whenever Wherever.
Belly dancing has become popular outside the Arab world, and American, European, and Japanese women who have become professional belly dancers dance all over Europe and the Middle East.
The popularity of these dancers subsequently spawned dozens of imitators, many of whom claimed to be from the original troupe. Victorian society continued to be affronted by the dance, and dancers were sometimes arrested and fined. The dance was nicknamed the "hoochie coochie", or the shimmy and shake. A short film, "Fatima's Dance", was widely distributed in the nickelodeon theaters. It drew criticism for its "immodest" dancing, and was eventually censored. Belly dance drew men in droves to burlesque theaters, and to carnival and circus lots.
Thomas Edison made several of dancers in the 1890s. These included a Turkish dance, and Crissie Sheridan in 1897, and Princess Rajah from 1904, which features a dancer playing , doing "floor work", and balancing a chair in her teeth.
Ruth St. Denis also used Middle Eastern-inspired dance in D. W. Griffith's silent film Intolerance, her goal being to lift dance to a respectable art form at a time when dancers were considered to be women of loose morals. Hollywood began producing films such as The Sheik, Cleopatra, and Salomé, to capitalize on Western fantasies of the orient.
When immigrants from Arab states began to arrive in New York in the 1930s, dancers started to perform in nightclubs and restaurants. In the late 1960s and early 1970s many dancers began teaching. Middle Eastern or Eastern bands took dancers with them on tour, which helped spark interest in the dance.
Although using Turkish and Egyptian movements and music, American Cabaret ("AmCab") belly dancing has developed its own distinctive style, using props and encouraging audience interaction.
In 1987, a distinctively American style of group improvisational dance, American Tribal Style Belly Dance (ATS), was created, representing a major departure from the dance's cultural origins. A unique and wholly modern style, it makes use of steps from existing cultural dance styles, including those from India, the Middle East, and Africa. Many forms of "Tribal Fusion" belly dance have also developed, appropriating elements from many other dance and music styles including flamenco, ballet, burlesque, hula hoop and even hip hop. "Gothic Belly Dance" is a style which incorporates elements from Goth subculture. Continuing from this tradition is the emergence of touring theatrical belly dance productions such as Belly Dance Evolution produced by Jillina Carlano, Invaders of the Heart produced by Myra Krien amongst others.
Estelle Asmodelle was probably the first transgender belly dancer in Australia. She travelled extensively throughout Asia and Japan working as a Belly Dancer during the 1980s through to the late 1990s. She also starred in the Australian-produced and distributed film The Enchanted Dance which sold internationally as well.
Today, there are fewer traditional venues for Arabic dance in the UK; however, there is a large amateur belly dance community. Several international belly dance festivals are now held in Britain such as The International Bellydance Congress, The London Belly Dance Festival and Majma Dance Festival. In addition, there are a growing number of competitions, which have increased in popularity in recent years.
The UK belly dance scene leans strongly towards the Egyptian/Arabic style, with little Turkish influence. American Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion belly dance are also popular.
When danced by a woman "solo", it is usually done on a table full of dishes (so that she cannot take steps, but only shake her chest, waist and buttocks), while the spectators accompany her dancing with rhythmic clapping. The characteristic rhythm is in 8/4 time, arranged as either 3/3/2 eighth-notes followed by 2/2/2/xx (the last beat being silent), or sometimes the first measure is played as 2/2/x1/1x.
Although there is no official dress code associated with the dance itself, professional Greek belly dancers will usually don a complete belly dancing attire (Bedlah) in order to emphasize their movements and draw attention to their gyrating body.
In spite of its popularity in the country, there exist a contingent of Greeks that take offense to the existence of the Tsifteteli and call for an end to its performance in Greece. Believing it to not represent Greek ideals and to be a relic of Turkish oppression, they argue it affiliates Greece with the broader Middle East rather than the west which the country supposedly belongs to. These claims, while controversial, are not entirely unfounded considering that the dance is often accompanied by Arabic-sounding music. Regardless of this opposition, the dancing style continues to thrive in Greece, being performed often in every major city.
The costume or bedlah (referring to the bra, belt and skirt), of Egyptian Oriental dancers has also had the distinction as being the most popular style. However, fashions have changed over the years with the help of some outside influences.
Earlier costumes were made up of a full skirt, light chemise and tight cropped vest with heavy embellishments and jewelry.
As well as the two-piece bedlah costume, full-length dresses are sometimes worn, especially when dancing more earthy baladi styles. Dresses range from closely fitting, highly decorated gowns, which often feature heavy embellishments and mesh-covered cutouts, to simpler designs which are often based on traditional clothing.
In Egypt dancers wear the bedlah. Alternatively, some wear folkloric costume inspired by traditional dress. Modest, ethnically-inspired styles with stripes are common, but theatrical variants with mesh-filled cutouts and ornamented with sequins and bead work are also popular. Most dancers complete their costume ensemble with a sparkling hip-scarf. Egypt has laws in place, that require respecting religious and worship places, and disallowing any nudity near sacred places.Raqs sharqi#Costume
Regarding what dancers can and cannot wear, according to Act No. 430 of the law on the censorship of literary works, dancers must cover their upper bodies (mainly the breasts area), Article in Egypt Today: Egypt's regulations on belly dancing attire and typically a sheer skin-colored mesh fabric covering the stomach is recommended. Many dancers ignore these rules, as they are rarely enforced, and performing in revealing outfits is common in Cairo and locales popular with tourists. Celebrity dancers can earn enough in a single performance to pay fines if/when they are imposed.
Dancing with a veil can help build strength in the upper body, arm and shoulders. Playing the finger cymbals (zill) trains fingers to work independently and builds strength. The legs and long muscles of the back are strengthened by hip movements.Coluccia, Pina, Anette Paffrath, and Jean Putz. Belly Dancing: The Sensual Art of Energy and Spirit. Rochester, Vt: Park Street Press, 2005
In British cinema, belly dancing features prominently in several James Bond films, such as the 1963 film From Russia With Love, the 1974 film The Man with the Golden Gun, and the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me.
Belly dancing is quite popular in various parts of the globe including India. Belly dancing has been shown in many Bollywood films, and is often accompanied with Bollywood songs and dance sequences instead of the traditional Arabic style.
Hollywood films regularly include sexualized belly dancers as part of Orientalism and exotic depictions of the Middle East.
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