Belly dance
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Belly dance is a Western name coined for a style of dance developed in the Middle East and other Arabic-influenced areas. In the Arabic language it is known as Raqs Sharqi and in Turkish as Oryantal dansı, which is translated as "Dance of the East". For Europeans, this translation sounded like a perfect fit, hence it was also known as "Oriental dance", "danse Oriental", "Exotic oriental dance", "Oriental belly dance" and the like. The term "Raqs Sharqi" is claimed to be originated in Egypt. The name suggested an exotic dance originated elsewhere - and so it had a higher status than the local dance.
It is thought that the dance has been known through the oral tradition in Egypt since the pre-Islamic times. There have been many theories about the origin of belly dancing, but most evidence links it to the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa. Egyptian tomb paintings dating from as far back as the fourteenth century BC depict partially clad dancers whose callisthenic positions appear to be very similar to those used in belly dancing. It has a long history with depictions in Persians miniature paintings from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is known to have been popularized during the Romanticism movement in the 18th and 19th century as artists depicted their interpretation of harem life of the Ottoman Empire.
During the course of history many of the dances we associate with belly dance today were performed as separate dances; men for men, women for women. There are few depictions of co-ed dances. For many years this made it so that a "good" woman would not be seen dancing by any but her husband, her close family or the women she was with at a get together. This extended to separating the musicians so that only female musicians could perform for female dancers.
Belly dancing gives the female body legitimization to be "round", in contrast to modern Western cultural preferences for flat stomachs.
Raqs Sharqi
Raqs sharqi is performed by women - and men - usually solo, for entertainment of spectators in public or private settings. Despite its alias, "belly dance", Raqs Sharqi dancing involves motion of the whole body, from head to feet. Basically, it is an improvisational dance (although based on a certain vocabulary), rhythmic and fluid at the same time.
The dance has a strong focus on an internalization and reflection of the music and the emotion therein. The music is as important as a vocabulary of movements from which to draw, and therefore the most revered of dancers will generally be those who are either the most charismatic or the most emotionally projective (even if their movement vocabulary is limited). The dancer becomes the vehicle of communication to make sound and emotion visible to her audience.
Many see it as a woman's dance, celebrating sensuality and power of being a woman. Sohair Zaki, Fifi Abdou, Lucy, Dina, who are all popular dancers in Egypt, are above the age of 40. Many feel that you have limited life experiences to use as a catalyst for dance until you reach "a certain age".
Egyptian style bellydance is based on the dancing of bellydance legends Samia Gamal, Taheya Carioka, Naima Akef, and other dancers who rose to fame during the Golden years of the Egyptian Film industry. Later dancers who based their styles partially in the dances of these masters and have risen to nearly the same level of stardom and have become as influential to the style are Sohair Zaki, Fifi Abdou, and Nagwa Fouad who all rose to fame between 1960 and 1980 and are still popular today.
In Egypt, three main forms of the traditional dance: Baladi, Sha'abi, and Sharqi associated with belly dance.
The most important non-Egyptian forms of belly dance are: the Lebanese belly dance and the Turkish belly dance.
Turkish forms
Some mistakenly believe that Turkish oriental dancing is known as Çiftetelli due to the fact that this style of music has been incorporated into oriental dancing by Greeks and gypsies, illustrated by the fact that the Greek belly dance is called Tsifteteli. However, Turkish Çiftetelli is more correctly a form of wedding folk music, the part that makes up the lively part of the dance at the wedding and is not connected with oriental dancing.
Even though Turkish belly dancing has deep roots in the Sultan's palatial harems of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish belly dance today is closer to its Romany (Gypsy) heritage than its Egyptian and Lebanese sisters, developing from the Ottoman rakkas to the oriental dance known worldwide today. As Turkish law does not impose restrictions on Turkish dancers' movements and costuming as in Egypt, where dancers are prevented from from performing floor work and certain pelvic movements, Turkish dancers are often more outwardly expressive than their Egyptian sisters. Turkish dance also remains closer to its Romany roots because many professional dancers and musicians in Turkey continue to be of Romany heritage. Turkish dancers are known for their energetic, athletic (even gymnastic) style, and particularly, until the past few years, their adept use of finger cymbals, also known as zils. Connoisseurs of Turkish dance often say that a dancer who can't play zils is not an accomplished dancer. Another distinguishing element of the Turkish style is the use of the Karsilama rhythm in a 9/8 time signature, counted as 12-34-56-789. Turkish belly dance costumes can be very revealing, with the belt sometimes worn high up on the waist and split skirts which expose the entire leg, although dancers today are costuming themselves more like Egyptian dancers and wearing more modest "mermaid"-style skirts. The Turkish style is emphasized further by the dancer wearing high heels, and often platform shoes, to perform. Famous Turkish belly dancers include Tulay Karaca and Birgul Berai.
When immigrants from Turkey, Armenia, and the Arab states began to immigrate to New York in the 1930s and 1940s, dancers started to perform a unique mixture of these cultures in the nightclubs and restaurants. Often called "Classic Cabaret" or "American Cabaret" belly dance, these dancers are the grandmothers and great grandmothers of some of today's most accomplished performers, such as Anahid Sofian and Artemis Mourat.
Belly dancing in the Western world
The term "belly dancing" (believed by some to be a mis-transliteration of the term for the dance style Beledi or Baladi) is generally credited to Sol Bloom, entertainment director of the 1893 World's Fair, the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It was in the Egyptian Theater, where the USA first got a look at raqs dancers, when Bloom presented "The Algerian dancers of Morocco". The dancer who stole the show, and who continued to popularize this form of dancing was "Fatima", also known as Little Egypt. Her real name was Farida Mazar Spyropoulos and oddly enough she was neither Egyptian or Algerian, but Syrian.
The dance performed by Little Egypt became nicknamed the "Hootchy-Kootchy" or "Hoochee-Coochee", or the shimmy and shake, the origin of the name is unknown, and "danse du ventre", which is French for "belly dance". Today the word "hootchy-kootchy" means an erotic suggestive dance.
Fortunately for us this dance style created such a craze that Thomas Edison made several movies of dancers in the 1890's. Included in these are the Turkish dance, Ella Lola, 1898 and Crissie Sheridan in 1897 both located for on-line viewing through the Library of Congress. Another in this collection is Princess Rajah dance from 1904 which features a dancer playing finger cymbals, doing 'floor work' and balancing a chair in her teeth.
Add to this the sensational stories of Mata Hari, who was convicted in 1917 by the French for being a German spy during World War I and that belly dance was only viewable at vaudeville and in burlesque shows gave belly dance a very questionable reputation amongst polite society. Hollywood didn't help any by only having three roles for a belly dancer (that of slave to be saved, background dancer for the main characters to talk, or deceitful woman who uses her wiles to trick the main character) which created stigmas involving belly dance that many dancers and instructors are working hard to overcome.
While Raqs Sharqi is still popular in the west, dancers here have also embraced other forms such as tribal or tribal fusion which borrows from gypsy and Spanish traditions as well as Egyptian, Indian and eastern dance styles.
Belly Dance in the U.S.A
With its initial emergence at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial, the last four decades of the 20th century moved belly dance in the USA more mainstream. With the movement of exploration in the East in the late 1960's many people became interested in everything eastern, including dance. Many touring middle eastern or eastern bands took dancers with them as they toured for a visual representation of their music. This created interest by the attendees who often said to themselves, "That looks so easy. I bet I could do that." Many took lessons from teachers where and when they were available. This had the great effect of creating many beautiful dancers who have continued to move belly dance forward. At the same time it ended up creating diverse names for the same simple movement and the need to have a 'style' as each teacher tried to distinguish differences in their way of teaching from other teachers. This has hampered belly dance from acceptance by the more established dance forms because there is no nationally recognized choreography terms that can be used to create repeatable dances.
Contemporary (1985-present) outstanding dancers include but are not limited to: Suhaila Salimpour, Ansuya, Bellyqueen, Alexandra King, Delilah, Saqra, Cassandra, Dalia Carella, Suzanna Del Vecchio, Morocco, Aisha Ali, Rachel Brice,El Naar Haninah Latifa,Shelby Pizzarro and Helena Vlahos (who popularized rolling quarters on her stomach on television in the 1970's).
There is a recent movement in the U.S.A. entitled "Tribal" or "American Tribal", an example of which is portrayed on this site. A fusion of ancient dance techniques from North India, the Middle East and Africa, tribal is characterized largely by a blending of group choreography and solo dances that give the impression of improvisation with a building of rhythms. Dancers often use finger cymbals, have solos within the group, call-and-answer performance with another dancer (duos), or as a whole group. It is also characterized by costumes derived from many "authentic" sources and is often composed of large tiered skirts or 10 meter/yard skirts, a short choli often with a plunging neckline, a visible bra decorated with coins and textiles, turbaned head, hip scarf with yarn tassles or fringe, and a heavy layering of oxidized silver jewelry. The jewelry commonly originates from Central Asia, from any number of nomadic tribes or empires (e.g. Kuchi, Turkoman, Rajasthan) and is often large and set with semi-precious stones or, when mass-produced, with glass. Dancers frequently "tattoo" their faces with kohl or kajal. Make-up is usually eye focused with heavy kajal. For prime examples of techniques and costuming of American Tribal Style (ATS), look to FatChanceBellyDance.
'Cabaret' or 'stage' styles have flourished in the US throughout the 20th century due to its flashy and exotic overtones. Often associated with Raqs Sharqi, the mainstays of costume for this style includes a fitted top or bra (usually with fringe of beads or coins), a fitted hip girdle (again with a fringe of beads or coins), and leg coverings that include harem pants or skirts (straight, layered, circular, or paneled). In the US it also includes a 'veil': a 3.5 to 4 yard piece of fabric that is used in part of the dance to move about and frame movements for the dancer. In the 1940s King Farouk of Egypt brought Russian ballet instructor Ivanova to teach his daughters, and it was she who first taught the great dancer Samia Gamal to use the veil to improve her arm carriage. Most Egyptian dancers use the veil as an opening prop which they discard within the first few minutes of their routines, while Western dancers will use the veil for an entire song. Recently added costuming options include full beaded dresses, called baladi dresses.
Male belly dancing
There is much debate over where and when men became part of the belly dance world. Many believe that men have no place in this art form, which is frequently and erroneously mistaken to be historically female. However, dancers such as Carolina Varga-Dinicu, Tariq Sultan, and Jasmin Jahal have produced ample evidence to the contrary, with male eunuchs guarding the Ottoman Sultan's harem's often being dressed up to dance for the palace women. (Ottoman Empire's rakkas).
No longer the "set pieces" or props for the women, male bellydancers today are becoming, if not completely commonplace, at least more visible. Whether or not there are differences between male and female belly dancing (differences in costuming, attitude, and choreography dynamics) is a subject of debate among both male and female dancers.
Well-known male dancers in the US from 1970s onward include Bert Balladine, John Compton, Adam Basma, Ibrahim Farrah, Yousry Sharif, Aziz, and Amir. Some of these dancers are American-born, others were immigrants from the Middle East and Europe. Basma and Farrah were born in Lebanon. Sharif (who hails from Egypt and relocated to the US over a decade ago) was a member of Mahmoud Reda's dance ensemble, the first national dance troupe in Egypt. Directed by Mahmoud Reda, a former gymnast who represented Egypt in the Olympics, The Reda Ensemble has continuously been in existence for over four decades. In addition there are other male bellydancers that have made an impact on the dance form from around the world, most notably Horacio Cifuentes who has infused his ballet background with the various types of middle-eastern dance to create an impact on both male and female bellydance styles.
Given the recent boom in interest regarding belly dance, a new generation of male dancers have embraced the form. As with female dancers, many of these "next-generation" male dancers go by a single name.
Health and belly dancing
The benefits of belly dance are both mental and physical. Dancing is a good cardio-vascular work out, helps increase flexibility and focuses on the torso or 'core muscles'. It is suitable for all ages and body types and can be as physical as the participant chooses to make it. Individuals would be wise to consult a doctor before starting belly dance, just as with starting any new exercise routine. It is also advised that one talks with the instructor to see what level his or her classes are geared for. Mental health benefits, for many bellydancers, include an improved sense of wellbeing, elevated body image and self-esteem as well as a generally positive outlook that comes with regular, enjoyable exercise.
References
- Donna Carlton (1995). Looking for Little Egypt. Bloomington, Indiana: International Dance Discovery Books. ISBN 0962399817.
- Belly dancing
- Serena and Alan Wilson (1973). The Serena Technique of Belly Dancing. New York, NY: Pocket Books.
- Julie Russo Mishkin and Marta Schill (1973). The Complete Belly Dancer. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company Books. ISBN 038503556x