Belly dance

An oriental dancer

A belly dance is a Middle Eastern type of dancing. In the Arabic language, it is called raqs sharqi (which means "oriental dance"). Many boys and girls in countries where belly dancing is popular will learn how to do it when they are young. The dance involves movement of many different parts of the body; usually in a circular way.

The term "Belly dance" is translated from the French language "danse du ventre". However, this dance is done by every part of the body. The most featured body part usually is the hips. Belly dancing is very different depending on country and region, both in costume and dance style.

History

Artistic depiction of belly dancing

Belly dancing came from the dances performed in the Middle East and North Africa. One theory is that belly dance may have come from Arabia, a dance when the pagan Arabs were worshipping a goddess before the rise of Islam. A third theory is that belly dance was always danced just for entertainment.

Another theory is that belly dance was originally danced by women for women in the Levant, and North Africa.^[1]

The courtly pleasures of the Muslim Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs included belly dancing, soirée, and singing. Belly dancers and singers were sent from all parts of the vast Arab Empire to entertain.^[2]

Belly dance was taken from Egypt by the Roma people to Turkey.^[3]

Belly Dance Media

Belly dancer on a Cairo dinner cruise
Randa Kamel, Egyptian belly dancer
Mural painting of a meeting between Shah Tahmasp and the Mughal emperor Humayun found in Iran
Traditional belly dancer on a Cairo Nile River cruise
(video) A belly dancer on stage in Japan, 2016
American tribal fusion dancer Rachel Brice
Egyptian dancer Shafiqa El qibtia (1851–1926) wearing the dancing suit.