Belly dance originated in the Middle East and was first practiced as a religious ritual, recounting stories about the unending cycle of nature and human reproduction, celebrating women's prolificacy, and celebrating the mystery of life. This explains why belly dance is characterized by abdominal swaying and requires bare feet, in order to maintain a connection with the land. This dance form gradually developed into a folk art and eventually became a unique form of entertainment and performance widely popular in the countries of the Middle East region, and is one of the wonders of the mysterious Arab cultural art court.
As a beautiful body art, belly dance through the pelvis, hips, chest and arm rotation as well as dazzling crotch swaying movements, shaping the elegant, sexy and soft dance language, giving full play to the feminine beauty of the female body. It is a whole-body exercise that allows your legs, abdomen, shoulders and neck to be fully active, thus improving the elasticity and flexibility of your body. The movement of the arms is very important as it expresses the grace and delicacy of the dancer. It is not just a movement, it also creates a spiritual bond between the mind and the body. You can be as joyful and free as a butterfly, an ocean wave, or a flowing stream. As you dance, the Goddess in you makes you more graceful, more powerful, more sensual. It is the dance of a lady exploring herself, an adventure into her body and inner world.
Major Belly Dance Style Genres
The modern Egyptian cabaret (performance) genre is very introspective, elegant, and often includes some balletic movements. It emphasizes muscle control and a smaller range of motion." Less is better (less is more)" is their dance philosophy, and this style is very different from the Turkish cabaret, "how to be good (anything goes)" is more in line with their dance philosophy, a large number of movements, gorgeous and unrestrained. Jumps and hip movements are common. Turkish dancers usually wear very little, though this is not a requirement for the style.
Lebanese cabaret is a genre of belly dance that falls somewhere between modern Egyptian and Turkish styles.
Besides the genres mentioned above, there are many different styles of belly dance in folklore.
Beledi is an Egyptian country dance and the name of the music. When it is brought to the stage it becomes " Urban Beledi ", with gorgeous and dazzling attire. Usually it is a fitted, long-sleeved dress with a belt and openings on one or both sides, called a Beledi. A triangular turban is also a common piece of jewelry.
Khaleeji is a belly dance popular in Persia, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. The dancers wear colorful, ornately embroidered dresses, called thobe nashal, and distinctive headdresses. Shoulder movements are predominant. Kay Hardy Campbell is an authority on Khaleeji dance.
Persian belly dance and other Middle Eastern countries belly dance is different in that it is rarely abdominal movements, more beautiful arm movements and shoulder swing and rotation. Robyn Friend is a representative of classic Persian.
Arabic belly dance is not only popular in the Middle East from Turkey to Egypt, but also in North Africa, the United States, Europe and Australia.
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