 |
MiddleEastern BellyDance
|
|
History of Bellydance
Belly
dance, otherwise known in many incarnations as
danse
du venture
raks
sharqi (dance of the east)
baladi
and
Oriental
dance
is popular
in North Africa, throughout the Middle and Near East, and in the West.
In whatever venue and form of the dance, it is enjoyed by common people
as well as royalty.
But what are the origins of this dance? We can only speculate. There is the belief that belly dance is ancient—done in at time long ago when women would perform a dance to instruct pregnant women on how to strengthen and roll their abdominal muscles in preparation for childbirth.
The dance
does have mysterious and mystical roots. During pagan times, women danced
in the absence of men—a sort of goddess worship. And as most goddesses
were mothers and reproduction was an enigma, it is understandable that
the dance focused on the belly.
Throughout
history, the dance was performed by women for women, a tradition that continues
in Saudi Arabia and other conservative Muslim countries. However, there
was a period in the old days when the dance became performance art (entertainment)
and was then performed in the presence of men and women.
Belly dance or what was long ago called the dance of the waist, does have a documented history. The dance is traced back to India through a group of gypsies who left the region many years ago and whose current generation, known in the world of dance as the ghawazee, now call Egypt their home.
During the migration from India, the dance evolved and spread throughout Asia and the Middle and Near East. Cultural exchange, whether through war or in peace, made belly dance what it is today.
The backbend at the end of the
dance
represents the receiving of
coins
for her dance.
Other Links
back
to the
LAGOON