I have been belly dancing for at least 15 years. In Bloomington, Indiana, where I live, there are many belly dancers and dance instructors, with different interpretations of what constitutes this dance form we all love. I started dancing when I met a very nice woman who plays jazz trombone and teaches belly dance and flamenco.
Originally folk dances of Middle East, Greece, and North Africa, belly dance is now a popular dance and exercise form in North America, Europe, and Asia. There are many styles of belly dance. In the United States you may find folkloric dance, “fusion” dance with hip-hop, or Bollywood, flamenco, or modern dance influences, cabaret-inspired dance, or American Tribal Style.
Belly dance has health benefits—it is a dance where limbs and torso move independently so you may have to balance on one leg while moving your arms and doing a head-slide! It helps with balance, flexibility, muscle tone, but above all, it is fun to get together with fellow dancers and wear jingling hip scarves and shake out some stress. It is a low-impact exercise yet it is weight- bearing and will increase your heart rate. Belly dance practice will help loosen up shoulders and improve posture in those of us who slump forward at our desks for most of the day. Hip circles free your lower back and hip joints. You will find muscles you didn't know you had! Various claims are made as to how many calories you burn dancing--perhaps 300 calories an hour--if you are dancing very hard. In order to lose weight you are going to have to expend more calories than you take in, so there probably won't be a miraculous transformation.
What makes belly dance look different from other types of dancing is that you move your torso, your arms and legs independently from each other. You can combine sinuous movements, like “snake arms,” or undulations of the torso with shimmies or sharp articulations of the hips. The drums and other instruments used in this music give you clues as to which movements will be best to use, from shimmies, to shoulder rolls, to hip drops.
Becoming a belly dancer is as simple as donning a hip sash (preferably one that jingles) and taking some lessons. A few easy moves could keep you moving at a dance party all night long. My teacher likes to say that the easy moves look difficult and vice versa. Snake arms are difficult! People of all ages, sizes, shapes, and genders can belly dance. Two very well-known male dancers are Mohamed Shahin and Tito Seif. Tito dances on top of a dumbek (drum)!
Want to read about belly dance in the APUS library?
Find over 147,390 scholarly articles and books about Middle Eastern dance, dance history, and dancing for exercise. You can even find articles about “Orientalist” art which shows images of languid dancers and odalisques, Articles about Flaubert’s trip to Egypt where he met belly dancers, and articles about the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (World’s Fair), where it is said that the famed dancer “Little Egypt” was to be found and belly dancers shocked and fascinated all who saw them.
Need some music to dance to?
We have at least 100 albums of “belly dance” music. Over 500 albums of “Middle Eastern” music.
From Top Left: Online Librarian Carole Nowicke participating in Saidi Dance; Online Librarian Carole Nowicke performing; Mata Hari, among the women responsible for influencing belly dancing costuming; 1950’s Egyptian belly dancer Samia Gamal; Carole Nowicke; 1950’s Egyptian belly dancer Tahia Carioca.
Related Articles Related Books Related Videos & Related Websites Music Localised Exoticism: Dancing Fear and The Art of Belly Dancing Belly Dance Classes Developments and Desire: Race, Sexuality, Features of Belly Dance and Imperial Politics in in Taiwan. Middle Eastern Dance. The global A trade like any other: Freedom: Yasmina Famzy transformation of belly female singers and dancing: A cross- dancers in Egypt. cultural investigation of counter-hegemonic responses. Shake It Out! Belly Tahia Carioca (1915-1999) Dance in Physical Education. Sacred Embodiment: Samia Gamal / Belly Fertility Ritual, Mother dance Goddess, and Cultures of Belly Dance. American Tribal Style (2012) Mohamed Shahin, Yaël Zarca, Kenouz troup - Saïdi dance in Paris 2012 Tito Seif at Stockholm Belly Dance Festival 2015 Turkish Dance, Ella Lola (1898)
About the Author:
Dr. Carole Nowicke, is the library’s liaison to the Public Health, Sports and Health Sciences and Sports Management programs. Carole belongs to a belly dance troupe and says “anyone can belly dance.” Click here for her full bio.