If you cornered anyone on the street and asked them what belly dancing is, they’d probably conjure up an image of a veiled girl in a skimpy outfit dancing in a gilded hall for a bunch of men twirling their impressive moustaches. Alternative responses could vary from totally clueless to totally absurd. Dancers have been asked to leave certain venues due to the misconception held by an ignorant section of the public, mistakenly believing, just as they do of pole fitness students, that dancing in a revealing costume must automatically make you slutty.
The origins of belly dance are much less sordid than the misconception. Due to a lack of actual anthropological studies into the origins of the dance, there are multiple theories to explain the origin. In its most primitive form, what we know today as belly dance has evolved from the social dances from the Middle East. In the form of Raks Baladi (Palestine) it is a social dance (such as the Afrikaner sokkie) performed by young and old, male and female, during festive occasions for fun and entertainment. Because this form of dancing is a fusion of many different styles, it can be gathered that it will have many roots, mostly of folk dance nature. Two other origin theories include that it has its beginnings as a ritual in birthing practices or as a form of religious worship in the temples. It doesn’t matter where the roots of belly dancing lie, the main truth about it is that it was never meant for the entertainment of men, but rather danced by women for other women.
In the 1890s, Thomas Edison brought the belly dancer to the attention of “modern” audiences by introducing Turkish dance into Hollywood productions, reinforcing the false stereotypes we encounter today. In these films, belly dancers were either damsels in distress, background entertainment or mischievous tricksters out to ensnare the main character. Hollywood didn’t only harm the image of belly dancing, though. Taking its cue from Vaudeville and burlesque costumes, the designers of the time created beaded, fringed, blinged-out bra and belt sets which became the uniform of all belly dancers.
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| The actress Otero in costume (1901) |
It was during this time that belly dance lost its tribal roots and became a performance art. Badia Masabni opened a night club in Cairo in the 1930s and with the assistance of many western choreographers and other dancers, transformed folk-orientated Raks Baladi into a more theatrical Middle Eastern dance called Raks Sharki.
Today this form has morphed into many different styles and genres. Most common is the dancer that you would find at your local restaurant during their themed evenings. In the United States, belly dancers perform as part of the Renaissance Fair circuit (even if their presence is slightly a-chronological) However, belly dance is slowly but surely taking over mainstream life as the interest in the art form increases. Troupes such as Belly Dance Superstars, Belly Dance Evolution and the TV series Project Belly dance (not yet shown in South Africa, but available on YouTube) are contributing to the rise in prominence. There is a genre of belly dance for every taste, including Oriental, Egyptian, American Tribal Style (ATS) Balkan Gypsy and even Gothic belly dance. In future posts we will look more closely at the roots and evolution of these different genres as well as highlighting the stars of each genre.
Hoping that you will enjoy this journey of exploration with us.
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