History lesson: Turkish Belly Dance

Turkish belly dance has its roots in the Turkish Roma (Gypsy) culture and is also influenced by life in harems and turn-of-the-century theatres in the capital of Istanbul. During the Ottoman Empire, entertainers from different backgrounds were trained as dancers, but they were never Turks as they considered public dancing to be undignified. Due to the Turkish occupation of Egypt, a sort of cultural exchange occurred, causing a cross-pollination of the dance form now known as Oriental belly dance. Another influence on Turkish belly dance was the harems which existed until its abolishment at the turn of the century. Servant girls, known as odalisques were trained to dance, recite poetry and play instruments for the entertainment of the Sultan. These slave girls were not of Turkish decent, because they were slaves imported from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Central Asia. There girls’ lives were not as glamorous as Hollywood would have you believe. When harems were abolished, some of these entertainers found a niche in the European style theatres of Istanbul.

In the 20^th century, Turkish belly dancing lost most of its slave roots and became so popular with tourists that Turkish women also started to learn the dance form. As with their Egyptian counterparts, many of these dancers also became film actresses, making a name for themselves in the East, as well as America. Of these, the most famous was Saliha Tekneci, Nejla Ates and Nesrin Topkapi, who was the first dancer to have her own show on Turkish television.

Nesrin Topkapi saidi routine 

Oriental dance today is performed for tourists at every turn, and some of the new generation dancers have obtained “Idol” status in television contests, such as Asena and Didem (find them on YouTube. . . they are amazing!)

Turkish superstar Didem

At the end of the day, Egyptian and Turkish style belly dance is much the same. The only significant difference is the use of the 9/8 rhythm used in the music. The dance form is also largely improvisational and makes use of floor work and zills. The Turkish form of belly dance is also considered to be much more liberal when compared to its Egyptian counterpart as it is not governed by Islamic extremists and this can be seen in their risque costumes and sensual dance moves. 

(Source: www.kristinamelike.com)