Belly dancing finds its roots in ancient India and the middle east. It involves the graceful and sensuous movement of the belly to the rhythm of the music. Belly dancers use the natural structure of their bodies with movements emanating from the torso. Belly dancing is most often performed barefoot, and it is perceived by numerous as to emphasize on the intimate physical association between the artist, her appearance, and Mother Earth. Contrary to popular belief belly dancing wasn’t an art created to entertain men but in reality, it was performed by women for women during weddings and baby showers.
What are the different styles of belly dancing?
- Baladi style belly dancing- It is an Egyptian style of belly dancing. In this style the movements are kept more natural and grounded, with simple steps. The arms are generally held by the side with elbows slightly bent. It is more of a flowy style of belly dance which is playful and flirtatious. It has a strong folklore influence and involves dancing on flat feet and tip toes. It can be considered a bit cheeky and funky style of belly dancing.
- Rakass style Belly dancing- It is a Turkish style of belly dancing which has a Romany heritage. The dancer is called a Rakassa. This style is very dynamic, energetic and flamboyant. The movements are bold, strong and faster than most other styles of belly dancing. The dancer also indulges in a lot of hair tosses and spins. Belly rolls are very common in the Turkish style and two famous Turkish dance moves are the Turkish backbend and the Turkish drop. It also involves a lot of tricks and gimmicks and complicated techniques.
- American tribal style belly dancing- This was invented in the west coast of America. It is performed in groups and is based on the idea of improvisation. One member generally leads the improvisation and gives the cues and signals to the other dancers. The dance is performed in a way in which in looks seamless and fluid. In This type of belly dance there are duet and solo performances while the other dancers of the group perform in the background simultaneously.
- Zambra Mora style of belly dancing- It also known as the flamenco fusion. Zambra mora is a form of flamenco music. The dancers fuse their dance to this form of music. The music has a middle eastern melody and fusion. These dance steps involve heavy travel steps and characteristic turns.
- Gothic style belly dancing- The dance vocabulary of the Gothic joins components of belly dance with a few impacts of different world styles, for example, flamenco, Indian dance and gypsy. In any case, Gothic belly dancers include an atmosphere of intensity and drama to their exhibitions, to express the mysteries of life, death and endlessness as would expected of a Gothic style. Gothic belly dance exhibitions are trance like and extremely intense.