What is bellydancing?

n.b. This is not an academic introduction! There are lots of phenomenal books if you’re interested. This is an introduction for non-bellydancers.

In my opinion, many people assume to know what bellydancing is, a woman wearing a skirt and bra, shaking her belly for men. It’s always interesting when I tell people I bellydance, there is usually a snigger and people say ‘Oh, I could do that, I have the belly!’ The funny thing is, the belly isn’t used as a separate area of the body/movement in Egyptian style, it largely supports the chest and hip movements, belly isolations were added later by foreign dancers.

Bellydancing is called Raqs Sharqi in Arabic, roughly translating to Oriental dance. Then within this, we also have Raqs baladi and Raqs Shaabi. There is still raging discussion about whether bellydance should be called bellydance as it is not the arabic name and in fact comes from the Spanish, but I think that it is so globally recognised that it’s worth using and following up with more information later.

Raqs sharqi developed in the Middle East, with influences from Greece, India and Spain to name a few. The style changes slightly between countries, with Egypt being the most prominent and well-known, but other countries such as Lebanon and Turkey also have a slightly different style and long lineage. With the advent of travel and colonisation it moved further, it was particularly replicated (in a manner) in the United States, where today there remains a huge following. In recent years, it’s become big business in Russia and Eastern Europe, with competitions and festivals thriving.

I focus on the Egyptian style, although I dream of travelling around the Middle East and studying the differences between countries! What I call ‘true’ bellydancing sometimes confounds people with a lot pre-conceptions. It’s incredibly relaxed in style, less isolated, very soft and performed with feeling. The feeling is a really crucial element in Egyptian style, the most common piece of feedback you hear from Egyptian teachers is ‘don’t dance like a machine.’ The concept of ‘dalaa’ is also important, the personality presented is what can most easily be called ‘sexy but shy’ and very cute. Lots of cheeky expressions, chin to shoulders and holding hair across the face focussing on the eyes.

Bellydancing emerged in Egypt from two main traditions: the Awalem, who were poets, singers and artists who performed in the houses of wealthy owners and the Ghawazee, who were travelling artists that settled in Egypt whose style was large and earthy. There are many tales of how it developed from this point, but at the turn of the century and moving into the twenties, the performance and cabaret scene started booming in Cairo and the dance moved from the streets and homes and into theatres. The two piece costume known as a Bedlah, was adopted; apparently inspired by Hollywood movies.

Now, alongside bellydancing as an ‘art,’ we have the social dance. Raqs baladi and shaabi are dances completely integrated into Egyptian life and from which we get the ‘theatrical version.’ At henna parties, weddings, engagement parties, on feluccas on the Nile, you will see men and sometimes women dancing. Most women do dance in Egypt, but many together behind closed doors, rather than in front of men. I love talking to Egyptians about bellydancing, as they usually feel strongly about it, who their favourite dancers are and what their opinions about the current dancers are. You learn a lot about how they feel it’s intended to be performed.

Today, the bellydance scene is still thriving but has changed somewhat. Competitions and festivals exist around the world, bellydance gaining global popularity, bellydancers in Egypt now dance in a mixture of boats, nightclubs, cabarets, weddings and occasionally, post covid-19, the odd hotel. In the past, they would dance with a live band, which is less common nowadays unless you are one of the top dancers. With the prominence of instagram, dancers are flooding the Cairo scene, so it’s highly competitive and pushing performance fees down. Another aspect of the industry booming right now in Cairo are bellydance lessons in the gyms. Dancers usually wear full costume to teach their, predominently, Egyptian students. You can also find dancers performing in hotels in Hurghada and Sharm-el-Sheikh.

There are so many hot topics for debate in bellydancing right now, in my opinion, many of them unnecessary when you actually live in Egypt and learn about the culture. This has actually made me more open minded to the different scenes. The one area which I do think needs greater debate is how to appreciate another culture and present it with understanding, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be sexy or fun or entertaining. It can be all those things. Learning Arabic should be more integral to the process (I say that as someone who can slowly read and write but finds learning a language slow as I struggle to remember stuff and it’s expensive). Also, how to redress the balance between how much more difficult it is for an Egyptian to work as a dancer, compared to a foreign dancer. This is a huge topic within itself and I can’t do it justice here.

People love to debate whether it is art or entertainment and quite frankly good art should be entertaining. People are paying for it. I’ve spent so much time in art galleries contemplating but wishing I was having more fun.

Notable dancers to get you started on the journey are: Samia Gamal, Naima Akef, Taheya Cariocha, Soheir Zaki, Nagwa Fouad, Dandash, Fifi Abou and Dina to name but a few. There are also many new dancers working now, who are well worth following but I’ll leave you to discover them on a adventure through instagram!