Belly dancing history crosses many cultural boundaries, getting its start in Middle East and Africa, and moving on to evolve in western cultures as both a form of cultural dance and exotic entertainment. In 21st Century, genre has gained considerable popularity all around the world. Belly dance, an exotic... form of dance that has a rich history that dates back over 6000 years. Some people consider ‘Oriental dance’ to be a dance of seduction, whilst others believe that belly dance originated as fertility ritual. Throughout Middle Eastern history, belly dance has been performed at special celebrations and occasions like weddings, birth announcements, and festivals. All over the world, belly dancing courses are taught to teach freedom of movement and to empower women to love their bodies and to have more confidence. Term "belly dance" a westernized name that originally referred to traditional Middle Eastern dancing. Earliest forms of belly dance were Egyptian ghawazi dance during 19th Century and Raqs Sharqi, an Arabic dance of 20th Century. Despite Egypt's location in Africa and contributions from other nations such as France, Turkey and United States, term belly dance is usually used today to include all traditional dances of Middle Eastern region, including those not geographically situated there. French explorers travelling in Egypt, in 18th Century CE, witnessed dancers performing an exotic dance that they decided to call ‘dance du ventre’ (dance of the stomach). In 1893 CE, promoter Sol Bloom, introduced belly dance to America, at Chicago World’s Fair. In those days, it was considered to be daring if a woman revealed so much as an ankle. Belly dance was therefore initially seen as being risqué and shocking. Interest in intriguing dance grew and quickly spread to other cities. Westernised form of belly dance grew in popularity following Hollywood film industry’s involvement in publicising dance as a form of entertainment. Egyptian dancers Tahia Carioca and Samia Gamal wore elaborate belly dance costumes in their movies and became international stars. Belly dance has been active in Turkey since 1400s, when travelling tribes known as ‘chengis’ performed on streets. Today, chengis still dance to entertain tourists and perform a style of belly dance that is authentically Turkish. In traditional Muslim society, women often gathered to perform a dance in evening. Known as Raks sharki (dance of the East), this type of belly dance helped women to ready stomach muscles for childbirth, and was also danced by young women to display their readiness for marriage. In present-day Egypt, it’s customary to hire a belly dancer to perform at a wedding, in order to bless happy couple with a fertility ritual blessing. In Egypt, belly dance performers used props like veils, canes and swords to entertain public on streets and during festivals and religious celebrations. Before 20th Century CE, public dance was not something that was tolerated by authorities, but it was accepted as part of cultural tradition. After this time, belly dancers performed at weddings, nightclubs and at other events. It was these Egyptian performers who popularised skirt and beaded bra (bedlah) that is widely accepted as being traditional belly dance costume of today. 🎥 : Helena Vlahos performing her Nine Quarters Belly Dance Act, 1979 ... #archaeohistoriesshow more

Archaeo - Histories

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