About Oriental Dance (aka Belly Dance)
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In Arabic it is called "raqs sharqi" which translates
literally to Eastern Dance or Oriental Dance: raqs- dance, sharqi-
Eastern, Oriental. In Turkish it is called
Oryantal Dansı. It originates from the Middle East and it is
believed to be called Raqs Sharqi to differentiate
it from Raqs Beledi*, it's more common dance relation. Beledi meaning of the country, folk or people, raqs beledi refers to the dances done by ordinary people. Raqs sharqi refers to the stage presentations as performed by professionals. Raqs Sharqi's basic movement vocabulary consists of
intricate hip articulation, flowing arm movement, and undulatory
movements of the torso. This is often augmented by floor work,
the playing of finger cymbals, or the use of many props, including
veils, canes, candelabras and others. On stage it is performed mostly
by a soloist, although there are also troupes. Often dancers will use the terms belly dance and Oriental dance to refer to both Raqs Sharqi and Raqs Beledi.
*To learn more about Raqs Beledi read "Baladi or Beledi" by Hadia and "Zeinab" by Hossam Ramzy
In the Middle East, Oriental dance is based on folk dance (raqs beledi),
danced by females and males, from the very young to the very old
at family celebrations, weddings and parties. There are professional
performers that perform commonly at weddings, in hotel nightclubs,
in theaters and on television. Although it is performed throughout
the Middle East, the dance has flourished the most in Egypt, Lebanon
and Turkey. An integral part of Middle Eastern culture,
and seemingly indispensable at important celebrations, dance in
general is not a highly respected profession in the Middle East.
It's professional practitioners are often associated with loose
morals and prostitution. Many Oriental dancers outside of the
Middle East, in cultures where dancing in public is not seen as
inappropriate often try to disassociate the dance from these
sorts of low connections, focusing more on it's value as art and
as family friendly entertainment.
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The Ghawazee of Cairo -
Sir David Roberts
18th century dress |
The true origins of this art form are hotly debated.
What can be said for sure is that elements of the dance were taken
from many of the regions that met and melded in the Middle East,
through trade, war and travel. A few influences particularly notable,
Africa, Turkey, Persia, the Rrom people and the Arabic-speaking countries. Certain
movements such as the belly roll and flutter are traceable to
birthing rituals practiced by some Berber tribes in North Africa,
some Bedouin tribes in Arabia (pre-Saudi) and others.*
*See Morocco's article "Roots".
This dance form was exported to many countries and
many versions of it are now being taught and performed all over
the world. Western influence on this dance form has added a whole
new dimension. The extensive use of veils, swords and sometimes even snakes is now
commonly incorporated, and the influence of jazz and ballet is
often seen. There are many performing troupes in addition to soloists.
Entire stylistic offshoots and fusions have developed here, in
America, such as Vintage Oriental (American Cabaret), American Tribal Style, Tribal Fusion and others. These are in addition to the many stylistic variations
from the Middle East, for example, Turkish,
Egyptian or Lebanese styles.
Oriental Dance is known in many places as belly
dance.
"The term "belly dance" was coined in 1893 by
Sol Bloom, impresario of the Midway Pleasance & "Street in Cairo"
exhibit at the Colombian Trade Fair and Exposition (World’s
Fair) in Chicago, IL. He did it deliberately, to titillate the
dirty minds of the Mid Victorians of that era, who would pay
any price to see something they thought was salacious, so they
could go home and pretend to be shocked."- Morocco
Belly dance is now considered by many to be a very
disrespectful misnomer, while others are trying to redeem the
word and give it new meaning despite it's historically poor reputation.
By any name this has grown to be a prolific and
well loved art form. Many participate in classes for the physical
and emotional benefits. Oriental Dance is known as a very body
friendly form of exercise as well as a chance for a person to
dress their best and let their inner beauty shine through. To
some it has become a profession and a life's pursuit, to spread
knowledge and show the dance form in the best possible light.
Many others just like to watch and enjoy.
I recommend reading another excellent article "A Brief History of Oriental Dance" by Salome.
The Origins of our Modern Style Costuming
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| One of Badia's dancers Naima Akef and back-up
dancers on a movie set in beaded bedla. |
In the 1930s a dancer of Lebanese origin
named Badia Masabny opened up a night club in Cairo. Influenced
by European cabarets, "Casino Badia" which was later renamed "Casino
Opera" was a cabaret with Middle Eastern and European entertainment.
The dance went through some changes at this time. Having been
traditionally performed in small spaces, it had to be adapted
for the stage.
The costume also changed at this time. The original
dance costume up to this time had either been a long, one piece
dress with a sash tied around the hips, or a full skirt and sash
with a vest and long shirt underneath.
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Cairo Dancers 1920 |
Inspired by Hollywood films
and European cabarets, the two piece costume with beads and sequins
first appeared. The Egyptian film industry was flourishing at
this time with many of the films being musicals featuring dancers.
Through exposure in these films, dancers achieved a celebrity
status which could have never been achieved in the past. The glitzy
costume styles spread and have been a staple of most all professional
Oriental Dancers ever since.
There have been several variations on this glitzy
beaded costuming including some pretty bold offshoots like American
Tribal Style that mixes ethnic textiles and tidbits from various
cultures liberally. Also some dancers have returned to certain
older traditional styles of dress for folkloric performances or
historical reenactments.
Different Styles of Oriental Dance
Dance is a living and evolving art form. It evolves as cultures evolve and as it is adopted by new cultures. Because of this there are many different styles of "belly dance". The following is a primer to help you recognize some of the different styles and where they came from.
Egyptian Style Oriental Dance
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Samia Gamal |
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Egyptian Style as the title indicates originates in Egypt. The stars of Egyptian dance gain fame by differentiating themselves from their peers, so there is a wide variety of dance that can come under this heading. There are certain elements that seem to give Egyptian dance a consistent feel. Often they dance more to the rhythm of a piece than the melody, although there are some dancers who do dance quite melodically at times. Also they often carry their energy low in their body, so their dance often seems very grounded, even when they dance in rélevé. As with all Oriental dance, Egyptian Oriental is heavily steeped in the folkloric music and dance of Egypt. Saidi rhythms and elements, for example, are very common.
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Dina |
Many separate Golden Era Egyptian Style with more modern stylings. Golden Era refers to the stars of Egyptian dance from the 1920-1950s. Some of the most famous names of that time included Samia Gamal, Tahiya Karioka, Naima Akef and could be stretched to include the following generation Souhair Zaki, Nagwa Fouad, Fifi Abdo, Mona Said and Aza Sharif. Modern Egyptian refers to more current trends in Egyptian Oriental Dance, some of which includes Ballet and Modern dance elements. Big names in modern Egyptian dance are Dina, Tito and Randa Kamal. There are also many non-Egyptians who have adopted Egyptian styling in their own dancing. A few names worth knowing include Orit - Israel, Leila - USA, Sahra Kent - USA, Yasmin - USA, Nour - Russia, Asmahan - Argentina, and Soraya - Brazil. For more online information on Egyptian Oriental Dance I recommend Jalilah's article "About Raks Sharki" and Yasmin's biographies of "Egypt's Belly Dance Superstars".
Shems's Egyptian Oriental Dance YouTube Playlist
Lebanese Style Oriental Dance
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Kawakib |
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Oriental Dance in Lebanon shares some similarity to Egyptian Style Oriental relying on some of the same Arabic dance music and cultural references, although it often draws on Lebanese folkloric dances such as Debke as opposed to having such a close connection with Saidi. Lebanese dancing can often include intricate floor patterns and very elegant arms, intricate abdominal and hip movements particularly in the classic styling that has similarity to Golden Era Egyptian Oriental.
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Nadia Jamal |
More modern Lebanese styling was heavily influenced by the dancer Nadia Jamal who experimented with some modern fusions, incorporating western dance elements into her later dancing in particular. After her, many Lebanese dancers chose to wear high heels when they performed as well as incorporating more of a jazzy and outwardly thrown energy. Some names worth knowing in Lebanese Oriental dance include Kawakib, a classic performer, Suha Azar, a contemporary dancer who teaches and performs in the classic style, Nadia Jamal a pioneer of a lot of theatrical fusion in Lebanese Belly Dance, and more contemporary representatives Amani, Samara, Dina Jamal and Maya Abi Saad.
Shems's Lebanese Oriental Dance YouTube Playlist
Turkish Style Oriental Dance
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Nesrin Topkapi |
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There is a shared dance vocabulary between Turkish style Oriental Dance and Arabic styles of Oriental Dance, however, Turkish style Oriental is influenced by the various folkloric dances of Turkey as well as the folkloric dances of the Rrom people (often referred to by the derogatory term "Gypsies") living in Turkey. Many popular dance performers and musicians are Rroma and they add their own flavor to the dance.
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Didem |
There are often popular rhythms with a limping count, like a 5,7 or 9 count in addition to 4 and 8 count rhythms. Classic Turkish styling has some similarities to classic and golden era Egyptian and Lebanese dance and there was a lot of political crossover at the time via the Ottoman empire, however, more modern Turkish styling is much more jazzy and aggressive. Some names worth knowing in Turkish Style Oriental Dance include Nesrin Topkapi, Princess Banu, Sema Yildiz, Asena, Didem, Tulay Karaca, Birgul Beray, Reyhan and Tanyeli. Some non-native names worth knowing dedicated to Turkish Style dancing are Artemis - USA and Eva Cernik - USA. To learn more about Turkish Style Oriental I recommend Artemis' article "Turkish Dance, American Cabaret and Vintage Orientale" and Kristina Melike's article "An Introduction to the History of Turkish Oriental Bellydance"
Shems's Turkish Style Oriental Dance YouTube Playlist
Vintage Oriental Style Dance (American Cabaret)
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Jamila Salimpour |
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Throughout the 20th century there were Middle Eastern immigrant nightclubs where various Middle Easterners would gather to enjoy Middle Eastern music and dancing. Often they would be a mixed group with Arabs, Armenians, Turks, Greeks and Persians gathering. The music would be a mix of popular tunes from all these different cultures. The dancers were sometimes immigrants themselves and later Americans that fell in love with their exposure to Middle Eastern culture, music and dance. They learned from immigrants, films, postcards, paintings and whatever else they could get their hands on and a unique style of Oriental dance emerged that mixed influences from many different Middle Eastern countries and the imagination.
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Serena Wilson |
A few distinctive attributes of Vintage Oriental in addition to a liberal mix of elements from several Middle Eastern cultures are extensive use of finger cymbals, extended veil dances, sword dancing and dancing with snakes. Some names to know include Nejla Ates, Ozel Turkbas, Semra, Morocco, Serena Wilson, Ibrahim Farrah, Bert Balladine, Jamila Salimpour, Nakish this is just a small selection, of course. Of the newer generation Ansuya and Piper are great representatives of Vintage Oriental style. To learn more about Vintage Style Oriental I recommend Artemis' article "Turkish Dance, American Cabaret and Vintage Orientale", also the "Reflections on North Beach" series on Guilded Serpent.
Shems's Vintage Oriental Dance YouTube Playlist
Contemporary American Oriental Dance
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Bellydance Super Stars |
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Many contemporary American and other belly dancers around the world continue in the eclectic tradition of Vintage Oriental Style Dance, liberally fusing various elements of different Middle Eastern Cultures. Many have also taken it further incorporating elements Jazz, Ballet, Modern Dance, Latin Dance, Spanish and Flamenco, Rroma dancing , Hip hop, Indian dances, etc. as well as returning to the Middle East to learn what is happening now in Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey's dance communities.
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Elena Lentini |
As long as the dancer continues to have a strong base of Arabic or Turkish Oriental movement vocabulary in their repertoire, a fairly large variety of creative license is accepted under the title of "belly dance". There is also a trend towards more large theatrical style presentations.
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Suhaila Salimpour |
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I created this category to help identify some modern trends, particularly in our dance form in America, but there is a lot of crossover between styles and a lot of nuance. Several dancers I would put in this category, might also be a close fit to to another style. For one example, Jillina, lead choreographer for the Bellydance Super Stars, puts a great deal of fusion into her group choreographies in particular, but as a solo dancer will often perform what many dancers consider closer to a Modern Egyptian style.
A few notable dancers and troupes I would say really represent trends in Contemporary American Oriental Dance include: Suhaila Salimpour, Belly Dance Super Stars, Bellyqueen, Dalia Carrella (for her Dunyavi Gypsy), Elena Lentini and Tamalyn Dahlal (for their theatrical presentations) just to name a small sampling.
Shems's Contemporary American Oriental Dance YouTube Playlist
American Tribal Style Belly Dance
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FatChanceBellyDance |
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Carolena Nericcio, originally a student of Masha Archer who was a student of Jamila Salimpour, started a troupe in San Francisco called FatChanceBellyDance. Carolena and FCBD's unique stylizations, alternative aesthetic and the development of a coded system of group improvisation set them apart as a unique new form that quickly gained popularity worldwide. North African, Indian and Turkish and Arabic Bedouin music was used, also costuming elements from India, Turkey, Afghanistan and North Africa were fused with movements from Vintage Oriental Style Dance, Flamenco and Indian dances. Tattoos are also very popular among many ATS dancers. Some dancers differentiate between pure FatChance ATS and other group improvisational offshoots by calling those Improvisational Tribal Style or ITS. Notable ATS dancers include Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance, Kajira Djoumahna of BlackSheep BellyDance and Paulette Rees-Denis of Gypsy Caravan. To learn more about ATS, please see "About FatChanceBellyDance".
Shems's American Tribal Style Belly Dance YouTube Playlist
Tribal Fusion Belly Dance
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Asharah |
Offshoots from American Tribal Style Belly Dance include Tribal Fusion and Modern Tribal Belly Dance. They adhere to a lot of the ATS aesthetic, however, instead of maintaining a group improvisational base, they are often choreographed. They often will fuse even further with other dance forms such as break dance, hip hop, Indian, Polynesian, West African and others and they will use diverse contemporary music including but not limited to breakcore and ethno-rock. This style is also heavily influenced by yoga, as many Tribal Fusion dancers are yoga practitioners as well. Some names to be aware of include Rachel Brice and the Indigo, Zafira Dance Company, Unmata, Jill Parker and Ultra Gypsy and Asharah. To learn more about Tribal Fusion see Sharon Moore's article "The Elusive Definition of Tribal Bellydance".
Shems's Tribal Fusion Belly Dance YouTube Playlist.
Folkloric Dances, Ethnic Dances and Rituals of the Middle East
There are many ethnic and folkloric dances and rituals throughout the Middle East that act as the foundation of Oriental dance. However, they are worth distinguishing as unique dance forms in their own right.
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Reyhan Tuzsuz - Turkish Romani Dance |
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Ethnic dances and rituals are specific dances and rituals performed by an ethnic group sometimes for specific purposes, like religious worship, courtship or celebration. Sometimes in their most native forms these can be repetitive and are more entertaining if you are participating as opposed to watching. The Zaar ritual in Egypt is one example of this and the Hagallah, a Liyan courtship dance. Turkish Romani dance and the Ouled Na'il dances of Algeria are two more examples.
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Farida Fahmi of the Reda Folkloric Troupe |
Folkloric dances are ethnic dances or rituals or even cultural characteristics that are put on a performance stage and theatricalized. Mahmood Reda of Egypt is famous for traveling around Egypt and doing just that. He has created choreographed stage versions of both the Zaar and the Hagallah, for example, taking them from their roots and changing them to make them interesting for stage. Reda had ballet training and was heavily influenced by the jazz dancing in early American films as well, so you will often find these elements in his folkloric interpretations of ethnic dances.
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Ouled Na'il Dancers of Algeria |
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There are so many folkloric and ethnic dances throughout the middle east it would be difficult to compile a comprehensive list, however every good professional dancer I've ever seen has knowledge of and incorporated folkloric or ethnic dances into their dance routines. I consider it very important for any serious practitioner of Oriental Dance to have familiarity with folkloric and ethnic dances and rituals that have close relationships to their chosen dance styles. Here is a list of a just a few examples:
Andalusia (Southern Spain during Arab rule)
- Muwashahat
Arabian Gulf
- Khaliji including the Thobe Nasha'al, Men's Sword Dance
-Yemeni Dagger Dance
Egypt
- Saidi including Raqs Assaya, Tahtib, Horse Dance
- Baladi
- Zaar
- Alexandrian including the Meleya Leff
- Zeffa wedding procession
- Raqs Shamidan (Candelabrum Dance)
- Bumbotaya (Port Said)
- Ghawazee
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Awalim
- Tanoura
- Andalusian
- Bedouin Dances
Greece
- Greek Tsiftetelli
Iran
- Bandari
Iraq
- Qawliya (Kawliya) or Iraqi gypsy dance
- Iraqi Line Dances
Israel
- Horah
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Yemenite dances
Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine)
- Debke
Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya)
- Tunisian Woman's Dance
- Raqs al Juzur (Tunisan pot dance)
- Moroccan Dances including the Schikhatt, the Guedra ritual, Tea Tray
- Algerian Dances including the Ouled Na'il
- Berber Dances
- Libyan Hagallah
Turkey
- Turkish Rrom
- Turkish Folkloric/Line Dances
- Whirling Dirvish
There is such a rich heritage of dance in the Middle East that it would take several lifetimes to become really well versed. To help you get started in familiarizing yourself with these various dances and rituals, I'll continually be putting playlists together on my youtube site. Feel free to email me with any great examples you might find as well.
Shems's Various YouTube Playlists
In the future I will also put together a primer with photos and YouTube playlists for the folkloric and ethnic dances and rituals. For now you may find some good general descriptions in Salome's Article "A Professional - Style/Terminology".
Special thank you for the photos goes out to Suha Deeb, FatChanceBellyDance, Kostana, Asharah, Elise, Sausan and the world wide web. For more great vintage photos and interesting dialogue about Oriental Dance history visit the Legacy of Belly Dance Tribe.
There are many, many great dancers I haven't mentioned in this styles primer, either for the sake of room or because they dance multiple styles. I thought it might be confusing to mention Hadia for example as a great Egyptian style dancer, because she also does a really great Turkish style as well (and a mean Flamenco for that matter). I tried to stick with dancers who, for the most part, have dedicated themselves wholey to the styles discussed above. Hopefully over time you will become familiar with more of the many wonderful dancers not mentioned in the styles primer.
To continue learning even more about Oriental Dance please check out the articles and books recommended in my community resources section here.
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