I'm here today with a stern reminder that slut-shaming has no place in belly dance. I've been seeing a lot of posts lately by some of my colleagues and predecessors, singling out dancers in Cairo for comment and judgment on their revealing choices of costuming. Here are a number of reasons why this is not okay: 1. The female body in movement always has been and always will be controversial under patriarchy. Particularly the types of movements we do. You might think you are setting yourself apart from dancers wearing more revealing costumes by wearing more conservative costumes, and certainly there will be some people who will be more accepting of your role as a dancer if you do so, but there will always be people who will consider you a sex worker and/or place you at the bottom rung of society simply for being a woman who chooses to belly dance in public, especially if you are getting paid to do so. This is a fact that needs to be understood, leading to point #2 2. Slut-shaming other women is NEVER going to elevate you, it is never going to help you succeed, it is never going to "elevate the art form" and it is never going to make you look good. All this does is drag all of us down, including yourself. It drags the art form and women as a whole down, much more than a revealing costume ever could. See point #1 as to why. For the simple fact that you choose to belly dance in public, you are automatically placed on the same side of the spectrum as the strippers and sex workers you vilify, by a good chunk of the general public, both here AND in the Middle East. You can't "elevate" yourself out of that, certainly not by publicly shaming someone else for wearing just a few inches less than you would. Leading to point #3 3. You shaming another dancer for wearing a skimpy costume or doing moves that in your view are "too sexual" is the exact equivalent of some conservative person pointing you out and shaming *you* for one of your performances, saying your costume is too skimpy because you are showing your belly or legs, and that your dancing is sexual because you are moving your hips. How would it feel if someone did that to you? If you wouldn't like it if it was done to you, then stop doing it to other dancers. In fact, it's much worse when it's a dancer doing it to another, because we should know better, since we all can and do fall victim to these types of attacks. 4. Stating that "costumes were so much more tasteful/classy back in the 50's/60's/70's/80's" is rosy colored glass nostalgia plain and simple. Since the dawn of raqs sharqi we have always performed in revealing costumes. Bra/belt sets with sheer skirts and high slits on curvy female bodies were as scandalous back then as the mini skirts and bodysuit styles are today, and here in the US in particular, the orientalist image of the sexy, seductive, half-naked harem dancer has always been played up since the dance was brought here, by event producers, club owners, dancers and musicians alike so don't even get me started on that. In fact, if anything, the stereotypes I am constantly battling against as a dancer here come from that history, which many of the dancers now bashing younger dancers in Cairo took advantage of long before I or any of those dancers were born. My audiences here in the US have no clue what dancers in Cairo are wearing today. But their expectations have been set by, and their biases come from the decades of Orientalist stereotyping and portrayal of belly dance that was homegrown right here in the US. Which leads me to point #5 5. As non-Arab/non-MENAHT dancers it is absolutely not our job to "elevate" any Arab or MENAHT dance or art form. This smacks of white saviorism and it is not our role to play. We are guests to this art form and we are very lucky that it has been spread to our corners of the world, that we have the exposure to it and freedom to take part in it. We can enjoy learning and performing this dance but this dance is not ours to elevate or to save. Arabs and folks from other MENAHT regions do not need our saving, or our meddling--not in their art forms nor in their politics or anything else. If you are not MENAHT and you think it's your job to uplift, elevate, or save belly dance, know that this attitude is rooted in colonial/imperialist thinking. Please sit with this. This dance is not ours to save. Take as much time as you need with this. It's perfectly okay to enjoy something without laying claim to it, and those of us who are citizens of colonialist/imperialist countries, particularly those of us who are descendants of colonizers themselves really need to sit with this one and examine our deep-rooted colonialist biases and thinking. 6. If you are not performing in Cairo today you have no idea of the current social contexts or the power of current trends or the pressures to look a certain way and wear certain type of costumes. You have no idea of the strength and courage it takes to be a dancer in a society that is that conservative and patriarchal, in the current political environment. You have no idea what these dancers are sacrificing and risking every day to perform this art, how much they are ostracized and vilified for doing what they do. Especially the ones who are native Egyptians. They do not need your voice added to the choir of judgment they already deal with 24/7. It's very easy to judge the costuming choice of a working dancer in Cairo from the comfort of an American home when you can go to your 9-5 job or get a retirement check that pays your bills, but to actually be out there hustling this ruthless industry in the heart of its homeland is a whole other ballgame. So maybe refrain from judging something you will never understand since you are not living a reality that is anything like it right now. I'll close out this little lecture by stating that it's perfectly valid to have your own opinions and tastes. It's OK if something isn't for you. But if you don't like revealing costumes, just don't wear them. Make more conservative choices in your own style. You can be the change you want to see in the world, without bashing your colleagues and successors in the process. It is never okay to single out and point out another dancer's choice in costume and invite the whole world to jump in and criticize her. That's slut-shaming, it's a form of bullying, it's low, it's mean, it's unnecessary and it does us all a disservice. Let's be better than that. Let's do better than that. -Yamê Was This Post Helpful?Was this post helpful or insightful? If so, hit "like" below and leave a comment with your thoughts on this topic!
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Egyptian-style bellydance artist and Pilates instructor Rachael Borek discusses her thoughts about body shape and our society's obsession with it in this short commentary It might seem weird that I'm saying this, when my whole job is about moving bodies, understanding bodies, and using my own body to create art. But I'm saying it anyway. The shape of my body does not matter. The shape of your body does not matter. And the amount and distribution of each of our body fat most especially does not matter. It matters that your body is strong enough to support you in living the life you want to live, to the best of its ability - and that will shape how your body looks, to some extent. It matters that your posture and alignment bring you comfort and freedom of movement, and protect you from injury, and yes this will also affect the outward shape of your body. But the outward shape itself? It's a distraction from the things that really matter. As a dancer, it's a distraction from technique, expression, musicality, stagecraft... And as a human being living life, it's a huge distraction from actually living and enjoying life. And also a distraction from all the incredible things the people around us (women especially) are doing, if the first thing we see when we look at them is how well their body shape matches, or doesn't, some ideal beauty standard. So next time you find yourself thinking about someone else's body shape, see if you can change that thought. Think about who they are, or might be, as a person - their skills, their passions, their friendships... Practice the skill of seeing everyone, yourself included, as a fully rounded beautiful human being, not just a body. About Today's Guest Author Rachael Borek is an Egyptian style bellydance performer and teacher in Manchester, UK. She has been studying, performing and teaching Egyptian dance since 2008, having trained with many top instructors from Egypt and the UK. Her mission as a teacher is to make bellydance classes an accessible and uplifting experience for everyone, including those who feel they are not natural dancers. Rachael offers Egyptian dance courses and one-to-one lessons both in Manchester UK and online. You can follow her work on https://rachaelbellydance.co.uk/ or https://www.instagram.com/rachaelborek Was This Post Helpful?If you liked this article, you can visit our blog map to find other posts about body image, self-acceptance, or belly dance and related topics. Or subscribe to our newsletter, YouTube channel, Facebook and Instagram pages to be the first to see more content from us!
Why do belly dancers need to know about Saidi? If you have some experience with raqs sharqi (commonly known as "belly dance") you might have noticed that in order to be a well-rounded dancer, it's necessary to know so much more than just belly dance! The classical music we use, as well as our entrance songs and drum solos feature shifts in rhythm and instrumentation that are important to understand and reflect in our dancing. These different "sections" within our music take us on a journey through different Middle Eastern musical genres. Some of those genres are specific to certain regions of the Middle East, where people might dance a certain way which reflects their customs and traditions. It's important for us to know the regional dances that go along with the types of music that come up for us often, so that we can interpret our music appropriately. Saidi... Sa'idi... Sa3idiOne of the regional/folkloric genres of music that comes up for us the most is Saidi. The word Saidi (صعيدى, sometimes spelled Sa'idi or even Sa3idi) means from Upper Egypt. Upper Egypt, or the Said, is a region in the south of Egypt. This region is known as "Upper Egypt" because it has a higher elevation than the north of Egypt, which is known as Lower Egypt. (Fun fact: since the north of Egypt is lower in elevation than the south of Egypt, the Nile river flows to the north. Notice in the map below, how the Nile river delta flows northward into the Mediterranean sea) Image source: Cacahuate - Wikimedia Saidi people speak their own dialect of Egyptian Arabic and have unique customs, music, dances, and traditions. The word Saidi can be used to refer to anything that comes from Upper Egypt. In the context of belly dance, when we talk about Saidi we are usually either referring to music and/or dances from the Said region, or to Saidi rhythm. Tahtib: Saidi Martial Art & DanceAn important tradition in the Said is a dance and martial art known as tahtib (or tahteeb, تحطيب), where participants engage in mock fighting with sticks, done to music. The roots of this practice date back to ancient Egypt, where it was used as a military skill, alongside archery and wrestling. These days, tahtib is mostly practiced as a social game or as a mock fighting dance for entertainment, traditionally done by men. Tahtib in its native context Tahtib as a mock fighting dance performance Stick Dancing for WomenIn more recent decades, women developed their own versions of stick dancing (raqs assaya) for performance, playfully imitating the men's movements in softer, more feminine ways. In the women's versions of Saidi-style raqs assaya, a smaller and lighter stick or cane (a stick with a hook at the end) is used. When danced as part of a belly dance performance, the stick or cane might be decorated with shiny metallic tape or sequins. Female dancers often wear glamourized versions of baladi dresses when dancing to Saidi music. Belly dancer Vanessa of Cairo performing Saidi with a cane Belly dancer Arielle performing Saidi raqs assaya with two sticks Egyptian belly dancer Sahar Samara performing Saidi raqs assaya Dancers Kareem GaD and Taly Hanafy performing a Saidi duet Saidi MusicSaidi music typically features the tabl baladi, darbuka, and daff on percussion and the very distinct mizmar and rebaba on melody. A very common rhythm in Saidi music is Saidi rhythm, a 4/4 rhythm played as "dum tek, dum dum, tek." Saidi rhythm is also found outside of Saidi music, so the rhythm alone does not necessarily mean that a song or section of a song is Saidi. Saidi music also features a variety of other rhythms, such as malfuf (2/4), fellahi (2/4), maqsum (4/4), baladi (4/4), and others. So it's important to consider the instruments and the feeling of the music and to do some research before deciding on how to interpret it. Famous Saidi song, Luxor Baladna, played by Upper Egypt Ensemble Luxor Baladna translation Additional resources: Wikipedia - Tahtib Shira.net - Saidi Dance Oriental Dancer - Saidi Dance SharqiDance - Saidi Rhythm for Belly Dancers Was This Post Helpful?Was this post helpful? Did you learn something new about Saidi music or dance? If so, hit "like" below and leave a comment with your feedback!
You can also visit our blog map to find more posts like this, or subscribe to our newsletter, YouTube channel, or Facebook page to be the first to find out about our next post. If you'd like to learn belly dance online with us, check out our available classes here. Happy learning, and happy dancing! Celebrating life while honoring death It’s the first day of spring and with the new season officially here now, there is so much we can celebrate and look forward to. This is a time to celebrate our victories—having survived a long winter both literally and figuratively (a global pandemic), we are now arriving at a time when we can plant new seeds of potential, and we can nurture the things we want to see grow, within ourselves and in our world. Photo by Tracy Coon Soon our environment will be blooming with new life. Yet right now much of that life is still unseen potential. The trees around us are still mostly naked without their leaves, we can still see the leaves they’ve shed over the past few seasons littering the ground and we still have many cold days ahead of us. There is so much we can learn from the seasons and the way they shift, so much we can apply to our lives, with the awareness that our bodies are a part of nature, our lives reflect the cycles and other principles of nature as well. Spring has arrived, yet this does not mean winter is suddenly and magically gone forever. We still have to mourn and to grieve all that we’ve lost over this long winter. This is part of the process for transforming and integrating those losses so that they can become fuel for new ideas, experiences and relationships to bloom in our lives. In nature, death is the fuel that feeds new life. Here where I live, in the forests we can see the leaves that were shed by the trees throughout the fall and winter become the compost that nourishes the soil to grow and sustain life in the spring. Trees that fall and die become a part of the new landscape, shaping new highs and lows on the ground as new layers of soil eventually cover them. Animals that die become food for other animals to survive and carry on with their unique and important roles in their ecosystems, and become nourishment for the soil underneath. Death and life are inextricably linked. Without death, there could be no life. Likewise in our lives, we experience many deaths… both literal and figurative. Yet all those deaths can be transformed into new life. When we allow ourselves to mourn them and to honor them, we can witness this transformation as it occurs. We’ve all lost so much over this long winter. We’ve all lost old ways of living life or old ways of being we’d grown accustomed to. Many of us have had to give up dreams, or parts of a future we’d envisioned for ourselves, when we thought the future would be different from what it ended up becoming. Many of us lost jobs, or old ways of doing our work, or the ways we used to think about our work, the value of our work, and our purpose in the world. All of us lost people who were near and dear to our hearts. Some of us walked away from harmful relationships, or had to come to terms with someone we loved choosing to walk a different path. Most of us were touched by the deaths of loved ones, whether it was a tragic death from the virus, or a sudden and unexpected accident, or an expected death from long illness or old age… losing a loved one is never easy. And it’s always so painful knowing that a loved one is gone forever, in their physical form. We need to give ourselves the space to grieve and to mourn. When we give ourselves that space, and we honor our losses, we can transform even the deepest losses into nourishment… they can become our inspiration for new ways of thinking, new ways of being, new ways of expressing, new ways of interrelating, new ways of acting and creating… There is so much to celebrate right now, so much potential to be excited for as spring begins. Just remember that if you are struggling with loss, if you are feeling pain, if you are mourning… you are exactly where you need to be. Our celebrations of life cannot be separated from honoring and integrating the deaths we experience in our lives. Whatever you are feeling today, feel it fully, let it be your teacher, let it be your guide, let it shape the landscape of the garden you are growing this coming year, let it inform you of which seeds you want to plant, and which plants you want to nourish and help grow. Did You Like This Post?Did you like this post? Would you like to see more like it? If so, comment below letting us know!
You can also visit our blog map to find more of our articles, or subscribe to our newsletter or Facebook page to be the first to find out about our next post. And you'd like to join a supportive community of belly dance students from all over the US and the world, check out our available classes here. On this International Women's Day I am reflecting on my feminine relationships: my relationships with other women, my relationship with femininity, my relationship with myself. I am surrounded by strong, talented, kind-hearted, genuine, incredible women of all ages and from all walks of life. I am in awe of all the things these women have survived, overcome, and achieved in their lives, and they inspire me every day. I, too, have survived and overcome many difficulties in life, and I consider myself to be a strong and passionate woman with so much to contribute to this world. But I didn't always feel this way. And if belly dance hadn't come into my life, I am not sure that I ever would. Like nearly all of us, I grew up in a culture that taught me that, as women, our physical appearance is the most important thing about us, while always pointing out all the ways in which our appearance falls short of the impossible ideals it imposes. My culture also taught me that other women are my competition, that life is a zero sum game, and that I "win" by being better than the woman next to me. It taught me that women are toxic, that women gossip and are always out to get each other. I grew up learning these things, and became a teenager with very few female friends. Most of my hobbies and interests were in male-dominated fields, and I prided myself in my lack of stereotypically feminine interests, having internalized the unspoken societal views that things women like are inherently inferior. That all began to shift when I took up belly dance. Over these last 15 years since belly dance came into my life, the ways that I view other women--and myself--have completely transformed. I now see feminine beauty not with the judging eyes of our society, but in the same way that I see the beauty of the trees in a forest: each is so different and beautiful in its unique ways, no matter how tall, how thick, how green or how old. How boring would it be if all trees in a forest looked the same... I try to look at myself the same way. We all have bad days, though. Days when it's difficult to see ourselves in a positive light. On days like that, belly dance itself offers me so much relief. Never underestimate the power of physical movement, especially coupled with music, to help us move and release painful emotions! Most importantly, I am now surrounded by so many incredible women, doing such beautiful work in this world. The vast majority of these women, I met through belly dance: as my teachers, classmates, colleagues, students, clients, acquaintances. So many of these relationships have grown into lasting bonds. Through these relationships and through this dance, I have experienced so much healing of these painful old wounds. I've come to realize that those old beliefs were lies, imposed upon us to suppress and to oppress us, and that there is a universal truth that we can all choose to tap into at any given moment: When we support other women, we empower ourselves as well. When we make life better for some women, we make life better for all women. There is nothing more empowering for a woman, than being surrounded by women who care about you and want to see you succeed! Was This Post Useful? Did you find this post useful? Would you like to see more like it? If so, comment below letting us know!
You can also visit our blog map to find more of our articles, or subscribe to our newsletter or Facebook page to be the first to find out about our next post. And you'd like to learn belly dance online, check out our available classes here. What if I told you that most of the countless hip isolations we do in belly dance come from just 6 foundational hip movements? Would that motivate you to practice these movements for a few minutes on a regular basis? What if there were 6 videos you could reference, to learn the technique for each of these movements... Would that make learning this beautiful (and surprisingly difficult) dance a little less daunting and intimidating? If you answered "yes" to these questions, I have good news for you! Here's my gift to get you started on your belly dance journey with your best hip forward! Or if you already take belly dance classes (especially one of my classes), these videos are a great tool for practice between classes. Try out these 6 essential hip movements below:
Bonus VideoOnce you're comfortable with the 6 essential hip movements above, challenge yourself with our bonus Hip Combos video below! Need Real-Time Feedback & Support? Some people do very well with pre-recorded videos... but if you want live feedback & support, our online classes provide that. Check out our schedule below to see what we're offering right now!
A huge theme for this coming year is this idea of embodiment and how we can live our lives in ways that honor our bodies and their physical and emotional needs. As the year comes to an end, here are a few questions we can reflect on, to help us set the stage for living more embodied lives in 2022:
The answers to these questions will vary from day to day and from moment to moment, and there is no wrong answer. What’s true for you right now? Whether the experience of being in your body is a very pleasant one in this moment (maybe you are enjoying a delicious meal, or smelling a scented candle or you just finished a really fulfilling movement session) or a very unpleasant one (maybe you are sick or injured and in a lot of physical pain, maybe you are suffering from depression or another type of emotional pain), making the time to simply take note of how you feel can be so helpful and important.
Again, there is no blanket right or wrong answer here, but these questions can help you explore the right answers for you. If there is a form of movement that your body is craving, how can you make that into a regular practice? If there is a type of food that makes you feel good from the inside out, how can you integrate that into your diet? What are the activities that make you happy, that make your heart sing? How can you carve out more time to do them more regularly? Is there anything that doesn’t make you feel good, that you can do away with in your life, or make less time for? Have you been getting enough rest on a weekly basis, or does something need to change so that you can get the rest you need? We have a lot more control over the experiences within our bodies than we think. But rarely are we taught to tune into the body, to learn and understand its language, to listen and to give it what it needs. More often than not, we are taught that our bodies are dirty, we are taught to feel guilty for seeking pleasure, we are taught to neglect our body’s needs and to treat it like a machine that can be pushed around to yield the same level (if not ever-increasing levels) of output and productivity every day no matter what. In fact, most of us treat our bodies even worse than machines, because even machines need maintenance from time to time... yet how many of us take the time to give our bodies the maintenance they need? Now, if thinking about these questions brings up anxiety, resistance, or resentment for you, notice that too. Again, there is no wrong answer. What’s coming up for you? How do these questions make you feel, and why? No matter what is coming up for you, your feelings are valid and deserving of further exploration. I am wishing you a fruitful time of reflection as the year comes to an end. May you make new discoveries that will help you step into a better, happier, and more embodied phase of your life! Was This Post Helpful?Did you find this post helpful? Would you like to see more like it? If so, comment below letting us know!
You can also visit our blog map to find more of our articles, or subscribe to our newsletter or Facebook page to be the first to find out about our next post. And you'd like to learn belly dance online, check out our available classes here. Not sure what to wear to your first belly dance class? You're not alone! This is one of the most common questions I get from brand new belly dance students, so I decided to make a video and blog post to address it. There is a misconception that you have to show your belly or wear a fancy costume just to go to class... but this is simply not the case. In reality, what you need to wear is anything that makes you happy, that you feel comfortable and confident in, and that allows you to move freely. You don't have to show your belly unless that makes you happy and you are comfortable with it. It does help to wear clothes that aren't too loose just so your teacher can see your movements, but you don't have to show skin or wear anything super tight if you are not comfortable with that. It's also nice to bring a hip scarf or any fabric to tie around your hips to emphasize your movements, but that is not required. As for footwear, typically we dance barefoot, but if you are uncomfortable dancing on bare feet, you can wear dance slippers, jazz shoes or foot undeez instead. If you normally wear orthotics, it's acceptable for you to wear whatever shoes and orthotic inserts you normally wear, but you'll need to check with your teacher about their policy for wearing "street shoes" inside the studio. It's possible that they might ask you to have designated shoes just for dancing if street shoes are not allowed on the studio floors. And that's it, so plain and simple! Wear anything comfortable that allows you to move and allows for your movements to be seen, and have fun! Was This Post Helpful?Did you find this post helpful? Would you like to see more like it? If so, comment below letting us know!
You can also visit our blog map to find more of our articles, or subscribe to our newsletter or Facebook page to be the first to find out about our next post. And you'd like to learn belly dance online, check out our available classes here. If you're feeling this current of heavy, overwhelming, or exhausting energy right now, you are not alone! It's normal to get burned out in the summer, but this moment in time feels extra exhausting. We are still living through a time of fear, uncertainty, major shifts and transitions... I just want you to know that regardless of how difficult things are right now, you're doing an amazing job. The challenges you've overcome these past 2 years were no small feats, and you're still here, you're still standing. There's so much to be said about that! So acknowledge your victories and take it one step at a time when it all feels like it's too much. Slow down or pause when you need to, and be kind to yourself through it all... no matter what. What are some tools in your figurative toolbox that help you get through tough times? For me dance, yoga, other forms of movement, breathwork, music and writing are great ways to regulate my nervous system so I'm not constantly being swept up by the storms of life. Make sure to have at least a few of your own "tools" at your disposal and to use at least one of them each day (whichever one feels the most approachable or pleasant in those difficult moments, especially when inner resistance hits). Take care of yourself first and foremost and help whomever you can along the way. Despite all the terrible things that are happening, I also see support systems strengthening, and communities that will help build a better future forming and growing. You are loved and supported... even when it doesn't feel like it. You can do this! Need some extra help? Try out these simple breathing exercises taught by Namita of Yoganama: Was This Post Helpful? Did you find this post helpful? Would you like to see more like it? If so, comment below letting us know!
You can also visit our blog map to find more articles, or subscribe to our newsletter or Facebook page to be the first to find out about our next post. If you'd like to learn belly dance online with us, check out our available classes here. “Belly dance” is a colonial misnomer placed on dances from the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Greece. It stereotypes and pigeonholes a rich and complex art form and erases the people and cultures it comes from. Why are we still using the term? Let’s unpack a bit of the history and cultural baggage behind it. Over the past few years and especially the past couple of months, I have been doing a lot of deep reflection on the art form I have dedicated the latter half of my life to, the dance most people where I'm from know as "belly dance." I have been reflecting deeply on the terminology I use, how to define this dance and how to describe what I do to people who don't know me, to paint a more accurate picture of my life's work. I have also been reflecting on my role as a non-Arab woman, living in the US and teaching an Arab dance. The truth is that average people in our culture don't actually know what belly dance is, and upon hearing this term the image they conjure up in their heads is, at worst, a wildly inaccurate representation of what I do, and at best it is a simplistic and incomplete view of an extremely rich, culturally diverse and socially complex art form that is both incredibly beautiful and powerfully transformative. The picture of me, sexily shaking my bits in a sparkly 2-piece costume does not even begin to account for everything this dance is, everything it represents, and everything that is involved when someone decides to seriously learn belly dance. The costume and the movement are only a tiny fraction of what this dance actually is or could be. Orientalist painting La danse de l’almée by Jean-Léon Gérôme "Belly dance" is a broad umbrella term for Middle Eastern, North African, Hellenic & Turkic (MENAHT) dances that involve articulated movements of the hips and torso. But belly dance is also a misnomer given by colonialist men, to dances that were native to countries they were colonizing, dances that in many cases were primarily done by women. Do you see what’s wrong with this picture? The term caught on, and these days it also encompasses the versions of these dances which have evolved in non-native countries all over the world, including fusion forms that bear less resemblance to the original dances that still live on and continue to evolve in MENAHT countries today. Because it’s such a convenient, broad term that encompasses such a variety of dances, it has been difficult to come up with any term to replace it. It’s also the only term that the general public knows them by, so it’s how new people interested in learning these dances are able to find their teachers. But it is also simultaneously a term that pigeonholes us into stereotypes and limiting roles, and it can also discourage people from learning this dance altogether. Why is that? First of all, “belly dance” is a term that zooms in on one specific body part. It leads some people to think that all it takes is to shake or undulate this body part, and thereby dismiss it as a silly activity that doesn’t warrant any serious study or dedication. At the same time, others might think they could never do it because their bodies just don’t move that way (spoiler alert: anyone’s body could move that way with enough practice and good teaching). Additionally, I would estimate that there are millions of women in our country who would give this dance a try if its name didn’t immediately confront them with a part of their body that is tied with their self-esteem in a negative way. In our culture, we are taught that “fat = BAD” and that we must have a toned belly to be deemed beautiful and worthy. This is a lie that many women are finally beginning to unpack and unlearn, but still for most women the idea of putting so much focus on a physical part of ourselves that we dislike can be extremely intimidating and off-putting. Yet the reality is that people of any body type can belly dance. It’s a dance that looks beautiful on any body, without weight, age, or gender restrictions. And it’s a dance that involves so much more than just belly, hips and chest movements. It also involves footwork, arm movements, feeling and expression, understanding various different genres of MENAHT music, instruments and rhythms, familiarity with classic Arabic songs, connecting with the lyrics in their original language/s, and knowing the basics of different folkloric dances from various regions of the Middle East. When we use the misnomer “belly dance,” we are omitting these important aspects of the art form and contributing towards the erasure of the rich and diverse cultures and people that it comes from. MENAHT people and their cultures are not well represented in here in the United States. They are stereotyped and misunderstood at best, profiled and oppressed at worst. To practice, perform and teach a dance that comes from their countries without acknowledging their cultural context contributes to the stereotyping and oppression so many still suffer from. So, what do we call it instead? Years into my personal reflections on this subject, I still have not arrived at a concrete answer. I am becoming comfortable with the idea that this is an evolving discussion and that my thoughts and approach towards this subject will continue to evolve and change over the years. I am comfortable with the fact that people’s opinions on this subject will differ and many disagree with my approach. I respect those differing opinions, and accept that everyone is arriving at their own answers in their own time. What’s most important is that we continue to learn and be open to having these conversations, and especially to hearing the opinions and experiences of dancers from source countries! While I still continue to use “belly dance” as a broad term, for lack of a better broad term, for simplicity’s sake and to help new students and clients find me, more and more I refer to what I perform and teach as “raqs sharqi” among my existing students and even to people outside of the belly dance industry/community. Calling it “belly dance” encourages assumptions and stereotypes they already held. “Raqs sharqi” piques their curiosity and invites discussion (with that said, when I am dancing fusion, or dancing to non-Arabic music, I revert back to the broad term “belly dance”). Raqs sharqi is Arabic for “Eastern dance” or “Oriental dance.” It’s what Egyptians call the stage version of the dance we know as “belly dance.” Since I primarily focus on learning from Egyptian style teachers, that can be a fitting term for me to use. But the term will depend on the language, so for a Turkish style dancer, perhaps “Oryantal dans” (the Turkish language equivalent of the term) could be more fitting. What’s important to note is that nowhere in MENAHT countries are any of the dances we call “belly dance” referred to by a body part like it is here, but since my studies focus on Egyptian style, I will be using Egyptian (Arabic) terminology on this post, and please be aware that my knowledge of the history of this dance is very much Egypt-centric. Raqs sharqi is a stage adaptation of various dances mixed together, including raqs baladi ("country dance"), one of the social dances done in Egypt which uses hip and chest "isolations", shimmies and basic steps and is very casual and relaxed ("belly dance" in its most raw, unpolished, original form). This type of social dance is not exclusive to Egypt, it's done in most if not all Arab countries (alongside other social dances), it’s done by women and men in many cases, but in some regions it may be done primarily by women. It is simply the way people dance amongst each other when they get together for a party, wedding or other celebration. The specific music used, the stylization of the movements and the name used to refer to this type of dancing will vary by country/region. There are non-Arab countries in the Middle East/Mediterranean that dance socially like that, in their own ways, like Israel, Turkey (where it's called çifteteli) and Greece (tsifteteli). In Egypt, the stage adaptation we call "raqs sharqi" ("oriental dance") came about in the late 1800’s and incorporated elements of raqs baladi (“country dance”) with the performative styles that were done by the ghawazee and awalim who were professional dancers/entertainers who performed at weddings and other celebrations at the time. It also incorporated some elements of non-MENAHT dances like ballet and ballroom and other forms that the earliest raqs sharqi dancers happened to have trained in (Latin dances, acrobatics, and more). The evolution of this dance is very interesting as all the most famous dancers had such a unique and different style and each became highly influential in shaping the development of the dance. Much of the evolution of raqs sharqi happened around the time of the Golden Era of Egyptian cinema, and people all over the Arabic-speaking world were watching Egyptian movies which often featured dancing scenes by famous raqs sharqi dancers, who were actresses too! Lastly, raqs sharqi also incorporates bits of various different Arab folk dances when the music calls for it… it’s a lot to learn! Here in the US, this very rich and complex dance was reduced to just a titillating dance for many reasons. Colonialism, orientalism, patriarchy to name a few. When “belly dance” was originally introduced to the “Western” world in the late 1800s, it was not raqs sharqi but social and folkloric dances from colonized countries (in North Africa and the Middle East), done by women who were brought over from those countries by colonizer men (French, British, Americans), taken completely out of their native context, and presented in a sensationalized way to make money for those men. This was happening during a time when Western women wore corsets and showing your ankles as a woman was considered scandalous. So even though those dancers brought over originally were fully covered when performing, the fact that they moved their hips freely was considered extremely vulgar and scandalous and it attracted viewers due to the shock factor. And so the infamous reputation of “belly dance” began and we have never been able to fully overcome those associations. The real evolution and growth in popularity of “belly dance” in the United States didn’t really start until around the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s though, as immigrant dancers from different countries in the Middle East (Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, etc) began to set up classes here and taught Americans how to perform. The style that evolved here was called “American cabaret,” it evolved differently in different regions of the US and was a mix of various Middle Eastern styles of belly dance, since this country is such a melting pot of different cultures. In the 70’s, Middle Eastern clubs were booming, featuring long belly dance shows with live music, and the bands here were made up of musicians from all over the Middle East, so American dancers at the time had to know how to dance to Arabic, Turkish, and Greek music. But without the social/cultural context, and with the revealing costumes worn, what Americans saw was still a scandalous dance. And in the eyes of the patriarchy, there is no reason a woman would want to move her body like that other than to please or seduce a man. This, coupled with ignorant but prevalent Orientalist stereotypes of Arabs and Middle Easterners in general meant that the image of the “sultan’s harem” and the idea of “seducing the sultan” became intricately connected with the image of the “belly dancer” here in the US. Of course, since sex sells, this is something that many club owners and belly dancers themselves used to their advantage. This helped to cement the reputation of “belly dance” as something purely sexual and scandalous here in the US, which unfortunately led to it being reduced, dismissed, and ridiculed by the general public, something that continues to this day. Here it’s important to add that performing belly dance/raqs sharqi in public is also very taboo in most MENAHT countries. In some countries it is forbidden, in others it is forbidden for natives but allowed for foreigners, and in others it is allowed but you are ostracized for being a belly dancer. In Egypt for example, belly dance (raqs baladi & raqs sharqi) is a huge part of their culture, it’s done socially at every gathering and at any major celebration a belly dancer is hired to perform and is often the main attraction. They love and appreciate the dance, and they generally dance the social form of it at parties and other gatherings (where it happens in gender-segregated settings for the more religiously conservative/modest, and in mix-gender settings for the less conservative), but a woman who is paid to dance is not seen as respectable. So belly dance being considered “provocative” isn’t necessarily unique to our culture. It’s just that in the cultures of origin, there are layers of appreciation and admiration amid the layers of taboo and condemnation. In the countries of origin, it is done socially for fun and celebration and not just viewed as a dance of seduction and provocation. To really do this dance justice we have to get comfortable with this dichotomy instead of pigeonholing ourselves into a single stereotype. To do so as non-MENAHT outsiders means opening up a door into cultures and customs we may not otherwise have been exposed to. We have to learn movements that are difficult for us because we haven’t been doing them socially with our family and friends our whole lives, but which are so beneficial and rewarding for countless reasons… but this dance is so much more than just movement. Music, culture, and language are all intricately connected with the movements of this dance. It is a lifelong study, which far from just working your belly, will work your entire body, your brain, and your heart while deepening your connection to the rest of humanity. Was This Post Helpful?Was this post helpful? Would you like to learn more about belly dance/raqs sharqi? Hit "like" below, share, and leave a comment with your feedback!
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AuthorYamê is a Brazilian-American View Posts By CategoryIf you'd like to read more articles by Yamê or SharqiDance's guest authors, please view our blog map here.
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