Know More About Belly Dancing

Belly dancing originated from various sources whichfrom a religious dance. The theory about the "birthing
are why there are lots of theories about its origin. It ispractice" has several movements that are
known world-wide and practiced by a lot of people.incorporated in the modern "raqs sharqi". This is
As far as world history is concerned, Belly Dancing isbecause some of the movements demonstrated a
among the oldest societal dances. It is believed that ittype of exercise in order to ease childbirth. Thus, there
originated from the Eastern Mediterranean. This is dueare two points stated above that suggests that the
to the fact that there are similarities in Egyptianso-called "Roma dance" is the origin of belly dancing.
artwork poses and modern dance.Regardless of where this dance began, it has a vast
Belly dancing have two forms that are called raqshistory and this eventually traveled fast around the
baladi and raqs sharqi. Raqs baladi is a social dance inworld. It has a wide history in Africa and the Middle
Lebanon and Palestine. It is performed by everyoneEast as well.
during festivities such as weddings that are intendedThe Costume
for celebrations and mere fun. The theatrical version ofThe most popular costume style include a bra or a
Belly dancing is the "raqs shargi". Raqs sharqi is thefitted top that usually have coins or beans, along with a
most popular type of dance in the United States today.skirt and a fitted belt placed in the hips that have
Both forms of Belly dancing can be performed withfringes of coins or beads. The skirts may be layered,
female and male dancers.paneled, circular or straight -styled. A veil is sometimes
Belly dancing is a native dance that is why it isused in performing a complete dance. The veil must be
generally learned in the early stage of childhood. Thefour or three and a half yards in length. It is used as a
children learn the dance informally by imitating andpart of the dance in order to frame and see the
observing their elders through community and socialmovements of the belly dancer. Egyptian belly dancers
celebrations, along with informal gatherings like mostwear dresses that are fully beaded and designed
social dances. Nowadays, belly-dancing classes areaccording to tradition and dance. In the western world,
offered throughout the world. Skilled dancers of this artdancers are free to choose the design of the
share their knowledge that was even passed downcostume according to fantasy and taste.
from the indigenous people.Dancing Techniques
The real and exact origin of Belly dancing is widelyThe basic step of this form of dance is doing a circular
debated by dance enthusiasts. Dancers who attemptmotion on an isolated part of the body. An example of
to understand the origin of this dance did somethis is a step where in the dancer performs in a
research. This is because these dancers overlookedcircular motion that is parallel to the ground and a body
the fact that most Middle Eastern dances take placepart. This is, in which, the shoulders or hips become
only in social backgrounds rather than going with theisolated.
current glamorous and more visible background ofBelly dancing both have physical and mental benefits.
professional dancers in nightclubs these days. ThereDancing alone gives a good workout to any person's
are lots of theories about the origin of belly dancingcardio-vascular muscles. This can increase the
due to the misunderstandings of the people who wantstrength and flexibility focused on the "core muscles"
to learn its art. It is also regarded as a fusion ofor the torso. This form of dance also builds up leg
different dance styles. This is why belly dancing hasstrength. Most belly dance steps emphasize the
many origins. Thus, most of the dance styles areso-called "muscular isolations" due to the fact that it
derived from folk dances.teaches the ability to move different muscle groups or
Here is a list of theories about the origin of bellymuscles in the body independently. The veil work can
dancing, according to most dancers:build the shoulders, arms and the general upper body
1. Belly dancing originated in Greece and it spreadsystem. Playing the "zils" builds independence and
because of Alexander the Great.strength on the fingers. This form of dance is good for
2. Belly dancing originated from a religious dance that aall body types and all age groups.
Temple Priestess made.Belly dancing is now a part of the modern pop culture
3. Belly dancing originated from the Upper Ancientas well. Some pop icons of this age fused belly
Egypt through indigenous dancing.dancing into the modern hip-hop dancing. The Latin star
4. Belly dancing descended from Uzbekistan andShakira has recently popularized belly dancing for she
traveled to India because of the slave trade.uses Latino dance along with belly dancing and modern
5. Belly dancing was spread during the Romanidance. The late R&B singer Aaliyah used this
people's migrations (termed as "gypsies") and otherform of dance as her "signature move". Ssliyah named
related groups.her dance the "belly roll" and it was featured in music
6. Belly dancing originated in Northwest India, particularlyvideos. Some singers or performers that featured a
in Banjara of Rajasthan.kind of belly dancing in one of their music videos
7. Bally dancing is part of a traditional birthing practice ininclude Ciara, Rihanna, Beyonce Knowles, Britney
its region or regions of origin.Spears, Christina Aguilera and Nelly Furtado. Out of all
From all the theories stated above, the first one isthe singers that performed belly dancing on music
considered as the most "believed" theory. This isvideos, only Shakira had a professional "Belly Dance
although the most popular theory is that it originatedtraining".