What exactly is belly dance?
Why don’t you sit down for a few hours and I’ll tell you all about it…… Okay, okay, let me see if I can give you a shorter answer. Wikipedia sums it up nicely by saying that belly dancing is “a Western term for a traditional Arab art form”. Belly dance is also known as Raqs Sharqi (Arabic for “Dance of the East”), Oriental Dance, and Middle Eastern Dance. Belly dance technique is characterized by isolated movements in the body that can be smooth and flowing, or sharp and staccato. The name “belly dance” is a bit of a misnomer, however, as this dance form uses the whole body and really has little to do with the belly! While it’s difficult to trace the exact origins of this dance form, many believe that belly dance stemmed from social dancing within Middle Eastern families and evolved into a performance art with influences from several other cultures. Today you can find belly dancers on almost every continent, and there is an international subculture of belly dance festivals, competi
