The Art of Belly Dance

Throughout history the reputation of belly dance has been mostly tainted. When Mia first began to dance professionally she was hesitant, afraid that people’s perceptions of belly dancing would make her seedy and cheap, but it was her mother who put her straight. She told her that when she danced she projected what was inside, and if this was pure, even in the dingiest of bars she could shine.

In a lot of ways Mia was one of the pioneers of belly dance, fighting to reposition it into the sphere of art and respectability. It was still somewhere between stripper and podium dancer and reactions ranged from heckling and wolf whistles to enamored silence. Mia learned to strike a balance between the mesmerising, meditative grace of the dance she had learned with her sufi teacher and the humorous teasing interactive dance that people expected.

Little did she know that over hundreds of years belly dance had embraced both of these extremes.

In the British Library recently Mia was led, by a bemused librarian, to a book that began to explain. It described the origins of the dance as being the shaman of Central Asia. These shaman danced to the beat of a drum, falling into a trance, often spinning, their skirts flaring out and their long sleeves flying (long sleeves are a feature of costuming of female dancers up to the 19th century – see picture). It was likely that with the spread of Islam, these ceremonies were frowned upon and died out. Perhaps the only remnants surviving via Islamic sufi sects such as the whirling dervishes and the movements and rhythms of the street and folk dancers.

Later, with the Ottoman empire, came the harem. This erotic image of the dance is a powerful one, and one that many European explorers, stifled by Victorian society, sought out in Egypt in the 1800s. Gustave Flaubert documented his visits to dancing girls, as did other journalist explorers. Dancing by women in public was outlawed at this time and was done in secret, becoming linked to prostitution. Eventually, in the late 19th century, Egyptian dancing girls were brought to the curious masses via the world’s fair in Chicago, where the term "belly dance" is said to have been coined. (Watch footage of a belly dancer in 1904 here).

It was the onset of the 1910s and 20s, flappers, the discovery of the tomb of Tutenkamun, the erotic imagination of Mata Hari in Europe, and Hollywood films that drove belly dancing into the next century. Hollywood embellished the belly dance fantasy as feminism took hold, indirectly exploring ideas of women’s physical and sexual freedom (frequently freeing the belly dancing slave girl). Later, in the 50s 60s, women as belly dancers on screen simultaneously embodied male fantasy and were powerful directors of their own sexuality, both in Cairo, with feisty dancers such as Nagwa Fouad, and in Hollywood, where they made their first appearance in a Bond movie.

However, it seems that belly dancing became neglected later in the 20th century, particularly in Europe, becoming more of a joke, with dancers of little training exploiting the erotic myth and very large dancers dominating the restaurant and tourist scene. Also the British variety trio Wilson, Keppel and Betty, who immortalised their comedy Egyptian Walk in the early 20th century, have a lot to answer for, people still come up to me today and do their comedy ‘Egyptian camel walk’.

Today, in a world where women have much more equality at work, but are working in an environment dominated by men, there is even more of a need to access the power of the feminine. Belly dancing evokes a connection specific to the female body, a feeling of energy and intensity, sensuality, confidence and control which may explain the great resurgence of interest in this art form in the West at this time.

Also, with a wealth of history behind it, belly dance is now being performed at a higher technical level than ever before and with many inspiring creative influences. It’s an exciting time to discover the Art of Belly Dance.

For further detailed historical information click here