What are the origins of Belly Dance?

The simple answer is that nobody knows for sure. Myths and legends abound: that bellydance was brought to Egypt via India by the Rom; that bellydance originated in the child birthing rituals of North Africa; that it is associated with early forms of goddess worship; that ancient Egyptian art “proves” that bellydance was performed at the time of the Pharoahs. The truth is that the evolution of a dance form with roots in the distant past is never documented extensively or definitively, so some, or none, of the above may be true. What we do know is that the dance as we know it today has its roots in the social dances of the past from across the Middle East. Whilst there are huge differences in style between the dances of the various countries and regions, many of the dances do share a common movement vocabulary of hip and torso articulations. These folkloric dances would have been danced in the home, and in the village, to celebrate events in the life of the community.

How did the West get in on the act?

In the 19th Century, western travellers “discovered” Egypt, and tales of the “mysterious East” began to wend their way back to Europe. In particular, Orientalist artists such as Flaubert and Gerome, painted a picture with their words and images of the exotic and seductive “other”. They sent word home of a sensuous and mesmerising dance form, which began to be known as the “danse du ventre”, possibly inspired by a particular dance of the Ouled Nail which featured abdominal contractions.

Little Egypt – the original bellydance superstar?

In 1893, at the World Fair in Chicago, a promoter by the name of Sol Bloom wanted to attract the crowds to a pavilion featuring dancers and musicians from North Africa. His promotional antics got everybody talking about bellydance and the mythical performer Little Egypt, and the idea of bellydance as a hoochy koochy dance associated with vaudeville was born in the US.

The cabarets in Cairo

In the early years of the 20th Century, the Lebanese nightclub owner Badia Masabni, took bellydance out of the social context, and onto the stage, taking it from an informal folkloric dance to be experienced in and by the community, and transforming it into a performance for in front of an audience. She was also influential in the rise of the bedlah, the Hollywood fantasy inspired be-sequinned bra and belt that is largely associated with bellydance today, rather than the more traditional caftan or gelibaya, as she believed that Westerners would appreciate this style of costuming. It was around this time that the term Raqs Sharqi was coined (literal translation Dance of the East).

Egyptian cinema

Egyptian cinema of the 1940s and 1950s had a huge cultural influence on all Arabic-speaking audiences. Many Egyptian films of this period (the so-called Golden Age of Egyptian dance) featured dance scenes, and the legends of Egyptian dance such as Samia Gamal and Tahia Carioca took dance to new levels.

At the same time, the Egyptian music industry was undergoing a 20th-century transformation led by composers such as Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez, who began to write beautiful and complex music for a full orchestra, but still featuring traditional instruments such as the oud, nay and qanun.

Naturally, dance and music came together, with the stars of the dance scene performing with the stars of the music scene. Egyptian dance therefore evolved even further from its folkloric roots, incorporating influence from ballet and other Western dance styles, to match the now popular Egyptian classical music.

Mahmoud Reda

At a time of growing national pride, the Egyptian government commissioned the hugely influential choreographer Mahmoud Reda to form a national dance troupe. Reda travelled the country and took his interpretation of the various folkloric dances of the regions onto the stage, adapting them to suit a large stage show.

Back to the West

Bellydance became popular in the West in the 1950s and 1960s, largely as a result of immigration to the West. In the US, the East Coast ethnic clubs were a melting pot of dance and music from all over the Near and Middle East, with Armenian, Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, Egyptian etc all performed to an audience looking for a connection with home. The American Cabaret or American Oriental style grew out of this scene, and incorporated the use of props such as sword and veil, and floorwork (banned in Egypt). Over on the West Coast, the dance was developing in different directions, and the subsequent emphasis on group improvisation and influences from flamenco and Indian dance resulted in the American Tribal Style movement.

What should you expect from a bellydance show nowadays?

Dance (like all art forms) continues to evolve and to draw from influences of other styles. While new forms of bellydance are developing, such as Tribal Fusion and Gothic, there is also a drive towards more authenticity and the stars of the Egyptian dance scene are much sought after as instructors by those who seek to learn their secrets. A bellydance show can be different things for different audiences, with a dancer choosing to show her musicality and emotional range by interpreting Oum Kalthoum for a dance or Arabic audience, then the next night choosing to sprinkle her set with new fantasy props such as Isis wings, and dancing to an Arabic cover of “I will survive” or “Rock the Casbah” for a different audience!