Belly Dancing And Pregnancy
Belly Dancing And Pregnancy
Belly dance is a term for traditional dance, especially raqs sharqi (Arabic: رقص شرقي ). It is sometimes called Middle Eastern dance or Arabic dance in the West, or by the Greco-Turkish term çiftetelli (Greek: τσιφτετέλι ).
The term "Belly dance" is a misnomer as all parts of the body are involved in the dance; the most featured body part in raqs sharqi being the hips. Belly dance takes many different forms depending on country and region, both in costume and dance style;; and new styles have been invented in the West as its popularity has spread globally.
- Raqs sharqi (Arabic: رقص شرقي ; literally "oriental dance") is the style more familiar to Westerners, performed in restaurants and cabarets around the world. It is more commonly performed by female dancers but is also sometimes danced by men. Raqs sharqi is a solo improvisational dance, although students often perform choreographed dances in a group.
- Raqs baladi , (Arabic: رقص بلدي ; literally "dance of country", or "folk" dance) is the folkloric style, danced socially by men and women of all ages in some Middle Eastern countries, usually at festive occasions such as weddings.
Origins and Early History
As with any dance of folkloric origin, the roots of belly dance are uncertain. The authenticity of even "traditional" or "classical" forms of belly dance is open to question and often hotly disputed.
One theory is that belly dance was originally danced by women for women, to demonstrate or ease childbirth in Iran, India, and North Africa.This is the most popular and realistic theory.This theory is very popular in Western dance schools because it helps counteract negative sexual stereotyping, but there is no written evidence to support it. The book "Dancer of Shamahka" is widely cited, but it is in fact, a romanticized memoir written by a modern author, Armen Ohanian, published in 1918. In Middle Eastern society two specific belly dance movements have been used in childbirth for generations,, but this fact is insufficient to account for the history of a complex dance used primarily for public performance.
While these theories may have some foundation, none of them can be proved to be the origin of belly dance. It is more likely that all these factors contributed to the development of belly dance as we know it today .
The first recorded Western encounter with belly dance is during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798, when his troops encountered the gypsy dancers of the Ghawazee, and the more refined dancing of the Almeh.
Belly dance was later popularized during the Romantic movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, when Orientalist artists depicted romanticized images of harem life in the Ottoman Empire. Around this time, dancers from Middle Eastern countries began to perform at various World Fairs, often drawing crowds in numbers that rivaled those for the science and technology exhibits.
Several dancers, including the French author Colette, engaged in "oriental" dancing, sometimes passing off their own interpretations as authentic. There was also the pseudo-Javanese dancer Mata Hari, convicted in 1917 by the French for being a German spy.
Costume
In the West, the costume most associated with belly dance is the bedlah (Arabic for "suit"). It owes its creation to the Victorian painters of "Orientalism" and the harem fantasy productions of vaudeville, burlesque, and Hollywood during the turn of the last century, rather than to authentic Middle Eastern dress.
The bedlah style includes a fitted top or bra (usually with a fringe of beads or coins), a fitted hip belt (again with a fringe of beads or coins), and a skirt or harem pants. The bra and belt may be richly decorated with beads, sequins, braid and embroidery. The belt may be a separate piece, or sewn into a skirt.
The hip belt is a broad piece of fabric worn low on the hips. It may have straight edge, or may be curved or angled. The bra usually matches the belt and does not resemble lingerie. The classic harem pants are full and gathered at the ankle, but there are many variations. Sometimes pants and a sheer skirt are worn together. Skirts may be flowing creations made of multiple layers of sheer fabric such as chiffon, or figure-hugging lycra.
Badia Masabni, a Cairo cabaret owner, is credited with bringing the costume to Egypt, because it was the image that Western tourists wanted.
Since the 1950s, it has been illegal in Egypt for belly dancers to perform publicly with their midriff uncovered or to display excessive skin. It is therefore becoming more common to wear a long, figure-hugging lycra one-piece gown with strategically placed cut-outs filled in with sheer, flesh-coloured fabric.
If a separate bra and skirt are worn, a belt is rarely used and any embellishment is embroidered directly on the tight, sleek lycra skirt. A sheer body stocking must be worn to cover the midsection. Egyptian dancers traditionally dance in bare feet, but these days often wear shoes and even high heels.
As there is no prohibition on showing the stomach in Lebanon, the bedleh style is more common. The skirts tend to be sheer and/or skimpier than Egyptian outfits, showing more of the dancer's body. The veil is more widely used and the veil matches the outfit. High heels are commonly worn.
Turkish dancers also wear bedleh style costumes. In the 80s and 90s the art became debased in Turkey and a 'stripperesque' costume style developed, with skirts designed to display both legs up to the hip, and plunging bras. Such styles still exist in some venues but there are also many serious, respectable Turkish belly dancers who wear more moderate costumes. Even so, all Turkish belly dance costumes reflect the playful, flirty style of Turkish belly dance.
American dancers often purchase their costumes from Egypt or Turkey, but hallmarks of the classical "American" style include a headband with fringe, sheer harem pants or skirt rather than tight lycra, and the use of coins and metalwork to decorate the bra.
For the folkloric and baladi dances, a full-length beledi dress or galabeyah is worn, with or without cutouts.
Props are used,especially in American Restaurant style, to spark audience interest and add variety to the performance, although some traditionalists frown on their use. Some props in common usage are:
- Finger cymbals (zills or sagats).
- Cane (in the Saiidi)
- Veil
- Sword
- Candelabra headdress (shamadan)
- Veil poi
- Fire sticks
- Tambourine
- Fan
- Snakes (Usually either pythons or boa constrictors)
Steps and Technique
Most of the movements in belly dancing involve isolating different parts of the body (hips, shoulders, chest, stomach etc), which appear similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet, but are often driven differently.
In most belly dance styles, the focus is on the hip and pelvic area.
Important moves:
Shimmy - a shimmering vibration of the hips. This vibration is created by moving the knees past each other at high speed, although some dancers use contractions of the glutes instead. Dancers also put one leg to the side and then shimmy is performed by vibration of the leg which bears the weight. Shoulder shimmy is also an important element of belly dance.
Swinging arms - important expressive means in belly dance and highlights the beauty and flexibility of the dancer. In many cases hands are used to frame around the the moving part of the body to stress the expressiveness of that part.
Hip punches - basic move. Helps alternate the weight on the legs and create impression of the swinging pelvis.
Undulation - rotating movements of the chest forward, up, back and down create impression of riding a camel.
Egyptian Belly Dance
In Egypt, three main forms of the traditional dance are associated with belly dance: Baladi/Beledi , Sha'abi and Sharqi .
Baladi is a folk style of dance from the Arab Tribes who settled in Upper Egypt.
Sharqi is based on the baladi style but was further developed by Samia Gamal, Tahiya Karioka, Naima Akef, and other dancers who rose to fame during the golden years of the Egyptian film industry. Later dancers who based their styles partially on the dances of these artists are Sohair Zaki, Fifi Abdou, and Nagwa Fouad. All rose to fame between 1960 and 1980, and are still popular today.
Though the basic movements of Raqs Sharqi are unchanged, the dance form continues to evolve. Nelly Mazloum and Mahmoud Reda are noted for incorporating elements of ballet into bellydance, and their influence can be seen in modern Egyptian dancers who stand on relevé as they turn or travel in a circle or figure eight.
Although Western dancers view Egypt as the Holy Grail of belly dance, belly dancers in Egypt are not well regarded. Egyptians do not consider it a respectable profession, and most belly dancers performing for tourists in Egypt today
Prenatal Belly dancing classes
Belly dancing classes for pregnant women Belly dance is danced as a dance of celebration and is for women of all shapes and sizes.
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