Who Invented Belly Dancing?
Oriental or Middle Eastern dance is actually comprised of many different traditions of dance spanning many centuries. Each region had its own dances which share similarities but also differences in style.
The term Belly Dancing only came into use in the early 20th century as a result of a French revue which called a form of this dance "Danse du ventre" or "Dance of the Stomach." This modern name for the ancient forms of dance encompasses a long tradition of dance, as well as the more modern forms that have developed since, such as Egyptian Cabaret and ATS.
The term Belly Dancing only came into use in the early 20th century as a result of a French revue which called a form of this dance "Danse du ventre" or "Dance of the Stomach." This modern name for the ancient forms of dance encompasses a long tradition of dance, as well as the more modern forms that have developed since, such as Egyptian Cabaret and ATS.
posted by Lisa at 8:15 AM
3 Comments:
We may never know where belly dance actually came from, but we do know where we got it. we have it here in the West and across the globe because of the Egyptian film industry and its very first belly dance star, Taheyia Karioka who performed in her first film in 1935. Without her and others who followed in her footsteps with dances that were flashed on the silver screen and later copied onto video media, we might never have known this wonderful and expressive celebratory dance that is native to the Egyptian culture and its people.
I would also include the Turkish influence on Belly Dance, especially the different style in moves and belly dance costumes
Interesting comment from Sausan. I also suspect belly dance in its current format is not that old, making arguments about what is "traditional" or not, somewhat meaningless. It's the same as flamenco, which is really a 20th century invention in its current form, although it has its roots much further back.
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