Modern Belly Dancers

If you search on Google or YouTube, you are sure to find hundreds and thousands of dancers that grace us with their style of dancing today. Belly dancing itself has significantly grown in popularity in the recent years, and is especially a hit in South Florida. Today, the dance is known by over thousands of women who admire its captivating charm and exquisite technique. Below you will find videos of some of my favorite and most talented modern dancers, each illustrating their own particular style and grace. From flawless technique to heartrending emotion, these dancers prove that the art of Belly Dance will live on for several decades to come.

Dina - Egypt

Randa Kamal - Egypt

Raquia Hassan - Egypt

Bozenka - Miami

Tamalyn Dallal - USA

Roshana - Miami

Sadie - USA

The Golden Age of Belly Dance

The Golden Age of Cinema in Egypt sure brought some amazing talent in singing, composing and dancing to the public. Some historic stars of oriental dance were the ubiquitous Badia Masabni, Samia Gamal, Naïma Akef, Nagwa Fouad, Soheir Zaki and the supreme Tahia Carioca. The modern divas like Farida Fahmi, Fifi Abdou, Dina, Lucy and Suzy won't be left out. Of course there is a big difference between Farida Fahmi and  Fifi Abdu. But they both have one thing in common: their passion for egyptian dance.

 Soheir Zaki 

 Tahia Carioca 

 Nagwa Fouad 

One of my favorite dancers from back in the day is definitely Samia Gamal, who started her dancing at the Casino Badia. Samia is considered to be second to Tahia Karioka and definitely made the dance more expressive and respectable. She wore high heeled shoes to dance in “because she could afford them” and started the fashion for barefoot dancing on stage when her shoe strap broke! She appeared in Valley of the King's in 1954, and was the first film to include Egyptian music, dance and costume.  She appeared in many Egyptian films and gave the dance the elegance it possesses today.      

There is a great DVD that brings together the most prominent belly dancers ever in the scenes that have won them the heart of millions of admirers worldwide. This collection features 16 classic performances by legends such as Tahia Karioka, Samia Gamal, Nagwa Fouad, Soheir Zaki and Fifi Abdou. A must have for all belly dance lovers! Find it on Amazon.

      

Belly Dance in the West

In America, the costume most associated with belly dance is called the bedlah (Arabic for "suit"), “created by the Victorian painters and the productions of vaudeville, burlesque and Hollywood rather than to authentic Middle Eastern dress”. The bedlah style has a fitted bra, usually with a fringe of beads or coins, a fitted hip belt (again with a fringe of beads or coins), and a skirt.

Although using traditional Turkish and Egyptian movements, American Cabaret or American Restaurant belly dancing has developed its own distinctive style, using props and encouraging audience interaction. "Many modern practitioners make use of the music of Egyptian Sha’abi singers in their routines" (like one of my favorites: Hakim) which combines the percussion of modern Egyptian music with a traditional feeling for music and dance in the Raks Sha'abi (dance of the people) style.

References:

www.wikipedia/Belly_dance

www.bdancer.com

Some more Background

“Ancient writers record movements which identify with this Egyptian dance as we know it today.” Belly dancing is natural to a woman’s bone and muscle structure with movements emanating from the torso rather than in the legs and feet. The dance often focuses upon isolating different parts of the body, moving them independently in sensuous patterns, weaving together the entire feminine form.

The dance first came to America at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The French name ‘danse du ventre’ dance of the stomach was coined, translated into ‘belly dance’. This name could also have been derived from “baladi”, an Eygptian term for folk dance. Arabic dance is characterized by its intricate hip movements from many different parts of the Middle East; Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Morocco to name a few. Each country has its own style. 

References:

www.carolinebellydancer/history&culture

www.hipnosisgala/about-bellydance

A bit of History ...

Many experts say “Raqs Sharki” (Arabic for belly dance, or oriental dance) is the oldest form of dance, having roots in all ancient cultures from the orient. There is evidence from the Pharonic times (5000BC) of tomb paintings with female dancers and musicians. The paintings show that some aspects of the dance were for celebration and entertainment. There is also the theory that “the dance is related to the worship of fertility goddesses and sometimes performed to ease the process of childbirth”.

Probably the greatest misconception about belly dancing is that it is intended to entertain men. Throughout history, this ritualized expression has usually been performed for other women—generally during fertility parties or preparing young women for marriage. In most cases, the presence of men is not permitted.