Belly Dancing is a mystical and fascinating art cultivating from various regions. It is celebrated and practiced by many but mastered by few. It has many names and many faces, yet it is inevitably the most beautiful and naturalistic way to captivate a man and woman’s physique in its purest sensual form.

Though it is also known as the Middle Eastern Dance, Raqs Sharqui, Oriental Dance, Danza Arabe and many other beautiful names, I prefer to use the term Belly Dancing because the name itself draws a curious brow to spectators and brings a smile to the faces of those who adore the history and traditions of the dance itself. It’s an old name with a modern twist and quite suitable for this century. This name most likely derived from the French phrase Danse du ventre, which interpreted means “Dance of the stomach”. American spectators at the Chicago World fair may have adopted the English version belly dancing to describe Little Egypt’s performance. Many people also believe the phrase belly dancing was birthed by European tourists who witnessed the vibrant and immense stomach undulations some dancers displayed while performing Cabaret.

I feel the name belly dance is appropriate and widely accepted simply because it is true that the dance’s most beautiful and fascinating movements are created with the belly. Snake arms, hip circles, and the camel walk are all intriguing but at the end of a show, people remember the intense and difficult stomach undulations the most! Though heavily disputed by some dancers, I agree with the majority that this name was not meant as mockery or disrespect. People basically called it as they saw it. Actually, the name Middle Eastern Dance (or any other reference to the dance with the name of a region attached to it) technically limits the regions of which the dance is practiced and gives the perception that the dance is only performed in that specific region. For example, instead of Middle Eastern Dance it was also nicknamed North American Dance, or Eastern Asia Dance. Of course those regions embrace the dance, but it would bring confusion. So just as we wouldn’t call Salsa the Spanish Dance, we don’t associate a region with this dance.

Of course Middle Eastern countries undoubtedly contributed heavily to the dance and influenced other countries to adopt it. It is also perhaps the foregrounds where most people flock today for workshops and exhibitions to experience what they believe to be the “authentic” site of the dance. But the first actual evidence of belly dancing is reported to have taken place in the Middle East’s neighboring region, Africa, in Egyptian temples where priestesses performed fertility rituals and held ceremonies offering this “belly” dance as a way of worship to idol Goddesses. Modern archaeological finds support the notion. Furthermore, dancers from countries such as Morocco and India also erupted in early ancient periods and displayed similar styles of the dance as we see and do today. Greek/Roman Castanet dancers also exhibited a similar, yet sprightly unique style of dance that could qualify as being related to belly dancing. Those regions are not considered the Middle East, yet their dance forms are richly identifiable with those of Middle Eastern regions. It therefore would be fair to conclude that too many other countries from various parts of the world have supplemented this wonderful dance as we know it with its deep history and traditions for it to be limited to one region. Dancing itself is a way of expression whether it’s spiritual or social. How much you love it, respect, and connect with it is not all in the name. picking the right exercise clothes and wardrobe can be, remember to wear it right, not too tight!