33 Facts About Belly dance

1.

Belly dance is a dance that has its origins in Egypt.

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2.

Informal, social form of the Belly dance is known as Raqs Baladi in Egyptian Arabic and is considered an indigenous Belly dance.

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3.

Raqs Sharqi is a broad category of professional forms of the dance, including forms of belly dance popularly known today, such as Raqs Baladi, Sa'idi, Ghawazee, and Awalim.

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4.

Belly dance is primarily a torso-driven dance, with an emphasis on articulations of the hips.

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5.

Belly dance dancing is believed to have had a long history in the Middle East.

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6.

Belly dance dancing is part of both Egyptian, and Arabic culturel.

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7.

Professional belly dance in Cairo has not been exclusive to native Egyptians, although the country prohibited foreign-born dancers from obtaining licenses for solo work for much of 2004 out of concern that potentially inauthentic performances would dilute its culture.

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8.

Egyptian belly dance is referred to in Turkey as Oryantal Dans, or simply 'Oryantal'.

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9.

In Turkey the style of belly dance is lively and playful, with a greater outward projection of energy than the more contained and artistic Egyptian style.

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10.

Karsilama, in Turkish Belly dance, is not a rhythm but a folk Belly dance performed in a line, whereas a rhythm defines the count of the rhythm and is used in both karsilama and Roman havasi.

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11.

Lebanese style belly dance is somewhere between the Egyptian and Turkish styles.

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12.

Lebanese Belly dance takes from the classic oriental Belly dance, but still incorporates a feisty, modern edge.

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13.

The types of techniques that are used in Lebanese style Belly dance are quick layered shimmies and subtle internal movements.

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14.

Belly dance today is a dance used by various artists among which are Rihanna, Beyonce, Fergie, however the greatest representative of this dance is the Colombian singer Shakira, who led this dance to position it as her trademark, with her songs Whenever Wherever and Ojos asi, however thanks to the song Hips Don't Lie, her hip dance skills became known worldwide.

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15.

Also, thanks to Whenever Wherever in 2001, the belly dance fever began popularizing it in a large part of Latin America and later taking it to the United States.

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16.

Nowadays the belly dance is a characteristic dance of this singer which presented a variant with a rope entangling it in her body and dancing to the rhythm of Whenever Wherever.

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17.

Belly dance's inspired Beyonce to explore this type of dance in her Beautiful Liar collaboration where she acted as choreographer.

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18.

Today this Belly dance is considered a symbol in Shakira's career and undoubtedly a distinctive Belly dance of her as she's mixing it with Latin style.

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19.

Belly dance's is the second artist to have a distinctive dance in the music industry alongside Michael Jackson and the moonwalk.

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20.

Belly dance was popularized in the West during the Romantic movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, when Orientalist artists depicted romanticized images of harem life in the Ottoman Empire.

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21.

The Belly dance was nicknamed the "hoochie coochie", or the shimmy and shake.

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22.

Belly dance drew men in droves to burlesque theaters, and to carnival and circus lots.

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23.

Many forms of "Tribal Fusion" belly dance have developed, appropriating elements from many other dance and music styles including flamenco, ballet, burlesque, hula hoop and even hip hop.

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24.

Belly dance has now spread across the country, with belly dance communities in every capital city and many regional centres.

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25.

Belly dance's starred in the Australian-produced and distributed film The Enchanted Dance which sold internationally as well.

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26.

Belly dance has been in evidence in the UK since the early 1960s.

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27.

Several prominent members of the British belly dance community began their dance careers working in these clubs.

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28.

Today, there are fewer traditional venues for Arabic dance in the UK; however, there is a large amateur belly dance community.

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29.

Costume most commonly associated with belly dance is the 'bedlah' style, which typically includes a fitted top or bra, a fitted hip belt, and a full-length skirt or harem pants.

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30.

Belly dance is a low-impact, weight-bearing exercise and is thus suitable for all ages and levels of fitness.

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31.

Belly dance moves are beneficial to the spine, as the full-body undulation moves lengthen and strengthen the entire column of spinal and abdominal muscles in a gentle way.

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32.

Documentaries about belly dance include American Bellydancer, Journey of Desire: A Foreign Dancer in Cairo, Belly, Sensual.

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33.

Main heroines from Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet put on a public performance as part of the annual festival with a dance that takes influences from several different kinds of dances, with belly dancing being the most prominent source.

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