Belly Dancing

Belly dancing has originated in the Middle East and Africa, but its popularity has crossed boundaries, conquering even western countries in the 21st century.

This dance is a form of both exotic entertainment and cultural dance.

Belly dance is westernized term that refers to the Middle East’s traditional dance.

But while it first became popular in the Middle East, another form of dance called ghawazi dance in Egypt was considered as the early form of belly dance and then Raqs Sharqi, which was the 20th century’s Arabic dance.

In Egypt, the first belly dancers were the ghawazee, a group of traveling dancers. In the 18th century, they’re considered gypsies, but they were gone during the 1830s.

Then, they continued performing in Upper Egypt.

Soon, they also performed the ghawazee dance in other regions including Europe and Middle East. At this time, belly dancing was called Oriental dancing.

Due to the art’s exotic and unique nature, painters and authors were fascinated and intrigued; thus, the performers were made famous in Europe.

After the ghawazee dance, belly dancing in the Middle East called Raqs Sharqi also began developing. Raqs Sharqi has more modern moves than the early forms of belly dancing. Soon, it became popular in the region.

Now, belly dance is still a popular art and dance form loved by the millions, whether they’re in the Middle East or not.