Bellydance History

[Mrs. Peel]

It's Not What You Might Think.
The belly dance is not a dance of seduction -- nor did it begin that way. Throughout Middle Eastern history, Oriental dance (the proper term for belly dance) has been a family dance done at such occasions as weddings, births, and festivals. Men, women, and children in those cultures have always belly danced for fun, not to entertain or arouse an audience.

You've Come A Long Way, Baby.
Belly dancing may have originated as a fertility ritual. 17,000 year-old rock engravings found in the caves of Addaura, near Palermo in Sicily, depict what appears to be a ritual fertility dance, as do ancient Egyptian tomb paintings and Greek sculptures.

In Sparta, women danced for Artemis, who was a goddess of the moon and of fertility. Referred to as the Kordax, their dance emphasized the rotation of the hips and stomach. Hebrews, on the other hand, danced the Shalome -- a dance based on a legend whose heroine embodied both motherhood and fruitfulness: the myth of the Seven Veils of Ishtar (more on that later).

Many early civilizations believed that women were almost solely responsible for procreation. In some cases, women were feared because they seemed to command the mysteries of nature. Tribes in the South Seas, New Guinea, East Polynesia, Africa, and Greece not only thought that conception would be impossible, but that the human race would die -- unless the women performed the fertility dance.

The Dance of the Seven Veils
Consider the myth of the Seven Veils of Ishtar. This legend began in 4,500 BC, out of fear that winter might never end. It's a tale found, with variations, in a number of different cultures. The essential idea of a " belly dancing" woman, however, remains intact in all.

A Babylonian goddess of love and sensuality, Ishtar represented all women. She was chaste, yet fertile. She was a life-giver and a great nurturer, yet she was known as the mother of darkness and destruction.

According to the story, Ishtar's husband dies and descends into the land of darkness, (in some cases referred to as the " womb of the Earth" ). Ishtar covers her body with seven veiled costumes, and sets off to retrieve her husband.

Appropriately dressed, she deceives her way into the underworld, through forty-nine gates. To gain admission at each seventh gate, she dances in a way that emphasizes her abdomen, rolling it in circles. Each time she does so, she gives up a jewel and a veil.

Meanwhile, in her absence, no crops grow, and no festivities take place. Ishtar makes her way through the gates, determined to reach the forty-ninth -- and determined to find her man. Despite the hardships, Ishtar triumphs. When she returns with her husband and her seven veils, the people celebrate and the crops flourish.

Meet the Mothers.
In traditional Muslim society, women often gathered to perform a type of belly dance after the evening meal, a dance they called " Raks-sharki" . After feeding their husbands and sons, the women would convene in a separate location to dance (such activity was not permitted in the company of men).

That traditional, " after dinner" dance was important because it enabled mothers of eligible bachelors to meet the young women in the community. It also developed the muscles needed for childbirth. As such, young women displayed their readiness for marriage by dancing for the mothers.

[Mrs. Peel]

How Belly Dance Became Westernized
Eighteenth century French explorers traveling in Egypt witnessed performers of a curious dance, which these Frenchmen termed " dance du ventre" (" dance of the stomach" ). The French painter Delacroix, on a visit to North Africa in 1832, made this observation about the dancers:

" They are closer to nature in a thousand ways. Their dress, the form of their shoes. And so beauty has a share in everything they make. As for us in our corsets, our tight shoes, our ridiculous pinching clothes, we are pitiful."

Coming to America
Belly dancing was introduced to America in 1893, by promoter Sol Bloom, at the Chicago World's Fair. Some credit Bloom with coining the term " belly dance" , a term he used to call attention to the exotic-looking dancers (remember that this was an era in which a woman's exposed ankle was considered shocking). The dance was an immediate hit. It spread to Coney Island in 1908, and soon moved on to other major metropolitan areas.

Of course, given the social climate, the dance was not always well received. The Victorian women of the late 1800s, dressed head to toe in corsets and layered gowns, were repulsed by such " obscenity" .

The Cart Pulls The Horse.
Western colonialists from Europe influenced many parts of the Middle East. In some countries, men and women broke with tradition and began socializing in mixed company. Nightclubs sprung up, which led to a newly Westernized belly dance -- replete with the sequined bra/belt combination created by Hollywood movie makers -- as a form of entertainment. In fact, many credit the film industry, especially the Egyptian film industry, with changing Middle Eastern belly dance into what it is today.

You Oughta Be In Pictures.
In the eighteenth century, Egypt was a British colony, so when movie-making was invented in the West, an Egyptian film industry quickly developed. Screen writers, looking for new ideas, were intrigued by the informal dancing seen throughout Egypt. Many talented dancers were recruited, dressed in costumes, and put in movie dance scenes. Soon, Hollywood conceptions of entertainment and glamour changed both the nature of the dancing and the costumes. Such dancers as Samia Gamal and Tahia Carioca quickly became international stars.

A new type of belly dancer emerged, one who would perform on-stage in the clubs and cabarets of Cairo. Such dancers inspired many Westerners to appreciate (and even learn) the dance. And that's why belly dancing is sometimes referred to as " Egyptian Dance" .

[Mrs. Peel]

Belly Dance Today
The Veil Prevails.
Throughout the history of the belly dance, veils have been worn to conceal the body, which symbolizes both sexuality and worldliness. In Muslim society, modern Arab women are still required to wear veils in obedience to Islam.

As belly dancing has become accepted in some of its originating countries, however, it has been ever more common at weddings, birth announcements, and other important celebrations. In present-day Egypt, in fact, it's customary for a newlywed couple not only to hire a belly dancer for their wedding, but also to have their photo taken with their hands on the dancer's stomach -- another throwback to the dance's significance as a fertility rite. Men, women, and children all belly dance at such events, although the men and women dance in separate groups, with arms outstretched (though all will sometimes dance in a circle formation).

Bring On the Dance!
In many parts of the world, travelers and locals alike fully expect to see a belly dance. You won't experience typical Moroccan nightlife without participating in one. Similarly, it's nearly impossible to visit Hawaii and not see its native belly dance: the Hula. The latter, in fact, derives from the Polynesian form of belly dancing, which arrived with Hawaii's earliest settlers back in the fifth century.

Belly Dance Retakes The West.
Interest in belly dancing has surged in recent years. Some attribute that to an influx of immigrants, now free to enjoy their native dance in Middle Eastern restaurants in the West. The belly dance has been a standard form of entertainment at such venues in American cities since the 1960s.

We Can Work It Out.
Belly dancing has also swept the exercise industry. The dance strengthens the abdominals, thighs, calves, arms, back, buttocks, and hips. Under-exercised muscles, which are otherwise hard to tone via traditional methods, respond rapidly to belly dance. Participants can even correct poor posture with the dance's unique, isolated movements. And because people usually find it more interesting than most other forms of exercise, it's become an enjoyable and sustainable way to lose weight and tone muscles -- for those of nearly any age group or fitness level. Not surprisingly, it can even be used during pregnancy -- through the third trimester -- to ready the stomach muscles for childbirth.

As it has for thousands of years, the belly dance thrives. In both the West and the Middle East, professional dancers perform at nightclubs, weddings, and other events. But the ancient art of Oriental dance is still seen, in many parts of the Middle East, as an informal dance, one that people of all ages do for fun when with friends and family. And it is a dance that you can learn to do for fun, entertainment, or fitness.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

A Brief History of Belly Dancing by Laurie Hodges Humble

As an art form belly dancing honours the goddess within all of us and celebrates the female body of all shapes and sizes.

Belly dancing was first performed by women for women only. Its origins date as far back as 6,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia. Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Turks each claim the dance as their own. The belly dance was performed to celebrate fertility, birthing and possibly temple and other celebratory occasions as part of the goddess worship rituals of these ancient peoples.

Over time the dance spread from Mesopotamia to North Africa and then on to Rome, Spain and India. Though traditionally the dance was strictly performed only for other women during family and social gatherings, learning these dances was part of every young girl’s cultural upbringing. A girl’s first performance for other women was considered her rite of passage to womanhood.
Belly Dance Costume

Each tribe would adapt the dances to their own cultural and religious customs. In North Africa tribal women would dance in the marketplace earning coins for their dowries. The coins would later be sewn onto the dancers’ costumes for safe-keeping and added musical accompaniment. Today’s belly dance costumes still have coins attached to them.
Practical Side

Along with celebrating fertility and goddess worship, the belly dance has a practical side as well. Girls were taught the dance at an early age in order to prepare them for childbirth. The dance’s intricate movements of pelvic rocking and torso rolling strengthen the abdominal muscles aiding a woman during pregnancy, child birth and post-partum recovery.

Classical Eastern Dance

It is believed the classical eastern dance emerged as an art form during the Ottoman Empire. Dancing was an integral part of Ottoman culture. Female belly dancers or Çengi danced in the Ottoman courts. Soon the Çengi dancers became popular throughout the empire. Dancing was also a popular past time for women and children in the Topkapi Palace Harem. The dances performed by the Çengi and in the Harems evolved into refined movements of classical belly dance characterised by soft, flowing actions of the arms. This form of dance still popular in modern day Istanbul.
The Many Names of the Danse du Ventre

* Raqs Sharqi is the Arabic term for "dance from the East".
* Khaleeji is the dance of the Persian Gulf States and parts of Saudi Arabia.
* In Turkey, belly dancing is most often called Gobek Dans .
* Çengi is Turkish for a dancing girl or troop of dancing girls. The girls are usually from the Roma community.
* Baladi is a folk dance of rural Egypt. The dancers perform in full-length robes, often with their hair covered as well.

In the nineteenth century, travellers from France were very impressed with the torso movements of the baladi dancers of rural Egypt. The travellers were so impressed that they erroneously called it the danse du ventre or what we know today as Belly Dancing.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Origins

The origins of belly dancing, though unclear, can be traced to the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Africa. In fact, in the Arabic language, the term belly dancing is Raqs Sharqi and in Turkish, it is Oryantal dansi. The Turkish term Oryantal dansi can be roughly translated to mean "exotic oriental dance" and the Arabic term Raqs Sharqi is claimed to be of Egyptian origins. Because these terms suggested an exotic dance that originated elsewhere, the art of belly dance was held in higher esteem than local dances.


egyptian pictograph dancers

Historical evidence shows Egyptian tomb paintings dating from as far back as the fourteenth century BC that depict partially clad dancers whose callisthenic positions appear to be very similar to those used in belly dancing. Belly Dancing also has been depicted in Persian miniature paintings from the 12th and 13th centuries. The popularized connotation between belly dancing and exotic harems is due largely to the Romanticism movement in the 18th and 19th century as artists depicted their interpretation of harem life of the Ottoman Empire. But for Saudi women, the dance itself was considered to be sacred, and not intended to be seen by men at all.

Characteristics
Oriental dance is uniquely designed for the female body, with an emphasis on abdominal muscles, hip moves, and chest moves. It is firm and earthy, traditionally with bare feet connected to the ground. It is a dance characterized by smooth, flowing, complex, and sensual movements of the torso, alternated with shaking and shimmy type moves.

There are various forms of belly dancing, including Turkish, Egyptian Oriental, and American Tribal.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Belly Dance History ~ An American Odessey
A History of Modern US Bellydance (25)
- by Helen Waldie

Early Days, Golden Years

Belly dance has probably been enjoyed in the USA for as long as widespread immigration has existed, indeed we have documented evidence of public performances since at least the Philadelphia Centennial in 1876 as well as at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 (where, incidentally, no dancer called Little Egypt was recorded as having performed, 35). However, despite several flurries of interest brought about by the activities of Orientalists such as Ruth St Dennis and La Meri (1), for most of the first half of the 20th century the dance has been largely confined to those ethnic groups to which it was indigenous.

Little Egypt

These mostly centered on the large Greek & Turkish groups in most major cities of the USA and naturally their cafes and clubs featured old-country singing and belly dancing amongst their preferred entertainments. Marliza Pons, the doyenne of Las Vegas dancers from the mid 60s through to the late 90s, wrote of learning her first moves as a young girl through the windows of such an establishment in Chicago in 1948 (2).

Whilst some of them would come from the local community, there was also a long tradition of hiring singers and dancers directly from Turkey. The singers would be the stars and would be the best-paid entertainers. Such was the pecking order that they would often try to deny being able to dance to avoid the "shame" of being just a dancer (26).

It is possible that belly dance could have remained confined to such clubs indefinitely, largely unknown outside of its originating culture. (3). However, fortune changed when the Broadway show "Fanny" opened on November 4th 1954 (4). It featured the Turkish dancer, Necla Atesh, (other spellings include Nejla Ates or Najila Attash) who had been hired for the clubs from Turkey sometime between 1948 and 1952, and Egyptian pop singer Mohammed El Bakkar. The show was an instant smash hit with its oriental music and dancing causing a sensation. Soon mainstream clubs catering to the smart and fashionable were beginning to feature this 'new' entertainment (California - 5) (New York - 6).

This fashion began to spread more widely, especially with WWII veterans from the N African campaigns happy to relive the entertainments of their youth (7). This trend was helped by the occasional appearances at this time of Samia Gamal in films and in Las Vegas (27) or at Ciro's club in Hollywood (4). Tahia Cariocca also appeared in a Hollywood film in the late 50's, although she didn't enjoy the experience and returned to Cairo.

Lys and Lyn Gamal, who were identical twins, had been stars in Egyptian film industry and also came over to the US in the late 50s and immediately began a successful career in the clubs. They are always fondly remembered, especially for the fact that their parents chaperoned them to every one of their gigs, even after they married. Dahlena particularly remembers them as having been an influence on her dancing in the early years.

By the end of the 50s Middle Eastern clubs were opening all over the US. However the demand for dancers soon exceeded the supply, with many of the new establishments unable to afford to import or hire foreign dancers. They needed to employ locals to bridge the gap and, although in the 50s there were a few such as Adrianna Miller & Dahlena working in Boston and Jamila Salimpour and Antoinette Awayshak in LA, even by the early 60s there weren't anything like enough dancers to meet the soaring demand.

Morocco joked that back then "if Godzilla had a bedlah, she could have gotten a job", willingness rather than talent being the criterion for acceptance. She herself was a professional flamenco dancer and had never seen Middle Eastern dancing before she took a job because the pay was better.

Bert Baladine album cover

In fact so desperate were the clubs for belly dancers in those days that Sabah Nissan had been immediately hired by the Port Said club in NYC the night she turned up to inquire whether they might have an opening. This was despite having no costume or training and ended up performing in the pink gingham dress she'd arrived in. She was told by the Turkish lead dancer to "do what I do"; although she conceded that it probably looked a bit different when she did it (6). Soon after that she moved to the West Coast where she subsequently studied the art with Bert Balladine (34).

Serena, another successful graduate of those early New York years, maintains that whilst willingness may have got you through the door, only talent took you to the top. That said, given the circumstances, some truly inept belly dancers managed regular employment in the more westernized clubs, being known in the trade as "Wonderful Walkers" (27).

On both the East and West coasts the main sources of dancers were still the Greek and Turkish clubs. These had become suddenly fashionable with the boho set following the release of the film "Never on a Sunday" in 1960. The film “Zorba the Greek” which followed in ‘64 maintained this popularity. Young students enjoyed them because they were lively and boisterous and there was a great thrill in spending hours on end belly dancing around the tables performing dabke and chiftitelli with anyone who happened to be around. From such unlikely beginnings many illustrious careers were forged.

On both coasts the belly dancers of this time were largely untutored, moves were taken, mixed and matched at random from the many traditions of the Middle East and further. So a dance style evolved that was a new form of "Middle Eastern" dance unknown in the Middle East, nowadays we call it "American Cabaret" belly dance, but at the time it was called Oriental or Nightclub (8). Of course the general public knew it then, as now, as belly dance.

Mostly Turkish and Lebanese, it could include just about any move that looked vaguely exotic or oriental. Nobody complained because nobody knew any better. Indeed many dancers of that era stress the level of ignorance that there was about the dance and its origins. Many that is, except those few who gradually developed their interest in the dance and who learnt "the real thing from the real people - the aunties, grannies, older musicians and other (Turkish) dancers" (29). Counted on the fingers of two hands, these dancers became the leaders of the profession who completely changed our view of the dance over the next 20 years.

Also they were belly dancing in response to performances by musicians from a mix of countries with varying traditions. The musicians in the ethnic areas would play together 6 - 7 nights a week and so came to knew each others' music well. Those who were there remain nostalgic for "that all night mix of real Turkish, Greek, Armenian & Arabic music and folk songs that one could hear in most of the clubs/restaurants on any given night, where entire families would come in and dance together (28)".

Away from these major areas belly dancers had to cope with largely western musicians whose knowledge of Middle Eastern music could be very limited indeed. This led to a sound that was a hybrid of Western and Middle Eastern and became known as "Amerabic". Most dancers now associate the term with Eddie Kochak who, by producing his own records, made the sounds of that era widely available.

This was truly a golden era of bellydance in the US. Jobs were plentiful, and very well paid with the belly dancers all in the first flush of excited youth. For example, Aisha Ali speaks of the headline belly dancer in one particularly prestigious club earning $50 a week for a twice-nightly 10 minute slot (5), although even at the top clubs in Las Vegas the average was $300 – $350, but if measured against the rental for an NYC apartment of $45 -80 a month it was still a staggering sum (29). Adam Lahm wrote that in 1960 in NYC the Turkish dancers could expect $200 a night although others consider this unlikely.

To balance that though the average wage was $30 - $35 a night was common (6), but it's worth remembering that this would be a steady 6 nights a week, 52 weeks a year income...in cash. And of course, belly dancers could do several gigs a night at weekends.

However it is worth noting that, according to Dahlena, most belly dancers were registered with the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) (9) and that during the 60's there were just 300 throughout the whole of the United States; an exotic and rare breed. That said, the dancers in the ethnic clubs didn't have to register at all and there were probably over 50 employed in 8th Avenue, NYC alone (30). Serena has also indicated that there were at least 100 - 150 more in regular employment in New York State and its environs, few of which were AGVA registered. Morocco says that although she is an AGVA member she has never needed it for Oriental dance.

On the West coast Aziza writes (10) that the Baghdad club, the most prestigious club in San Francisco, preferred that their belly dancers weren't AGVA registered. Indeed Aisha Ali points out that due to the scarcity of dancers on the West Coast, AGVA membership wasn't often necessary in California, but adds that it was essential to gain access to the well-paid work available in Nevada (11). So there may be a certain under-reporting of the number of dancers working professionally during this decade, but this doesn't really conflict too strongly with Dahlena's estimate given that New York and San Francisco were exceptions rather than the rule. Most agree that the number of belly dancers at this time nearer to 500 than 1000.

Ibrahim "Bobby" Farrah

Reading their rose-tinted reminiscences of this time, particularly on Gilded Serpent "North Beach memoirs" (12) the attitude seems typified by one of the songs from that period "Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing and dance, forever and a day, we'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never lose, those were the days, oh yes those were the days".

However, various strands began to come together that brought these halcyon days of well-paid performance work to a gradual end.

One was that by the mid 60s the better clubs expected their dancers to know what they were doing from day one, inexperienced dancers were no longer being employed straight off the "street" to sink or swim. So, various teaching establishments opened to meet the demand. It is probable that they gradually became so successful that they caused a situation of over-supply.

Bert Balladine and Jamila Salimpour had, like Morocco in NYC, been training dancers informally since the beginning of the decade. However, Jamila retired from performing in 1965 and began teaching on a full time basis. Initially her classes were small; Aziza talks of 5 or 6 at a time (10), although by 1968 her classes were very large indeed.

Meanwhile in New York Serena took over the Joe Williams "Stairway to Stardom" dance studio in 1966 and also began training dancers in ME styles. Bobby Farrah began teaching Oriental Dance at the International School of Dance, Carnegie Hall, before moving to other studios to found his own dance school (13). Although all of these schools were happy to accept students who were merely curious about this dance form, they were principally aimed at taking experienced professional or near professional quality dancers from other disciplines and turning them into club performers. Not all would actually make a career of it, but these additions would have had an accumulative effect given the small number of dancers at the time.

Also, the late 60s was a time of considerable social upheaval in the Western world, particularly in New York and San Francisco. Things like belly dancing that had seemed racy and exotic at the beginning of the 60s simply began to appear old-fashioned and tired. Serena talks of the dancing in the early 60s as having been a "hot fad", a boom that inevitably led to a bust.

This particular trend was exacerbated when the Crystal Palace, a New York "go-go" joint, won a Supreme Court ruling against the laws governing the showing of bare breasts etc. The subsequent establishment of topless bars drew a significant audience away from dance clubs towards those venues that more effectively catered for their needs. However, few dancers lamented the passing of this particular clientele.

Shannelle in "Rockin' the Casbah"

Aisha Ali has also suggested the outbreak of the 6-day war in 1967 between Arabs and Israelis as yet another reason (14). Public sentiment swung to the Israelis, leaving interest in things Arabic to fade away. However Morocco has dismissed this as having been a factor in the East, where work remained plentiful until the oil embargo of 73.

So it could have been over-supply of belly dancers, a falling out of fashion amongst the public or various other reasons, but wages and opportunities gradually began to diminish: The Golden Years were ending.

Developing in a New Era

By the beginning of the 70's, the two influential scenes of New York and San Francisco were beginning to diverge. Why this happened is open to debate, but it is worth stating that this period coincided with the first stirrings of feminism and the development of the hippie 'do-your-own-thing' quest for personal growth on the West Coast. (Dancers from Los Angeles have told me they wish to be specifically exempted from this generalization).

In San Francisco, Jamila Salimpour had been requested by Carol Le Fleur, who co-coordinated a local "Renaissance Faire" in Berkeley in Sept '68 (15) to organize her advanced class as a theatrical production on a proper stage. This was primarily to prevent them making a daylong nuisance of themselves basking at the event. Nevertheless it enabled Jamila to bring to fruition a set of ideas that she'd previously considered for a (cancelled) lecture (16) about presenting the many facets of the dance, particularly its originating folkloric aspects. Thus "Bal Anat" (trans: Dances of the Mother Goddess) was born, billed as presenting "Dances of many Tribes": This was the very first incarnation of Tribal Dance.

This began a major trend in the Bay area for groups of dancers to work together to create their own new realizations of ME dance as "Tribal" dancers, with Salimpour remaining at the vanguard of this movement.

Meanwhile in NYC Bobby Farrah founded the "Near East Dance company" with his protégé Phaedra in 1969. This dance company was intended to present (13) realizations of Arabic, mainly Egyptian, folk and cabaret styles in a theatrical setting to raise the profile and standing of Middle Eastern dancing with the general public. He had been inspired to do this after visiting the Lebanon and meeting the Arabic dancer, Nadia Gamal (17). Given the prevalence of Turkish styles at the time and the corresponding lack of much in-depth experience of Arabic dances in the USA at this time this was a new and exciting idea.

Except among specialists in Turkish dance, there had been a general trend amongst the better professionals towards Arabic styles as the general knowledge of the dance had improved. Arabic audiences were more appreciative of the differentiated forms dancers could demonstrate, preferring them to the "anything goes" styles common in the 60s. Thus Arabic, being a more schooled discipline was considered to be sophisticated and dignified whilst the "Nightclub" styles were increasingly considered to be low-class and even brazen. Sadly this attitude also had a disastrous and undeserved effect on the reputation of the Turkish dance styles on which they had been based (32).

Serena

Indeed Salimpour had coined the name "American Cabaret" around this time as a term of abuse for the style that had been prevalent in the clubs and to distance her "tribal" styles from this other dance form. However the term also found ready acceptance amongst those others who were promoting the Arabic styles.

This more sophisticated style arrived just in time. Serena Wilson's dance studio was featured in a major feature article in Life Magazine in 1971, which is considered to have started the first dance exercise craze. This sparked the new phenomenon of people coming to learn bellydance for fun and fitness rather than with a view to performing in the clubs. The era of hobby dancers had begun.

Initially as the boom took off teachers all over the US were isolated from each other and began to disseminate wild and fanciful ideas about the origins and meanings of the dance, much to the despair of those few who'd had some understanding of it.

Fortunately since the late 60s Serena had known and worked with Paul Monty, the Vice President of the Manhattan (18) chapter of the National Association of Dance Affiliate Artists (NADAA). Despite early criticism from within the Arts Establishment, Monty had quickly been persuaded of the art of the dance and he realized the extent to which it had been widely undervalued.

To counteract this Monty organized a NADAA seminar on March 5 1972 that featured Serena at the Statler Hilton hotel in NYC. It was rewarded with over 100 delegates when the normal attendance would have been 30 - 40. This was a sign of considerable hidden interest amongst a previously disdainful Arts community.

This acceptance bestowed credibility upon his project and he founded the International Dance Seminars company (13) with the intention of organizing lectures and conventions around the country with the premier teacher/dancers. The first of these was in June 1974 and led to a knowledge revolution through the 70s as dancers and dance ethnologists were identified and encouraged to share their research with the wider body of dancers. These initially included the 60's stars such as Dahlena, Serena, Bert Balladine, Morocco & Farrah (19).

The establishment of various magazines around the country that began to bring the communities together helped this process of increasing the general knowledge of belly dance. These worked in association with Paul Monty and others by publicizing and making possible national tours by prominent dancers and dance scholars.

Arabesque and Habibi were the first magazines to be national in scope. Farrah had used his own nationwide lecture tours of 1974/5 to solicit advanced subscriptions to fund his as his yet unpublished magazine. Habibi, originally the voice of the West Coast founded in Oct 74, had been quietly enlarging its reach so that it too was quickly established as a national magazine. What marked these magazines apart from the local magazines was their commissioning of learned articles that stressed not only the history and culture of the dance and the Middle East but whose principle objective was again to reach out to the wider arts community and encourage increasing respect for belly dancers and the dance.

By the end of the 70's there were so many students that it was economically feasible to sell out tours by such genuine Middle Eastern luminaries as Nadia Gamal and Mahmoud Reda. Also tour parties were visiting the Middle East to train with dancers over there. Morocco led the first, but many others have followed over the years.

Of course, as well as the true stars a few lesser Middle Eastern teachers came over as well, particularly from The Lebanon after the outbreak of civil war in 1975 had destroyed the lucrative Arabic tourist trade. They would promote themselves on the premise that because they were native to the region they had a deeper understanding of the music and culture. However the quality of these imports was variable, leading Arabesque to opine at this time that people should be aware that simply being from the Middle East did not a quality dancer/teacher make. (20)

However as the training of the hobby dancers continued, a number of them began to approach professional quality and began looking for jobs in the by now restricted number of venues. This was an era where fierce under-cutting and job poaching took place (33). Finally professional dancers began to join together into associations that served as both local information swap meets, but also as unions to codify local behaviors.

The first of these was probably WAMEDA who in 1977 were noted by Arabesque to have engaged a lawyer as part of their negotiations in their fight for fairer pay (21). However, the most influential was MECDA, which formed in Los Angeles in response to the low wages being offered by restaurants in Hollywood. Boycotts and strikes were organized; indeed so successful were they that Los Angeles even now supports many more top quality dancers than the locals deserve (not that I'm jealous or anything). It should be noted though that for various reasons, with the exceptions of the two afore-mentioned, these attempts at codifying etiquette and behavior within the communities failed.

Although this period started with the seeming collapse in the popularity of the dance, this setback had been turned around completely by the end of the decade. By encouraging a quest to understand more about belly dance in its myriad forms and to put it into the context of its originating cultures and music the place of dance in American culture had become stronger than ever. The hobby dancer boom had become the platform for the re-orientation of the profession from being performance-led to being instruction-led.

So successful indeed was this new generation of dancers that Readers Digest suggested in 1977 that there were 5,000 teachers, full and part time, working in the USA (22). By the early 80's Arabesque would quote the figure of 2,000 full time professional teacher/dancers (23). With the limited job market in the US, a few were keen to try their luck on the Middle Eastern and European circuits. A move which led to the cry by Egyptians that they were being displaced from their jobs by undercutting Americans (23), oh how times change!!

Tribal and Beyond

So while most of the country moved over to Arabic styles during the 70s and 80s, San Franciscan dancers continued to be inspired by the "tribal" ideas of Bal Anat, which had finally been wound up in 1976. Mixing authentic dance moves in entirely new contexts, many troupes began to create new and theatrically inspiring presentations.

FatChanceBellyDance in "Belly Dance Spectacular"

One such was Masha Archer, whose committed feminism meant that she was particularly hostile to cabaret and only considered presenting her work in theatrical arenas. She eventually abandoned dancing completely in the late 70's, but one of her students, Carolena Nericchio, developed and refined her ideas and wrote them into a detailed manifesto for a dance form she called American Tribal Style (ATS). She created her own troupe, Fat Chance Belly Dance, with which to promote her ideas.

This was a radical step. If American Oriental had been a mongrel of styles that came together to create something with recognizable influences, ATS, like jazz in the field of music, became a uniquely American 'voice' where the whole was so much more than the sum of its influences. The fact that a written statement drove it also meant that if you bought into ATS you had to do it that way. The concepts of ATS became a recognizable and self-perpetuating style irrespective of who performed it.

Another important aspect of ATS was its concentration on woman-power and sisterhood, staying true to its roots in deep feminist convictions. Prior to this, success in belly dance had meant success in the cabaret form, where conforming to the young and thin body type mattered as much as ability.

Now a dance developed where only competence mattered; nobody judged a belly dancer on her looks. It also removed the more glamorous aspects of cabaret dancing by choosing clothing and adornment styles that deliberately avoided enticing display. The clothing is often many layered and lacking glitter with jewelry being ethnic rather than sparkly. The dancers evoke a strong and powerful femininity that is far removed from the allures of cabaret. By concentrating on group work it also prevented a single woman becoming the focus of attention. Indeed, the dancer's body ceased to be the focus at all, the group dynamic was what captured the eye.

These were truly revolutionary ideas for a society where women felt judged on their looks, and where the self-image of mature women was often damaged by a perceived failure to conform to a "norm" of female body shaping derived from a thinly disguised teenage perfection.

Kajira Djoumahna in "Tribal Style Belly Dance"

It had the added advantage that, as a "folk-like" art form, it was acceptable at local fairs in a way that cabaret styles were not and so created performance opportunities where previously they hadn't existed. This appealed to the many women who wanted to express their art but were unwilling to perform solo cabaret in a club or who preferred the support available in a group context. Tribal style exploded over the North West, where it is still strong today, and began to slowly spread East over the next few years.

This was surely the first time a dance form had been created in the modern era for women by women alone. Indeed so strong were the underlying feminist principles that males were initially specifically excluded from ATS. Other tribal styles have been less exclusionist, Bal Anat had featured male dancers from 1974, but given the dominance of ATS in the dissemination of this style, even today the sisterhood emphasis remains a significant barrier to male involvement.

All styles evolve as other people add their own interpretations and male participation has gradually become more frequent. Nevertheless, the only women-only ME dance events one sees with any regularity in the USA are tribal. This is in comparison with the cabaret forms that have openly welcomed men since the 70s.

Otherwise the 1980s were a continuation of the 70s trends; the last of the old nightclubs shut their doors in 1985, bringing that entire era to an end. The most famous club, the Baghdad in San Francisco, which hosted every famous dancer in the US for over 20 years, is now a Chinese takeaway.

The adoption of the Arabic styles had been more or less completed in the East by the end of the 70's as the changeover there had been energetically driven by significant and influential teachers using the large number of dance seminars to propagate the new approach.

However, with the exception of Jamila Salimour, who had been forging her own distinctive path, no such influential figure existed in the west, nor had there been anything like the same number of teaching seminars with which to spread the word. Consequently, west of the Mississippi the widespread adoption of Arabic dance had taken much longer, most areas only beginning to adopt it during the late 80s. Even so, some areas knew nothing but American Cabaret belly dance until the early 90s.

Over the years ME dance has experienced several periods of where the popularity seems to advance and then retreat slightly. One such was the late 60s, another happened in the late 70s with the waning of the dancercise boom. The 80s were no different with Arabesque reporting falling class rolls across the majority of the country (24) by 1985. As most dancers earned their income from teaching this was problematic, but the time of the full time professional performer in the US was long gone. Despite the problems, the dance remained popular but seemed doomed to remain as a niche hobby.

IAMED Videos "Rockin' the Casbah" & "Hollywood Babylon"

Re-invention, the Second Golden Age

Interest in the dance experienced a new boost with the advent of the video revolution. In the late 80s and particularly into the 90's more and more dancers were bringing out teaching and performance videos, increasing the levels of interest generally. Concentrating on teaching through the 80s now paid dividends with the release of some extremely well thought out educational packages. And it wasn't just that great teachers were releasing good instructional videos, it was the wide variety of styles that enabled dancers to become inspired to expand their range. Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish, Armenian, Rom, Persian, Kurdish, Moroccan and Algerian dance styles are all pursued in the US and world-class teachers are available for workshops in all of those forms.

Even so, by the early 90s, the majority of classes across the USA offered a predominantly Egyptian style still infused with many hangovers from American Cabaret. There was, and still is, a strong emphasis on zills (36) whilst floor work is a desirable part of performance repertoire (knees permitting). Also the dancing will commonly display a more energetic air than the more laid back performances found in Egypt.

However although not strictly "Egyptian" as you would see in Cairo, it was nevertheless quite heavily defined to prevent the encroachment of "American Fantasy" moves. This left the field open for the re-invention of American Cabaret simply because it allows dancers to combine all of the various styles in their own personal dance expression. It emerged as a more flamboyant alternative where jazz stylizations and other moves could be brought in to develop a very high energy performance concept that now shows signs of being the dance form that will "crossover" into mainstream attention.

Another aspect of the video boom was the creation of IAMED, the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance. Their idea was that they should get the very best dancers from the USA and beyond together in a show to be video-taped to the highest quality which would then be made available to provide a gold-standard of performance. You can buy their performance or instruction videos absolutely sure in the knowledge that the performances and the presentation will portray the dance in its best light.

But if video had increased the interest in dance styles, it has been the Internet that has bound the USA together as a united dance community. The ability to quickly inform other dancers of developments has meant that year on year those of us on the sidelines can feel their self-confidence building.

And Finally...

Despite its size, the USA nowadays has the feel of a single confident community, united and excited by the sense of their own continuity and development. The days of being geographically divided into divergent factions of opposed interests are long gone.

Rather there is a strong sense that the US dance community now celebrates their diversity, rightly viewing it as strength. Each dancer has the opportunity to learn the key skills of a wide variety of styles if they choose and, via the Internet, seek out like-minded people from across the world. Their art is not replication it is re-invention.

When the dance was still thriving in its native lands, the fact that there are fabulous dancers in the US might have only been of academic interest. But all is not well anymore. We're all aware of the spread of fundamentalist Muslim repression of their own culture, the rejection of foreign dancers, that wealthy Islamic men are offering bribes to dancers to abandon their calling and take the veil. Add to that the fact that due to the political situation the tourist trade is dropping catastrophically, with knock-on effects on the opportunities for a career in dance and it all suggests that the dance is dying on its native soil. If this talibanisation continues soon all that might be left will be sanitized folk dances for tourists, a pale shadow of past glories.

If this trend continues, America may soon be passed the torch of ensuring that this dance form continues as a living, breathing art form. This narrative shows that the dance will be in safe hands; as in dervish symbolism, one palm raised to embrace the hopes and future of the art, one palm down rooted in respect for its roots and traditions.

Postscript

In an interview recently the historian Simon Scharma said that "history is not authoritative, it is argument". What has been so fascinating about the research for this article is that often there is no definitive version of events or trends. Indeed the USA is so vast that what is true in one place can be patently untrue in the next city, let alone between the coasts. The task of trying to weave these strands into a single narrative thread has been "interesting" at times.

Exaggerations, mythologies and fakelore abound and I am indebted to Morocco, Serena, Anaheed, Zahra Zuhair and Carolynn Ruth amongst others for their patience in trying to ensure that I did not perpetuate certain of these misdirections. Despite their help, this will remain just "A History.." rather than "The History.." This is my version and as far as I know it is true, but it will remain forever one new fact away from complete revision. The Truth remains elusive.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

The origin of the words 'Belly Dance'

The origin of the name 'belly dance' comes from the French Dance du ventre, which translates as "dance of the stomach". Belly dance is also often referred to as "oriental dance" and also sometimes raks sharqi. This is Arabic for "Dance of the east".

Origins of Belly Dance

The type and style of dancing which we now call belly dance, can be traced back over 6000 plus years. The early pagan communities often worshipped a matriarchal deity and extolled the magic and fascination of the ability of women to create life. There is a lot of historical evidence which links the ritual of fertility dances at that time, with symbolic re-creations of giving birth, to modern belly dancing. The sharp hip movements, deliberate muscular contractions and spasms, as well as sinewy undulations, demonstrate strong connections to the body's responses during labour and delivery. The dances spread from Mesopotamia to North Africa, Rome, Spain andIndia. It is thought gypsies travelled and spread belly dance. This blending can be seen in the use of the neck slides introduced from India and the transformation of hip shimmy to foot stamping in flamenco dance.

Belly dance as form of public entertainment

Belly dance become a form of mainstream public entertainment care of the gipsy tribes who first danced out on the streets and who performed in the theatres. Originally coming from India, the gypsies first travelled west into Afghanistan and Persia. Then some of them migrated North to Turkey and then onto Europe. Others went South until they reached Egypt and other parts of Northern Africa. One of the ways that gypsies supported themselves during their journeys was by providing entertainment for the people of the communities in which they stopped: Belly dancing is especially popular in Turkey and Egypt.

Belly dance in Turkey

In Turkey, after 1453, the gypsies settled in Istanbul and here entertainment was requested for the women, they were amused by female-only dancers and musicians called chengis . The chengis built an artistic style that is the root of many movements in belly dancing today. The complex hip work, shimmies and varied facial expressions, as well as veil dancing and finger cymbal playing, can be linked back to the gypsy chengis. These days in Turkey, chengis dance primarily as a tourist attraction.

Belly dance in Egypt

Performances in Egypt did not only involve women. Gypsies also danced for the public at celebrations, wedding processions and in front of coffee houses and market places. Referred to as the ghawazee , their repertoire was a mix of music and dancing, including improvised performances with veil, sticks, swords and candles. Generally, public dancing was tolerated by the authorities, because they earned a substantial revenue by taxing performers' profits. However, religious complaints finally outweighed the financial benefits and public ghawanzee dancing was outlawed in the city of Cairo in 1834. Between 1849 and 1856 the ban was lifted and dancing was allowed in Cairo again, although the sanction against dancing in public remained. The dance moved inside to a music-hall type environment and Egyptian cabaret-style dancing was born.

Belly dance in the West

The expansion of Belly dancing in Europe and America occured as a result of the flow of tourists into the Middle East. Dance troupes were contracted by foreigners and taken to exhibition forums in London, Paris and Chicago to perform. Their art was appreciated for its uniqueness. Belly dancing's popularity grew tenfold at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with the publicity surrounding a belly dancer named Little Egypt. Little Egypt sparked a wave of controversy. Her pelvic and torso focused dancing was imitated by so many to such an exaggerated extent that she began to protest against the impostors for distorting her performance into sheer vulgarity. The fantasized and often distorted version of belly dancing grew at a rapid pace, becoming a popular subject in books, art and Hollywood movies. But in recent years more and more women have discovered the true elements of this incredibly feminine and self-affirming art form.