Why I Teach Belly Dance
- Awa
- 19 hours ago
- 5 min read
Dear Beautiful Souls,
I have been asked to write a blog about Belly Dancing and you're in luck as I do find the topic fascinating šš¾ā¤ļøĀ
Once my teacher shared Belly Dance could be anything you wanted because Belly Dance has been borrowing steps from various genres from India, the Middle East, Africa but also French Ballet, Burlesque and Cabaret...Ā
Before I started my Belly Dance Teaching Training, I was actually using two distinct terms: Afro-Oriental Fitness aiming at the Health and Fitness field and Afro-Oriental Dance for Dance Theatre work (performance & film).
When I studied my MA in World Cultures, Theatres & Performances and my MA in Anthropology, I studied the history of Belly Dancing; it is more intricate than one might think as Belly Dance has different names and styles depending on the regions it comes from.
There are different types of Belly Dancing, so many that it is often to appreciate their respective differences and one way of seeing it is to think about its intentions. Let's say it is common nowadays for people to post on Tiktok for fun, while some perform onstage for leisure and paid professionals perform in weddings, clubs, hotels or at the theatre... And in the Belly Dance world there are as many names as there are intentions; in a nutshell, Belly Dance keeps evolving throughout times and regions.
Today I will share with you what is my style and the reason I chose it. Actually while researching for my MA World Theatres project, I got really fond of the following term (maybe because it has my name in it):
"Awalim (or Almeh) wereĀ respected, educated female entertainers in Egypt, skilled in singing, poetry, and music, who performed for elite women in harems, distinct from the lower-class public dancers known asĀ Ghawazi; their performance style, including song, dance, and acrobatics, influenced modern belly dance (Raqs Sharqi)" (Wikipedia, 2025)
As you may have noted, Wikipedia emphasises that Belly Dancing is modern and in brackets, it indicates the term "Raqs Sharqi". Raqs in Arabic means "dance"! Raqs Baladi: "Folk Dance". When I think about Folk Dance, I think of the people living in rural regions e.g. villages or mountains with trades associated with the farms like the Saidi Dance using as props the Shepherd's bamboo sticks in Egypt.Ā
What about "Raqs Sharqi" you may ask?
"Raqs Sharqi"Ā is translated as "Oriental Dance"- actually this is the English translation (translated directly) from the French, "Danse Orientale" in the 19th century. It is a term that is related to professional dancers who work in nightclubs or perform on stage. The first notion of Belly Dancing appeared in 1893 at the Chicago World Fair, and it is often credited to Sol Bloom." (@BellyRaqswithKashmir)
In Northern Africa, Belly Dancing is called "Raqs". Indeed, there was no mention of "Belly" before the French invaded Algeria and Egypt. If you practise Belly Dancing or "Raqs" you know that we dance with our hips not our belly. I like how the teacher Kashmir compares calling dance styles with Ballet for example and not calling it "toe dance" or "arm dance" because of the various "ports de bras" (arm positions)... The French did not just call the local dance differently, Napoleon Bonaparte's soldiers imposed their expectations in terms of their entertainment lifestyle associated with women dancing burlesque and cabaret while Northern African women were not only fully covered but did not dance in public which caused a lot of friction, tension and disorderly social disruption for centuries and until today. In Egypt, Belly Dance experiences censorship and dancers can get fines and arrested- yes, for dancing! Perhaps since Sol Bloom describes the local African dances as "salacious" and immoral" and often refer to the belly of the dancers (even if hidden in the women's traditional costumes) as a way to undermine the local dances and named it: "La danse du ventre" (Belly Dancing). Ā
What style or what name would I go for?
I was glad that one of my Belly Dance Teacher Trainee was pondering on how to call her style or organisation. Because I had been looking for participants to practise the Belly Dance syllabus, it was easier to promote the free classes and courses with the name Belly Dance. Once my Belly Dance Teacher Training is completed, I will not continue calling it "Belly Dance", nor "Afro- Oriental Fitness" nor "Afro- Oriental Dance Theatre", I will name it "Danse Orientale" because it implies stage work and that one of the reasons I Belly Dance.
The second reason I Belly Dance is because it is such an amazing way to work my obliques while feeling feminine. Femininity weighs a great deal in this equation. I feel when I was younger I embodied a lot male energy and dance movements. Because I was injured, I have been more mindful to the way I moved and because of my medical condition, cardio workouts made me worse. I didn't realise how much we use the hips in Belly Dancing which sculpt our obliques! I am no longer feeling getting guilty not hitting the gym or putting on weight because I know once I'm back to my Belly Dance routine, I get back into shape. Plus you feel it for days, it helps so much with the posture and it boosts your confidence as well as your femininity!
Myth or Fact?
Since I have been promoting my Sunday Belly Dance classes so to prepare me for my final exam, I often hear colleagues and friends say that they would love to belly dance but they have too much belly... And I feel what they are trying to say is "you have to be slim to belly dance". And my question why would you need to be slim to belly dance unless one thinks it is traditional or compulsory to belly dance showing your belly? And we briefly explored it earlier that is a myth! Belly Dance or Raqs was never about showing off your belly, actually that came with the French soldiers used to Burlesque and Cabarets, and also the American Actresses and Dancers performing on television, that is only when slowly and progressively the costumes changed. It is not because they globalised this concept that it means it is the best or only way. As my teacher, Fleur, said there is no right or wrong way to Belly Dance. What matters is how comfortable you feel, you will feel more confident one step at a time, whether it is comfortable clothing, belly skirts or simply to be part of a friendly Belly Dance group.
I hope you have found this blog interesting. It has certainly been a pleasure for me to type it. There is so much to cover so I am sure I will be writing more about it soon.
In the meantime, I am still looking for Dance Participants for my FREE Sunday Belly Dance classes schedule on Sundays from 1pm, please RSVP so you receive the Zoom link and so that I can let the Dance group know you will be joining.
I look forward to dancing with you soon!
With loads of shimmies,
AWA!
Movement & Theatre Practitioner
Founder of The Ojas Centre
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