Belly Dance – Is it really all about the belly?

So I actually once received a phone call from a man asking if I did “the belly button dance”.

Ummm… excuse me?

It’s tough to leave me speechless, but this guy managed to do it!

Luckily I realized in that moment that there was no rational answer that was going to satisfy the true motives behind his call. But while I calmly hung up the phone I did start thinking about the term “belly dance”. Now this is a very hotly debated topic in the community and I understand and respect that many dancers do not like the use of this term. I’m not here to debate whether we should instead use the term raks sharki or arab dance, but rather to ponder why the intense focus on the belly? We all know that we use many more parts of our body when we dance. Calling it “belly dance” seems akin to me to calling flamenco dance “foot dance” or Bharatanatyam “hand dance” or something similarly silly.



When the term was coined in the late 1890s the dancers that westerners had access to did not expose their midriffs, though they were documented as having performed undulating movements of the torso. But I bet they problably moved their hands and feet as well! Was it just that the abdominal movements were so riveting or shocking to modest western audiences that the terminology took hold?

Well – I don’t have the answer for that question. (But I will keep digging! And if you have some insight, pleaese let me know!)

What I’m curious to know right now is – what parts of the body define our dance in your book? Certainly we use our head, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, hips, legs, feet and everything in between – but what is is that makes it belly dance in your opinion? Is there a defining body part, or even a movement of a body part that makes you say “Ah yes! This is belly dance!”? There are no right or wrong answers here – I just want to know your thoughts!

Let me know what’s your favorite or most important body part when it comes to this dance!

Oh… and let me know if you do “the belly button dance” too! ?

You may also like

Leave a comment