The Wide World of Bellydance Styles Explained

Since starting to take bellydance classes myself, I have come upon a dance form that is rich with history, costuming, and interpretation. I had no idea that a style of dance lumped into one word could vary so much! Unlike other dance styles, bellydance almost exclusively has an abundance of clothing and prop choices, and some schools follow one tradition, some another. To a person just thinking about taking up the art form for fun, this plethora of choices can be daunting. Let me take you on a quick tour of the colorful world of bellydance, tinged with exotic spices of the Middle East, and sparkling with sequins and spandex. This is..

Behind the Veil - An Introduction to Bellydance Styles and Culture in America

1.) American Cabaret.This is by far the most well-known and time-honored tradition in America to date, though many styles have branched off from this, and are gaining popularity. American Cabaret is an umbrella term that describes a dancer who wears glittery, extravagant costumes.

Made to pay homage to the Great Glamour Days of American Cinema, Cabaret first came to be in the 1930's. Bellydance, where it originated in the Middle East and Egypt, largely was a folkloric, social dance performed within families and private parties. Influenced by glitzy American movies with song and dance, Egypt soon adopted many of these attributes in their own successful film industry. Soon dancers such as Samia Gamal began wearing the classic midriff-bearing Cabaret outfit, which consists of a heavily-beaded bra and belt over a skirt. This outfit took off in the US and is considered standard attire in many circles. Egypt continues this tradition with their own style, Egyptian Cabaret. This is a more modest version of the Cabaret seen in the US, with dancers covering the midriff often with sheer fabric. The movements are subtle and balletic, with dancers borrowing technique from ballet and other Western styles. The dance is more contained and does not need a lot of room to perform, and is seen in upscale nightclubs and restaurants in Cairo.

Turkey is also a hubbub of Bellydance activity, having formed their own styles, Turkish Cabaret and Roma, or Gypsy Folkloric. Though there is some controversy over where to draw the line between styles, there is definitely a difference between Turkish Bellydance and Egyptian Bellydance.

Turkish Cabaret has many of the same elements of American and Egyptian Cabaret, but is thought to be more energetic. The movements are more bouncy and active, and the dancer incorporates more high kicks and jumps into the movements. Some have said Egyptian style is more like ballet, Turkish is more like Jazz. The dancers also generally have more freedom of costuming, wearing very elaborate costumes encrusted with rhinestones that are very revealing. Dancers in Turkey are part of popular culture, appearing in soap operas and commercials, selling products and making appearances, almost more like pop stars than professional dancers.

Roma, or Folkloric, carries on the tradition of family-orientated folk dance. Their costumes are generally more earthy, and follow slightly the "gypsy" stereotype that was entirely Western-made. It's hard to find true representatives of this style, since most of the dancers don't dance for a career. However, it is gaining a comeback in the US, primarily since professional Cabaret dancers like Artemis Mourat are intent on preserving the tradition.

Indeed, Cabaret in the US became so flashy, so much about putting on a "show", that many dancers started experimenting with new creative styles in the past 30 years. A relatively new style, born out of the Streets of San Francisco, is American Tribal, and, newer still, Tribal Fusion.

2.) American Tribal/ Tribal Fusion This new bellydance style is very hot right now, primarily because of the costuming style and it's dancers. Inspired more by Islamic textiles and Orientalism, Tribal draws it's clothing choices from India, Africa, and the Middle East.

Far from the flashy, almost Las-Vegas like costumes popular in The Middle East and the rest of the world, tribal goes back to the indigenous tribes and creates an image of a tribal dancing woman. They try to invoke what a dancer might have looked like many years ago and fuse that with modern influences. Tribal is very earthy and grounded, and considered to be more dark and mysterious.

Carolina Nerrichio and Jamilla Salimpour are considered to be founders of this style in California. Other innovators, such as Rachel Brice, took tribal one step further and added popular "Gothic" nightclub influences and pulsing techno and ambient music. Many Cabaret dancers look upon tribal with disdain, feeling it is not "True" bellydance, but with time comes evolution of any dance form.

Bellydance in general is becoming part of American popular culture. Pop stars such as Shakira have made a name for themselves through incorporating bellydance moves into their music videos. A national bellydance troupe, The Bellydance Superstars, are making waves here and abroad with their huge stage show, and even being touted as the next "Riverdance". America has more bellydancers and styles than anywhere else in the world, and I for one, think this trend will continue to grow.