There are many theories on the origins of belly dance. This is what I was taught and I find it to be a powerful, moving and inspiring explanation.
Since ancient times, bellydance has been passed down from generation to generation. It comes from the orient, what is now more commonly known as the Middle East and outlying areas. Some say that it was born in ancient Egypt or Persia, but its exact place of conception is unknown. What was once exclusive to the oriental world has since spread to the European countries and onward into America, Asia, and Oceania. Today, bellydance is performed and all over the world and other countries are developing their own unique styles of the dance.
Bellydance is traditionally a solo improvisational dance. It is a dance form that places importance on the individual as well as the community. For centuries it has been enjoyed for healing, relaxation, joy, and as a way to convey one's emotions. It expresses the joy of life. The movements are thought to relate to the cycles of life and fertility such as praying for harvest, worshipping the mother’s body, and paying homage to the goddesses. In keeping with the cycle of life, it is also a dance tied the earth's elements: fire, water, air and earth. The mystical nature of the music and the exotic, beautiful costuming heighten the idea of the cycles, the body, and the elements.
The dance joins body and earth. To this day most people perform the dance barefoot. To watch a bellydancer's bare feet is to be transported back in time, to the feet before her that danced across carpets, over deserts, through nature.
To this day people come to the dance for a variety of reasons, but they stay because it is healthy and relaxing, enhances natural feminine/human beauty and helps them appreciate the beauty already within them, and is a way to express themselves freely- that is why it is loved. That is what makes the dance timeless and universal.
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