What is Middle Eastern Dance?

It is: Raqs Sharqi; Oriental Dance; Danse Orientale; Belly Dance, with variations from Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and the West.

However, it is also: Bedouin; Debke; Ghawazee; Guerda; Haggala; Khaleegi; Schikhatt; Persian Dance; Saiidi, Zar and many more.

FAQ's

What do all the names mean?

"Raqs Sharqi" is Arabic for "dance of the East" and usually refers to the dance performed by a trained solo dancer. It is not normally used to described folk dance styles - although its roots are in the 'dance of folk'.

"Oriental Dance" and "Danse Orientale" are English and French translations of the Arabic. These are usually used to refer to the very elegant and refined style of the dance.

"Belly Dance" was introduced by a showman to titillate his customers at the turn of the century. In many places it has become a degraded word - used to refer to sleazy, sexual entertainment. For this reason, many dancers prefer to use one of the other terms. However, it is often the only term the public knows. It also can be used as an umbrella term to included not only Raqs Sharqi but also folklore and fakelore styles.

How long does it take to learn?

This depends on what level you are talking about and also where you are starting from. If you just want to have fun, rather than become a ME dancer, it doesn't take long to pick up the basics.

But if you want to learn it as dance, then expect along apprenticeship. No one expects to dance "Swan Lake" after a few months. Yet too often students expect to be "performing" in an indecently short length of time.

Realistically, in 3-6 months most people can begin to get the basics and qualify as a beginner. A beginner would probably study for another 2-3 years before being labeled "intermediate". Different schools used different terminology, but do their students no favors by inflating their apparent level. If a student is "advanced" after 6 months, what are they called after 2 years? After 5 years?

"Good" dancers are still studying - and learning - after 20 years. It is a field that would take more than one lifetime to learn.

What do we know of MED's history?

We know very little about ancient history. Yes, we know people have always danced, and if people in the Middle East danced, it must have been by definition, Middle Eastern Dance. But we do not know if the dance was similar to what we know as MED today.

We do have a better idea about this century - but again the record is patchy. There is a wonderful movie clip of Fatima in 1897 by Edison. We have the thousands of movies made in Egypt in the 1940s and 1950s. We have a number of researchers, such as Aisha Ali and Morocco in the 1960s and 1970s who captured the last remnants of the real folk dance. And we can see the outside influences on the dance form such as the Russian Ballet and Hollywood.

But it was based on the Worship of the Goddess, right?

We do not know. It is entirely possible that ancient priestesses used dance in their worship, but that is not to say they danced in the manner of modern MED or that their dance influenced modern MED.

But it was danced only for women, right?

Certainly, a "good" woman would not have danced in front of strangers, and in many places still would not. But that is a long step from making it a solely female dance form. Men in the Middle East did, and do dance exactly the same as women.

(For a male perspective try these links)

It is a dance of seduction, right? It would be performed in harems for the Sultan?

It can be seductive and no doubt, many would have used it for that purpose. But it certainly is not only, or even the main reason why people dance. In the West some use Ballet for a similar purpose. Does that make Ballet a dance of seduction?

It was a birthing dance, right?

There is certainly some evidence that part of the dance was associated with childbirth, for example see: Morocco's "Belly Dancing and Childbirth", and certainly practicing Middle Eastern dance does wonders for your muscle tone.

Ok then, what was it?

What it was, was a dance performed by people in the Middle East (and North Africa). They may have danced for as many reasons then as people dance now. But it was folk dance. Every group, and sub-group, would have been different, each would have evolved their own style of dance - just as they evolved their own style of dress and language.

What it is now is another question.

Modern Middle Eastern Dance

There are a number of styles that have been developed, some of them are based on styles from a particular country or period - e.g. Egyptian from the 1940s. Some of them are innovations - e.g. American Tribal. Some are fusion - e.g. Raqs Americana - blending MED with American dance forms.

Rather than duplicate what already exists, I suggest you read Shira's article on "Styles in the US" or Hossam Ramzy's article on "Baladi".

There are also a wide variety of folk styles that have been adapted to the stage. For instance, from Egypt there is Ghawazee, Saiidi, Fellahi; there are a number of Debkes from Lebanon; there are the Schikhatts from Morocco. In fact, this is just a sub-set of folk styles from these countries - and each has its own regional variations.

You can find a very brief summary of styles on Kashmir's site.