Orientale Costuming

- By Zumarrad

The Oriental costume

Oriental dance as we know it today is not so very old - only about a century. The midriff-baring costume we associate with the belly dancer was actually adopted in about the 1920s, inspired by Orientalist art and Western preferences for an "exotic" dancing girl with her midsection bared, like the ones in India. Throughout the 20th century, and today, the decorated bra and hip belt (or bedleh), paired with skirt and veil, became the belly dancer's uniform. In New Zealand, many dancers still make their own oriental-style costumes due to the comparatively small market and expense of importing custom pieces.

The bra and belt

Often encrusted with sequins and decorative beadwork, a good bra and belt is the Kiwi oriental dancer's "little black dress", able to be paired with different skirts, pants and accessories to create new looks. Usually, a sturdy lingerie bra is used as a base for the bra top, while the belt is made from layers of unglamorous fabric like denim to give it strength and structure. From here, the dancer's personal taste and budget dictates the final look.

Many dancers will cover their belt blank and bra with attractive fabric, like a brightly coloured satin, brocade, velvet or lace, and then decorate it further. Some like to make every piece of additional decoration, from sequinned motifs to beaded fringe, from scratch.

Fashions come and go in bedleh - very heavy long fringe was popular in the 80s, while in the early 21st century simpler costumes with minimal fringe (but sophisticated beadwork) have been hot. Coin costumes have become associated with tribal-style dance and are no longer so popular in oriental styles. Many modern Egyptian costumes are made from lycra and comprise a bra and close-fitting skirt encrusted with beads, with no separate belt. These costumes are greatly admired and prized in the belly dancing community, but not as versatile as a more conventional bedleh.

Accessories like sleeves, gauntlets, wrist and ankle cuffs, headdresses, neckpieces and more can all be added to complete the costume.

The circle skirt

A full skirt, made from one and a half circles of fabric (or more), is a belly dance staple and most commonly associated with romantic classical dance or the leggy retro American Cabaret style of the 1960s. These skirts are commonly made from satin - about six metres of it - and dancers who like them will often wear more than one at the same time. Chiffon gives a very romantic look in multiple layers. Full harem pants (also known as pantaloons) underneath add modesty, though this look is now quite old-fashioned.

The straight skirt

A simple skirt made from stretch fabric or satin with splits on both sides is popular, cost-effective and easy to make. Slimline skirts tend to be seen as more contemporary and variants, like the mermaid skirt which hugs the hips and flares out at the knee, are also popular.

The veil

New Zealand belly dancers use a shorter standard rectangular veil than their American counterparts - 2.3 to 2.5 metres. The veil can be made from chiffon or georgette, organza or silk. Some dancers like to experiment with other fabrics, like lame.

 

 

 

 

The dress

In Egypt, it is illegal to dance with an uncovered belly, so in recent years dancers have adopted tight-fitting long dresses instead. These dresses are particularly suitable for performance in the intricate, elegant Modern Egyptian style, or for glamorous theatrical interpretations of folkloric styles like saidi or beledi. The Egyptian ones are generally made from lycra and decorated with cutouts and beading. But a belly dance dress need not be fussy - simple stretch sheaths worn with a hip scarf or belt can be just as effective.