Belly Dance

Belly dance is an expressive dance which emphasizes complex movements of the torso. It is originally a middle eastern folk dance ,it has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style. New styles have evolved in the west as its popularity has spread globally.

The term belly dance is a translation of the French term "danse du ventre" which was applied to the dance in Victorian era .

There are few movements which are found in belly dance and they are

• Percussive movements- staccato movements most commonly of the hips, used to punctuate the music or accent a beat. typical movements in this group include hip drops ,vertical hip rocks ,outwards hip hits ,hip lifts and hip twists.

• Fluid movement-flowing ,sinuous movements in which the body is in continuous motion, used to interpret melodic lines and lyrical sections I in the music. These movements require a great deal of abdominal muscle control. Typically movements include horizontal and vertical figure of 8 or with the hips these basic shapes may be varied and combined to create an infinite variety of complex textured movements.

In addition to this movements dancers I in many styles will use level changes, travelling steps, turns and spins. The arms are used to frame and accentuate movements of the hips , for dramatic gestures

and to create beautiful lines and shapes with body.