How to Egyptian Belly Dance

Egyptian dance is one of the most elegant dance styles of belly dance. It is a slow and sensual style with a lot of isolations, shimmies and layering. This article is a basic history of Egyptian style.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A willingness to read and learn a new style
• Ability to do your research
• Computer with DSL is best
• Prior belly dance experience & knowledge of belly dance lingo

1. As with any exercise you must always consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise routine. If you plan to try some of these tips, get a doctor's okay first.

2. Always make sure you stretch before beginning belly dance. This will ensure that you become more limber and you will be able to isolate your body a lot easier.
   
   Warm up series may include the following:
   
   Snake arms or swan arms
   Shoulder rolls & head rolls
   Lifting of ribcage or ribcage thrusts
   Hip circles
   Stretch of legs & arms

3. Belly dance has been around for ages and is thought to be a women's dance. It is at least 6,000 years old dating back to Mesopotamia time. It is thought to be originated from fertility dances, and men were not allowed. Groups of women would perform belly dance during birth to aid the mother in the childbirth process, and women would dance for goddess celebrations or special occasions.
   
   The central home of belly dance today is in Egypt. More specifically, Cairo. It is there that Egyptian Cabaret had originated. Cairo is like our Hollywood. It is filled with Egyptian dancers, shops, musicians and anything remotely related to Oriental dance. Cairo is home to the most famous belly dancers in the entire World. It is also a very good place to tour during the belly dance season. There are shops at every corner, and costume designers are famous for their designs.

4. Egyptian style is an all body dance experience. When you dance Egyptian everything from your toes to the top of your head should be dancing. This means that you must actually feel the music, and you must dance with it. Egyptian dance is graceful, exciting and energized all at the same time. In Egypt the dancers don't do veil work, but in America an Egyptian dancer performing in a restaurant may throw around the veil a bit before going into her routine. Veil work is normally miminal and will last between 1 and 2 minutes at most.

5. When you dance Egyptian Cabaret, it's very important that you isolate your body and not to be afraid to use the entire dance floor. Often times I see dancers sticking to one area of the floor; never moving the entire time. This is extremely boring to the audience. You want your audience to leave that show mesmerized.

6. Practice layering shimmies, belly rolls, undulations, chest thrust and circles. Mix these with snake arms, shoulder rolls and shimmies. Know how to transition into different moves; if you have problems with this then get a good DVD and practice. Practice really does make perfection! Limit your spins and kicks when dancing Egyptian. It's okay to do a few, but if you get excessive with it then you are more than likely going to look like a Turkish dancer.

7. When dancing Egyptian, it is fun to wear sparkly form fitting dresses and bra/belt combos. You can wear whatever you want when doing Egyptian belly dance. I usually wear form fitting Baladi dresses, or a bra & belt with a mermaid skirt. You can also make your own Egyptian costume if you have the patience. Check out my other articles on Belly Dance costume making.

Tips & Warnings

• Slow down and listen to the music. Don't just dance to it, but really feel the rhythm of the drums.
• Practice isolations daily.
• Always stretch before you dance.
• Rent or buy some Egyptian belly dance DVDs.
• Wear a cover-up or Abaya if you are performing in public. This allows your dance to stay a mystery until the very moment you get on stage. It also ensures that your costume is unseen until you want to unveil it! In some Restaurants, especially Arabic, it is a serious disrespect not to be covered up.
• If you don't practice, you won't be any good.

[Lucifera]

on 11/11/2008 This is a great article. As a former Middle eastern dancer, I wondered how you would explain it on EHow. 5*
Queen of Elphame

[Abdulrahman2000]

on 11/8/2008 This sort of dancing is very distinguished and easy.