Tips for Belly Dancing With a Veil

Series Summary

The various strains and versions of Middle Eastern Dance have become commonly referred to as Belly Dancing in the West, despite the multiple origins and cultural mysteries. It is generally accepted that the tribal and religious dances that we recognize as belly dancing originated in Egypt, though it's also true that Turkey and the Roma people practiced versions as well. Today, belly dancing is performed in the Western world as a form of entertainment, exercise and as a hobby. In this free video series, expert Tara Termini will teach you belly dancing basics from her many years of dance training. You will learn popular belly dance moves like the tent, mask, veil walk and butterfly. Termini covers many variations of these moves, all using the veil to add allure and mystery to belly dancing. Tips for figure eights, dips, shimmies and walks offer a beginning or experienced belly dancer something to include in their practice or routine.

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Tara, from Belly Dance by Tara. This is series set seven, Introduction to Belly Dancing With a Veil. In this series, we're going to learn some basic belly dance moves with a veil. In this series, and through out, you want to make sure that you don't lose your proper posture, from all the moves that you've learned from before. Make sure that you keep it tucked under, chest lifted, chin is level, and knees are always going to be slightly bent, even with dancing with a veil. The veil is used as an extension of the belly dancer. It's very graceful. It's very unique the way the veil moves, different materials, you can use silk, chiffon. Different materials will get different effects and different looks when you're dancing with a veil. A veil is a prop and it's only used for a certain periods of the dance. Generally, when you do a twenty minute set, a veil dance may be only one of those, one song of that, maybe four or five minutes long. Today, you're going to learn some introduction moves. It will get you on your way to belly dancing with a veil. Just make sure that if you feel anything that hurts, you get any pain in your shoulders, your arms, it is heavy, or it can get heavy after awhile. And, your arms are not moving, used to moving with a veil attached to them. So, if you feel any pain, please stop, you know your body best, just be careful, and enjoy."