What is Middle Eastern Dance?

Middle Eastern dance is a catch all term for the various dances performed in the Middle East, Near East and North Africa. Countries including, but not limited to, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It includes the woman's solo dance, commonly referred to as "belly dance" in the United States and Raks Sharqi (roll your "R") or Orientale Dance in the Middle East. It includes folk dances such as debke and other dances such as the Guedra, the Schikhatt, the mens takhteeb dance (a stick/staff dance), the folkloric dances of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Turkish karsilama, Tunisian womens dances and so on. Alot of people also think of Persian and Romany ("Gypsy") dance when they think of Middle Eastern dance as well.

There are dances that involve the balancing of props such as swords, candles, vases, pots, water jugs, trays, and candleabras. There are dances that involve the skillful twirling of canes and staffs. There is the handling of snakes and the artful manipulation of veils and capes, which seem to be an American addition to the art form.

The majority of the dance is torso based and involves the isolation of the head, arms, hands, ribcage and hips. The exception being some of the folkloric dances, which may be more footwork oriented or represent a story or central theme. Some movements are sinuous and undulating. Some are energetic and snappy. Many misconceptions in the U.S. began about Middle Eastern dance at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893 when entertainers were brought over from the Middle East to perform in "recreations" of ethnic villages or towns. In that era, a woman wouldn't dare leave the house uncorseted and many ethnic cultures were seen as "primitive" or "uncivilized". Imagine what it was like to see entertainers from the Middle East on stage shimmying, undulating and swaying their hips to the beat of the drum. All these movements were (and are) quite natural for anyone from those countries and cultures of course, but to those unfamiliar with it, it was (and still is) seen as tawdry and lewd. It created quite the scandal, then Hollywood came along and added fuel to the fire with it's harem-scarem fantasy movies and unfortunatly this dance form has never been respected, as it should be, since.

In this day and age of tolerance and ethnic diversity, it would be nice to see Middle Eastern music, dance and culture be accepted as a legitimate art form. Along the same lines as Flamenco, Mexican folk dances, Chinese, Indian, Hawaiian, Indonesian and so on. Sadly, it remains one of the few that still garners snickers and "knowing looks" or looks of disdain and disappoval.

Part of the joy of this dance form is that anyone can do it. It is a folk dance and anyone who can get up and stand can participate, from the smallest child to the most elderly relative, without any "training" other than watching and mimicking. For entertainment, women all over the Middle East dance together in their homes or at weddings (only after alot of encouragement). No "performance"... just get up and cut a rug. Men also dance solo or in groups at their own celebrations. Over There, it's -just- dancing. Line and circle dances are also danced for joy and celebration and the social dancing that is done at nightclubs utilize some of the same basic movements as those done on stage. It's the dance of the people and it is studied by thousands of people all over the world. Some looking for an alternative form of exercise, some looking for a connection with the divine, some looking to feel good about their bodies, some are drawn to the sensual aspects, some wish to explore and understand a different culture than their own. There is a place for everyone.

It is also performed at amateur, semi-professional and professional levels by dancers all over the world. Soloists, duets and troupes. From each state in the U.S. to Finland, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Canada, South America, Tasmania and beyond. You may be surprised at how many people study or perform it and who you might work with or be related to that is involved in the community.

What so many of us are trying to make clear is that, as a -performance art-, Middle Eastern dance takes talent as well as years of training and technique to master and perform, just as with any other dance form. There is proper posture, body line, hip placements and arm movements to be taught. There is a basic vocabulary of movements and hundreds of variations thereof. There are thousands upon thousands of combinations of movements and different ways of interpreting the music. One must develop the muscular control to move only one part of the body at a time, to move two (or more) different parts of the body in different directions or to make a movement sharp or crisp and stop on a dime. One must master the isolation skills to dance while balancing objects on their head, hip or hand, and gain the proper stamina, strength and flexiblity to dance for a long time. Then there is the ability to be relaxed and make it all look effortless and graceful. One must learn to be an entertainer. To connect with the audience, make eye contact, smile, emote, relax...and so on.

There are movements and stylistic differences that change from country to country. There are dances that are native to one particular country... that require a certain costume... and a certain kind of music. There are dances that are performed by women, and those that are performed by men and sometimes a combination thereof. One must know the different rhythms - of which there are many - their names and where they come from. One must know the names of different instruments, what they do, what regions or countries they're from. One must be able to play an instrument (finger cymbals aka zills or sagat) and dance at the same time. One should know the names of popular songs, classical songs and their artists. Knowledge of the culture is important _AND_ it helps to know some of the Arabic language as well.

There are alot of people working very hard to raise the awareness with regard to this dance form and the rich culture it comes from by trying to move it into theater venues, cultural festivals and art fairs. Look for it in your community and take the time to support it. Learn about it before you judge it and _us_. Realize that this dance form the dancers who perform it well deserve some respect. They have devoted alot of time, money, energy and hard work into their study. They are serious and they love what they do. In the meantime, I hope that this article, albeit far from a complete history, has cleared up some of the misconceptions about Middle Eastern dance, where it comes from and what it is.