Is belly dancing a girl/woman thing?

pr · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 1033 Location: Göteborg, Sweden

Is belly dancing only a girl/woman thing or is there any boys/men doing it? Have you for example seen any boys/men at your belly dancing classes?

Candy · Joined: 30 May 2005 Posts: 37 Location: Singapore

Well, generally, the steps and moves are more or less feminine. So I will think its a girl thing.
But, there are male belly dancers, as what my teacher had mentioned. But I have not seen any male belly dancers performance yet.
My boss told me he had a British guy friend doing belly dancing.

dancersdreamland · Posted: Fri Jun 17, 2005 12:46 am Post subject:

Following is an excerpt from my site which must be credited to the History of Middle Eastern Belly Dance:

"Raqs Sharqi (pronounced Roks Sharkee) literally translated means 'dance from the East', and has its roots in Middle Eastern fertility ceremonies - a dance performed by women for women. It was originally taught to girls from an early age in order to strengthen their abdominal muscles in preparation for childbirth. The muscle isolation techniques require practice and control, and the smaller the movement, the greater the control and the more the muscle is exercised. It's a fact that exercise mitigates pain. The women of the Middle East knew this, and so the dance was born through abdominal movements like pelvic rocking and belly roll."

Based on this and other articles I have read, it is my understanding belly dance in primarily designed for females. I have heard of men doing the dance or a variation in which the man dances with a sword and there is not as much undulations and belly work.

Here is a link with some male bd photos and questions: http://www.pinkgypsy.com/male-dancers/maledancers.htm.

And another site about a male belly dancer: http://www.kamaalsharem.com/

And one more with questions/answers about male bds: http://www.doubleveil.net/

pr · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 1033 Location: Göteborg, Sweden

Thank you DDL! :) Interesting reading...

dancersdreamland · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:47 pm Post subject:

My pleasure... Dance education is what I do (well, at least try to do). :wink:

wolfhazel · Joined: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 39 Location: Newcastle, UK

The movements are very feminine generally, but it is not specifically for women. I don't see why men can't dance it I think the more men in belly dancing the better it will become.

Mahlisa · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 34 Location: New Jersey

Hey everybody...
Actually alot of guys are getting into it. And while the roots are primarily female, there are male versions of dance in the Middle Eastern Culture. There are "stick dances" which is a dance with an actual stick-like wooden prop, or a sort-of dance that is performed by the Sufi's that is a "spinning" in which the person will spin for a long period of time in one place, stop on a dime and just walk of stage, it's amazing. Then there are just moves that are done within the culture at parties ect. where it'll seem like the guy is doing a more manly version of the dance...more shoulders involved, but with a slight back bend, and less hip moves.
Now however, alot of guys are getting into dancing a more feminine version as well. But you'll see both usually, depending upon the show you attend. (However, it's much harder to find the opportunity to see male dancing).

pr · Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 1033 Location: Göteborg, Sweden

Thank you for the information Mahlisa! :)

Mahlisa · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 34 Location: New Jersey

No prob, I'm here to help :D

vincent_says · Joined: 29 May 2007 Posts: 67

That is a very interesting post, I could definitely see how the movements were originally created to help with childbirth. Thanks for the info!

Aziyade · Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 1

The idea that belly dance was created to help women with childbirth is a nice idea, but one with very little actual historical evidence. There is SOME indication that in ancient Phoenicia, traveling groups of professional musicians and dancers MAY also have worked as midwives, but that's a far cry from the statements made on some websites.

Solo improvised hip and torso movement is the social dance of North Africa. Men and women BOTH move their bodies this way. Most professional dancers have been female, but there are socio-economic reasons for this, based on the social standing of performing artists in Muslim countries. But you are seeing more professional dancers in Egypt now; and for the Bedouin in North Africa, the men's dance is the one with more pelvic and hip rotations.

The "by women, for women" idea is largely a myth started in the UK and US, by women who wanted to reclaim belly dance from its late Victorian and early Vaudeville "naughty" reputation.

Tito in Cairo is one of the most famous of the Egyptian male dancers, and Tarik Sultan in New York is one of America's best.