Mecanicien

Posts Tagged ‘belly dance’

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If you are like most people then you probably envision the belly dancer adorned with spectacular jewelry and dressed in flashy clothing. This iconic view of the belly dancer is actually quite misleading. The jewelry commonly associated with belly dancer is a recent occurrence resulting from cultures that don’t traditionally have belly dancing.

Although many people associate belly dancing with the rich and famous because of the glamorous jewels and quantity of belly dancing jewelry, this is a very western view of the activity. In fact, before westerners influenced belly dancing, the use of belly dancing jewelry was quite rare. However, it much more common due to the influence of western cultures.

The most ubiquitous belly dancing jewelry is the jewel adorning the navel. This is a western invention resulting from the stricter censorship rules decades ago. Hollywood created the jewel on the belly to allow them to around these censorship guidelines and still expose much of the midriff of the belly dancers in movies and on television. The image has stuck in our minds ever since.

However, on the other side of the world this sort of belly dancing jewelry is quite rare. Most traditional belly dancers would seem very modest in comparison to the modern western depiction of dancers. Some dancers in the west hold to more traditional attire and forego much of the flashy jewelry now used, while other dancers prefer the modern image of the belly dancer over the traditional.

The Belly Dancing Outfit

Instead of expensive belly dancing jewelry, most traditional belly dancers relied on simple yet beautiful fabric to use while dancing. Fabric was often used as a prop while dancing to compliment the rhythmic movement of the dancer’s body. Clothing and jewelry should not detract from the dance.

Clothing should be comfortable and should not hinder the movement of a dancer. This is important because belly dancing is all about the movement of the body and much less about the clothing and belly dancing jewelry. It is also not necessary to expose a large amount of your body, although depending on where you are in the world, this is often done.

Although the majority of belly dancing jewelry we are familiar with is a recent innovation, many people like the addition of jewelry to their outfit instead of more traditional attire. Whether you choose to stick to more modest clothing or decide to go the Hollywood route, the choice of attire is ultimately yours alone.