Is it Belly Dance or Bellydance?

Although I am not 100% sure the exact date when it happened or in what context; I do believe I have a good idea who, what and why some in the belly dance community started spelling and referring to belly dance as “bellydance” – one word.

I don’t see spelling “belly dance” as one word as anything negative at all and view it as just a personal preference for some dancers.  I do however prefer - as most other dancers and the public at large do - to spell it as two words.

I believe this trend started as a positive attempt to gain more legitimacy for our art form. It was in the early to mid 1990s when some started using the one word term. The first time I remember seeing “belly dance” spelled as “bellydance” was Atea’s instructional videos.  Even in the 1990s we were still dealing with negative stereotypes left over from the 1970s. Everyone who belly danced in the 1970s remembers how we fought hard against being referred to as strippers or just a small step above.  None of us wanted to be automatically tied in with strippers or worse.  Hey! We were serious about our dancing! 

Although most of us would have preferred a more dignified term for our dance such as Raks Sharki or the more generic term “Middle Eastern Dance”, it is the term “belly dance” that stuck in minds of the public and it became clear that it was an exercise in futility to educate the public at large otherwise.  (See also a related article "Naming the Dance")

In the early years of IAMED I also adopted the spelling as “bellydance”.  The flyers for the awards shows as well as the original VHS covers were “The First Awards of Bellydance”, etc. 

By the early 2000s, I changed to “belly dance” in main part because the general public rarely spelled it any other way. So, yes – I embraced “belly dance”. 

The other reason I went to the 2 word spelling was that I started noticing dancers also using the terms: “bellydancer” and “bellydancing”.  I have no objection to dancers doing this, but frankly I think the words “bellydancing” and “bellydancer” just looks odd. 

In the end no matter how you shake it (pun intended) it just matters that you dance.

Please leave me comments and thoughts on this subject.  I’d like to know your thoughts and opinions. 

Hadia in the 4th
Awards of Belly Dance

Please pay us a visit at BellyDance.org

The Complete Belly Dance Routine

If you took belly dance classes back in 60s and 70s you became familiar with what was called the complete belly dance routine. This was typically 7 parts although some dancers would cut it down to 5 parts. Routines could be 20 minutes or longer and I remember that you really had to build up your stamina to perform this long. If you were dancing to live music, you sometimes didn't know how long they were going to play and you just had to go with the whatever parts the musicians would play for you. I also recall a story from one of the Hollywood belly dance greats Marie Silva on how once and a while they would play a double set and she would have to perform for 30 to 40 minutes.  Heck, in my hay day I couldn't have performed that long! There was no costume change like some dancers do now, the cabaret dancer stayed on stage throughout the performance. 

Typically the parts of dance were as follows:

1. Medium to Fast Entrance: This is an intro or greeting of the audience. The belly dancer would be draped in one or sometimes multiple veils and keep them on through the introduction. Usually the dancer would show off your finger cymbals playing talent during the intro. 

2. Slow music either Chifi Telli or Rhumba: This is where the dancer would show off her veil work. At the end of music she discards her veil. 

3. Medium to Fast music: This part picks up the speed and energy of the dance. She continues to play finger cymbals. 

4. Taxseem, Chifi Telli, slow music: Floor work, sometimes sword work along with slow moves. This is one of my favorite parts of the dance. There is usually a solo instrument playing like a violin or flute. Beautiful time to improv your slow technique. 

5. Fast or medium music: Picking up the pace again. The belly dancer will sometimes work the audience for tips during this part of the routine smiling and playing finger cymbals. 

6. Fast: The drum solo. 

7. Finale - Medium/Fast tempo: The farewell to the audience. The finale tends to be short and sweet. She thanks the audience and the band (if there is one). 

These days belly dancers usually do 3 part routines; an intro, slow and drum solo. Sometimes if time is tight it's only a 1 part routine.

Here are some suggested DVDs that will help you with various parts of the routine. Click on the links below. 

Sultry Slow Moves with Sadie
Spins and Turns with Marguerite
Classic Cabaret Floor Work with Anaheed
Veil with Aziza
Smooth as Silk Veil with Katia

Drum Solo Set
Entrances and Exits with Dondi
Finger Cymbals with Ansuya

Ansuya
Photo by Keith Drosin

Ultimate Belly Dancer Combination DVDs

Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations is a 5 DVD series - almost like a mini-series! 

During a conversation with a friend,  this unique concept and came to me. I had previously produced a couple of combination videos with Ansuya and Ava Fleming. Seeing how popular they were, why not have multiple instructors teach combinations on a single DVD?  And why not make it a series? This would give students of belly dance a good variety of styles of combinations from different teachers.  Some of these teachers had not previously taught on video before, so many students would be exposed to new teachers; an instructor they may have not been familiar with and would not normally would get a chance to take a class from. I called them Ultimate Combinations because... they were!   The first 2 volumes were shot and edited.  The teachers included Sadie, Ava Fleming, Aziza, Amaya, Fahtiem, Artemis, Celeste, Anaheed and Amara. These 2 videos were quickly best sellers.  About 2 years later I added three more volumes with a new mix of dancers: Paulina, Zahra Zuhair, Katia, Aradia, Dondi, Ava Fleming, Celete, and Jamileh. These 3 new DVDs included new styles including some Turkish and some of that classic old-timey 1970s belly dance. Will there be more Ultimate Combinations?  Maybe... we'll see.  In the meantime, if you don't have these DVDs, please consider adding them to your collection.  Here's some links to the DVDs:

Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations The Complete Set

Ultimate Belly Dancer Combinations 1 & 2

Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations 3.4 & 5

Turkish Belly Dance

If you took belly dance classes many decades ago you may have taken the classes from a Turkish dancer. Turkish belly dance is the foundation of what we call American Cabaret belly dance. From the costuming to playing zills and the dance itself, it is quite Turkish. If you were a belly dancer in the 1960s and 1970s, that is the style you danced.

Starting sometime in the 1980s the Egyptian style started becoming popular.  By the 1990s both Egyptian and Tribal had become popular.  As a result the Turkish style/American Cabaret became less popular, with fewer dancers learning the style.  I believe that some just thought it was outdated and some belly dancers evolved into the Egyptian style.

We are starting to see a new interest in this style of dance, and I am so glad that we are.

Two of the finest dancers in the field of Turkish dance are Eva Cernik and Elizabeth Artemis Mourat. If they are teaching anywhere in your area, you would greatly benefit from classes from them.  Or invite one of them to teach a workshop in your area.

Eva Cernik
The Second Awards of Belly Dance

Eva and Artemis are both featured in some of our performance DVDs and Artemis teaches Turkish Style belly dance.

Suzy Evans
BellyDance.org