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

The Magical Belly Dance Era of the 1970s

I believe that I was truly blessed to have started belly dancing in the 1970s.  It was a special decade for the dance.  Ask anyone that took lessons and performed or taught during that time. It was a golden era!

The 1970s belly dance era was post-hippie, but we still had a bit of that free spirit in us.  It was all about American Cabaret belly dance.  There was no other type of belly dancing at that time. Big chiffon 7 panel skirts, often times made of Persian lace.  A chiffon veil, coin and/ or beaded bra and belt.  Most us made our own costumes or had them made for us.  My first teacher made extra money by making costumes. No imported costumes from Egypt or Turkey.  Can you even imagine that?

I look back at pictures of me in those costumes. Some were rather simple, but I did save up the money to have a coin bra and belt made. Most of us only had 1 or 2 costumes.

And the music!  It was wonderful, it spoke to you!  No CDs back then, or downloaded music, it was all on albums.  There was no 1000s of titles to choose from;  record releases were few and far between.  It was Eddie the Sheik, George Abdo as well as others. We couldn't wait for the next record to come out.  And boy did we wear those records out!

I took belly dance classes at least once a week, sometimes from more than 1 teacher. It was the highlight of my week when I would drive up to Hollywood after work to take lessons from Marie Silva who owned a belly dance studio - a rare thing then.

Once in awhile some of us dancers would get together and go to one of the Arabic clubs/restaurants. I remember going to Haji Baba's and Ali Baba's and Abu Nawa (sp?).  I remember going to see Bal Anat,   featuring a young Suhaila, who came down from San Francisco at one of the clubs in Hollywood one Saturday night.

I think we cherished and appreciated the small thing more back then.  Probably because we were not inundated with "stuff" every minute of the day.  Life was more simple back then, at least compared to today. And maybe that's also what made it more special too.

I'll write more about the 1970s in future posts. It was so much fun!

Leave your 1970s experience in the comments section.

Yes, this is me circa 1977. Can't believe I was wearing glasses.

Suzy Evans
BellyDance.org  The International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance