Do you lack self-confidence? Want to lose some weight? Or maybe you are looking for a new hobby? All this and much more are fulfilled not only by exotic martial arts, but also by dancing. Perhaps belly dancing will turn out to be an interesting stop in life for you.
Probably each of us has some kind of image of belly dance. Sensuality, femininity, props, delicacy. Bollywood and the West have excelled in spreading the image of a belly dancer, but is it real?
Belly dance is primarily known for its extremely sensual style, which was created to please men. Although today in some countries men actually make up the largest portion of the audience, originally belly dancing was a spiritual experience – part of a ritual or prayer. By way of conquest, the dance found its way to Muslim countries, where it was practiced mainly as a form of entertainment: in the case of the Arabs, for men, and in the case of the Turks, for women.
In Turkish culture, it was also danced during childbirth, as it was believed that in this way neither the baby nor the mother would be harmed. However, it is not a gender dance. Men, just like women, can become belly dancers, or rather oriental dancers
Belly dance is an incorrect name invented by the French and then scaled by the dictionaries of other languages. Nevertheless it shows the specificity of this dance much more precisely than the name: “oriental dance”, because it refers to the belly movements performed by dancers. The original name, however, shows that this type of dance also activates the hips, breasts and hands.
Quite peaceful – in comparison to other eastern dances – belly dance has one more undoubted advantage: it can be practiced by absolutely everyone, regardless of weight or age. Nobody will be rejected.
In belly dance can be distinguished many techniques and types depending on the country of origin. Although sometimes it is not easy to catch the differences, they do exist, so it is advisable to think beforehand about your preferred type of this dance.
Of course, belly dance is just a general name to describe a certain way of moving. For this reason, there are many types of this dance that can be mentioned, but two variants are worth paying special attention to: the classical Egyptian dance and the classical Turkish dance. The former is definitely more static. The female dancer (or the male dancer) focuses mainly on the movement of the hands and the rather isolated movements of the hips and belly. In Turkish dance, on the other hand, space is a very important element, thanks to which the belly dance turns into an energetic show.
A good show, however, can not do without fire and explosions. In belly dance this role is fulfilled by the numerous accessories that the dancers learn to move with and the costumes. The scarves, drums and fans used, as well as the clothing, are all impressive in their colors. To enhance the effect, gold coins are sewn to the costumes, which clink as they dance.
Belly dancing positively affects not only the body, but also the psyche. It allows you to lose weight from around the waist, get in shape and make your figure more flexible. At the same time its impact on mental health is invaluable. Thanks to belly dance you can feel much more confident and like your body. This is all thanks to the gentle, subtle movements and the outfit, in which it is impossible to look unfavorable.
Main photo: Elesban Landero Berriozábal/unsplash.com
