Origins

      The history of belly dance is key to understanding the culture that surrounds the art today. Knowing the history of the dance also helps to distinguish the actual historical elements of the dance from the westernized elements of the dance. The true origins of the dance is a controversial topic but most experts agree that it's oldest origins lie in Egypt, India, and Persia. In these cultures, the dance was most often a dance of fertility and a wedding dance. For many years the dance was only known to exist by women and was passed down from mother to daughter. The term belly dance is an American term but in Arabic the dance is known as "Raqs Sharqi" or "The Dance of the East". The dance is also celebrated in Roma cultures. They originally traveled through India, the Middle East, and Europe bringing their dances with them. A lot of what we know about the history of the dance comes from ancient artwork that reveals how dancers might have dressed and preformed. Art from the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD, like Egyptian paintings and mosaics, support the idea of the dance as being "for women only". However by the 7th century AD it appears that dancers had begun to perform publicly at festivals and celebrations. Historians have found a contract for a dancer preserved on a sheet of papyrus that is between a woman a dancer she is hiring to preform at an event. These historical depictions and references to the dance help make it easier to track it's progression through history. The picture above shows an ancient Egyptian painting of what is believed to be an early form of the dance. This most likely portrays the dance being preformed in a fertility ceremony. I have included links to some other pieces of art that portray early bellydancers.

Drawing of a Group of Women Dancers

Veiled Dancer - Alexandria, Egypt 3rd-2nd century BC, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Greek Dancers