I am originally from Mexico, and many of our dances consist of arithmetic hip movements. Our dances are full of different rythms which make the dances very enjoyable. Furthermore, dancing is a form of entertainment for guests at many reunions such as weddings, baptisms or other religious ceremonies. Therefore, I wanted to select a dance from which I would learn and was not practice in the surrounding countries, but at the same time I wanted one which had some similarities to our dances. Furthermore, I am a big fan of Shakira, the singer, and when I see her hip movement it attracted me to learn more about the amazing belly dance. Her great ability to perform the belly dance can be seeing on the bottom centered video. She performs the isolations of the stomach, hips, and arms in a very authentic form. I love belly dancers' outfits, they are very shiny and eye-catching (picture on top left).

My Own Experience

Every time I think of Belly Dancing the thought of "rumba" (spanish word for celebration) comes to my mind. I think of getting everyone up dancing and socializing with others. I imagine energetic and passionate people in a dance floor with lively songs such as Belly Dancing. Furthermore, when I watch it, I do not wait for anyone to ask me to do it, I simply do it. When I watch belly dancers I get very tempted to joing them. In fact, I recently went to an Egyptian cafe, Cairo Cafe, to enjoy the food and watch a belly dancer. As soon as I arrived at the cafe I felt an environment with a very energetic vibe. Everyone eagerly waited for the belly dancer to show up and perform. At the mean time, myself and friends enjoyed Arabic songs and tried to dance to some them. It was very enjoyabel to dance and also very addicting. I did not want to stop learning how to move my hips, arms and stomach. I also realized Belly Dancing moves are harder than they seem. It is either done right or one will look very funny dancing. Once the belly dancer started performing everyone stopped to watch and enjoy her movements. She did lots of hip isolations and stomach movements, and it simply created an awe in me to watch and enjoy the beauty of her moves.

From this experience at the cafe, I thought it was created by ordinary people in the streets for entertainment purpose in the Middle East. I viewed it as a form of social gathering to enjoy good times with friends and family members. I also thought Belly Dancing was a very traditional dance that would be present at any gathering. This was not so accurate. It was created as a form of birthing aid, not entertainment and to this day there are restrictions on how and by whom the dance should be performed. However, even with the attempt from the Middle Eastern goverments, its popularity and admirations was grown tremendously.