The women who belly dance are all ages, shapes, sizes, and from every back ground, ethnicity and income bracket. FACTS
A large part of the population of women have been belly dancing in America ever since it became a popular phenomenon in the early 70's.
The women who belly dance are all ages, shapes, sizes, and from every back ground, ethnicity and income bracket.
Everyone knows a belly dancer these days. It's either their mother, sister, aunt or nephew.
Most women have thought about it! It's only a matter of time before they take the first hip lift!
Many women take their belly dance seriously and dance in their local classroom every week that you would never suspect. Doctors, lawyers, high finance executives, librarians, house wives, computer animators, graphic designers, girl scouts and senior citizens. You name it!
Belly dance is about freedom. A good reason to belly dance is to gain power and control over ones own body, to know it , befriend it and use it for self expression.
Belly Dance is liberating!
In the past 35 years, American women from all walks of life have heard the call, and discovered it's deepest meaning. They have contributed artistically to it's growth and popularity by inventing, cultivating and recognizing an array of different styles; American tribal, American classic, Gypsy, Greek, Pharonic, Modern Egyptian, Turkish, Folkloric, Fusion, Goth, Belly Metal...
Belly dancers take their tourist dollars and support the art of belly dance in Egypt Turkey, Morocco, Greece, as well as other countries where women host belly dance festivals for their women “gah gah” for Belly dance: Germany, Spain, Brazil, UK, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Mexico...
A large number of the women who began 35 years ago are still belly dancing today and now so are their daughters and grand daughters. The numbers are unknown but steadily increase. (Women stay in their classes and dance troupes longer than they can stay married!)
The past 30 years of belly dance culture in America has been cultivated by the women who love it. By way of magazine trade publications, regional/annual festivals, concerts, instructional workshops and classes in every city in America. They have produced both performance and instructional videos and DVDs and designed elaborate web sites to educate and promote hungry interests.
There are more belly dance videos and DVDs than any other movement practice such as yoga, aerobics, hula, Pilates, Flamenco or country line dancing, etc
Woman have been drawn to belly dance for fun, fitness, fantasy, therapy, spiritual movement practice, empowerment, sisterhood, cultural growth, personal growth and enjoyment.
Professional belly dancers continue to dance into advanced ages (unlike other dance forms)
Therapists recommend belly dance to improve self esteem, reclaim positive body images and a sense of power and control over one's life. They especially recommend it after abuse and physical attacks.
Midwives and obstetricians recommend belly dance as a means of fitness for pregnant women.
Belly dance, like Tai chi, involves weight baring hip sways and thus is good exercise for building and maintaining bone density in legs and hips.
The most common question asked of a belly dancer is, "where did belly dance come from?" The answer is assumed to be somewhere in the middle east but bellydance as we know it today involves so many cultures, so much history, and is constantly growing. Being the oldest dance, we can say then wherever the cradle of civilization took root but then we are really saying that birth, belly and women are the roots. The common denominator is the culture of women! Dance is a body bound art. Belly dance shape shifts in direct relationship to the freedom women enjoy in any cultural situation. Belly dance is big in Turkey but not in Iran or Afghanistan these days while American women are leading it's innovation while many other cultures are more athletically precise.
Belly dance has roots in many ethnic cultures but it is also the culture of art and show biz!
America
Statistically: As early as 1978 the television program 20/20 estimated there were 1 million belly dancing women in the US. This was when belly dance was very new. Today we have women belly dancing for over 30 years and have under gone a giant resurgence in the past 5 years. There are by far many more women and men belly dancing today.
Canada
Pretty much like America in it's involvement. There are many fabulous Canadian dancers that travel all over teaching and performing.
Middle East
There are 190, 000,000 people living in the Middle east at least 95,000,000+ are women and most all women in the middle east experience belly dance as a part of their heritage. So it seems safe to me to say most all women belly dance (not as professionals but more as a means of expression with each other).
China
The women there are on fire with belly dance at the present. Interesting to note that China is also influencing American belly dance at present by way of costume and music. Popular cinematic masterpieces involving Chinese myth and magic have inundated movie making and inspiring imaginations. They feature and popularize female super heroes in exotic colored silks and costuming with super human body control. These projects create a ripe environment for belly dance for women are scene as powerful and strategic; belly dance is a dance of control of every part of your body!
Brazil
Loves belly dance, has a population of middle eastern immigrants and a highly accepting culture of the dancing body, drum and rhythm. Belly dance is very hip and young girls as young as 5 and 6 learn, perform and compete in contests.
Japan
They are amazing imitators. As well as their love for country western they have fallen in love for belly dance via America and treat it with such gymnastic skill and science they are among the very best dancers! Japan may have the first empress in their history some day soon and the spirit of Japanese women is high.
Germany
Women came into popular contact with belly dance through the American service men's wives stationed in Germany. Bert Ballantine living in California but of German decent was one of the first teachers. Belly dance grew into a very professional as well as healthy past time for German women.
Spain
Loves belly dance at the moment and is reclaiming their Moorish and Andalusian roots that connect belly dance and flamenco.
North and South Africa
A very big place. Dance and drum are always a part of the continents life force. Belly dance in North Africa is a given. Recently South African woman influenced by their British connections have been turning onto belly dance for fun and fitness as well.
Korea
In the past few years has gone crazy for belly dance.
Iceland
Yup! They are belly dancing their too.
Taiwan
Same thing!
Visionary Dance Productions, a small company in Seattle, has sold instructional belly dance videos and DVD's to places all over the world; including Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Sarajevo during the war, Tasmania, Mexico, Far Northern Canada where there are very few women, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, and Iraq during the war.
There are 6-7 Billion people in the entire world. That means over 3.5 Million are women! Since all women in the middle east belly dance (in the back room for their mom's and sisters) by cultural association
Total population 297,821,175 . . .52% women = a little less than 150 million are women and if 10% were belly dancing that would be 15,000 million so I ‘m just asking one billion which is 1000 million women (and a few men too) to show up (965,000 more) hey what's the problem, it could happen?. . .lets show the world that this is not just some simple past time to be marginalized. If you are reading this and are not presently belly dancing, please get involved immediately and join us in the parade!
There are 6-7 Billion people in the entire world.
NOTE
If we don't reach our goal of one billion, heh heh, well we want to at least seem like there are belly dancers everywhere in the parade for 2006
Dance Rhythm
3 step turn snap
Parade style belly dance
It's a bit different because of the nature of a parade. It has certain limitations. It moves in one forward direction on hard asphalt. Toe shimmies are out and have to wear shoes. (we have a favorite recommendation we give you later) The audience is to each side and if we do not define our group by color we tend to blend in to easily with the audience. The rules of the parade are no signage and no motors or amplification so our music selection has to rely on percussion and loud instruments much as zornas, bag pipes, mizmars and Tibetan horns and gongs.
Dear Dancers,
Here are some pertinent links just for fun and a bit of background excitement.