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A Dance By Any Other Name...© Shira
"The name we give to something shapes our attitude toward it."
The name "belly dancing" entered U.S. awareness in the 1890's, when the Columbia Exposition in Chicago first brought Middle Eastern dance artists to the attention of the American public. A savvy promoter named Sol Bloom advertised the scandalous "belly dancing" as a way of attracting more visitors to the entertainments of the world's fair. Modern-day dancers are challenging the use of this term. Some leaders in the dance community advocate the use of more correct terms such as "Middle Eastern Dance" or "Oriental Dance", while others continue to embrace the name "belly dancing". What's Wrong With The Term "Belly Dance"? Names have power. For many people, especially those who have never truly seen the dance performed by a talented professional, the name "belly dancing" carries with it that scandalous reputation that accompanied its arrival on U.S. shores. "Do you take your clothes off? Is it like stripping?" are common questions that arise when someone tells a friend she is trying out a "belly dancing" class. In the Middle East, the term for the dance is "raqs sharqi" in Arabic and "Oryantal tansi" in Turkish. The correct translation into English for both of these terms is "dance of the East", or "Oriental dance". Neither language uses the name of any body part in its name for this dance form. In fact, many Middle Eastern people feel that the name "belly dance" is a vulgar term for a beautiful performing art. The mere word "belly" sounds humorous to many people. It is associated with beer bellies, belly laughs, and bellying up to the bar. The Red Elvises recorded a song titled, "I Want To See You Belly Dance." Comic Craig Shoemaker has a section in his stand-up routine called "My Mother Was a Belly Dancer." Because of all these comic associations, the term "belly dancing" sounds rather humorous and undignified to many people. So Why Do Some People Still Want To Call It Belly Dancing? Still, there is a group of professionals who have made a conscious decision to call what they do "belly dancing". This approach is particularly popular in Pagan circles, where the dancers want to honor the abdomen as the center from which new life emerges. These artists seek to reclaim the term "belly dancing" from its scandal-linked origins and imbue it with the power of something sacred. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article A Dance By Any Other Name... in Middle Eastern Dance is owned by Julie Elliot. Permission to republish A Dance By Any Other Name... in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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