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Scenes From Turkey: Oriental Dance, Part 2

© Shira

In Scenes From Turkey: Oriental Dance, Part 1 I described some of the current trends in Turkish Oryantal Tansi (Oriental dance, which is the Turkish name for belly dancing) that I observed while I was there. Here in part 2 I'll offer additional comments about the shows I saw, and of course I'll include more pictures!

Back in the late 1980's and early 1990's, the primary theme in Turkish costuming seemed to be skimpiness. As seen in videos of Turkish dance from that era, "skirts" were scarcely more than sequinned loincloths. Based on what I saw in my July 2000 visit to Turkey, I'm pleased to say that dancers appear to have moved away from skimpiness, and now the look tends to be one of elegance. Or at least, that's the case at the better places.

This picture shows the second Oriental dance act to appear in the show at Gar Gazinosu in Istanbul on July 12, 2000. These perky dancers performed an Egyptian-style cane choreography in a lively duet. Their costumes came across as elegant, but with the cutouts they were also just a bit daring. Click here to see more pictures of these dancers and get a better look at their costume.

Based on the shows we saw and the costume shopping we did at two different vendors, it seems like the primary theme in the higher-class Turkish-style costumes today is cutouts, particularly in the skirt and belt. Note the photo above of the duet dancers at Gar Gazinosu in Istanbul. There are cutouts in both their gauntlets and their skirts.

The dancer in the above photo was the headliner for the evening at Gar Gazinosu, and she made a rather dramatic entrance! Click here to see several more pictures that will give you a better look at this dancer and her elegant costume. You'll also get a chance to see how she used cutouts.

On our third night in Istanbul, our group went to a dinner show at Kervansaray. Unlike the two previous shows at Orient House and Gar Gazinosu, this club featured a live band for the Oriental dancers.

The above photo depicts the first dancer to appear in the show at Kervansaray on July 13, 2000. Click here to see additional pictures of her and get a closer look at her costume.

At Kervansaray, as at the clubs we went to our first two evenings, the Oriental dancers used primarily Egyptian music instead of Turkish music.

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