Some General Information On Middle Eastern Dance

From a 19th century engraving, "A Dance in the Temple of Karnak."

There are many forms of "Middle Eastern" dance, if by that we mean any sort of dance originating or practiced in any of the Middle Eastern countries. Prominent among these many dances are a number of common qualities which describe a specific form of dance, and which differentiate it from Western dance in general: The dance covers little space The dance emphasizes a dependence on gravity rather than attempting to escape it; it is "rooted" The pattern and rhythm are contained within the sphere of the body Little jumping or elevation is used Hand motions are important and eloquent The knee is nearly always bent There is an emphasis on the movement of hips, spine and shoulders; muscle isolations are an integral part of the dance. The qualities above are generally shared by many dances not only of the Middle East, but of Asia and the Far East. However, we repeatedly find across the Middle East, Asia Minor and northern Africa the very frequent use of muscle isolations (movements requiring precise control of very small groups of related muscles), and a striking emphasis on movement of the hips, an emphasis also seen in Polynesian dancing. The dances we are concerned with here are most often performed by women, although men's dances can also take these forms. Particularly notable in the Middle East and North Africa is a widespread tradition of women's solo improvisational dance, out of which the modern "belly dance" has arisen. There is great speculation and debate among dance scholars as to the exact origins of what is often termed Oriental dance (the term as used here refers to the dances found in the Middle East, Asia Minor and North Africa sharing the characteristics described above, although it can cover a wider geographical area). This may arise from attempts to oversimplify the relationships between dances of myriad ethnic and historical backgrounds. However, it is generally agreed that at least some of the roots of these women's dances are extremely old, and certainly pre-date civilization.

It has been speculated that Oriental dance's focus on the female hip and abdomen hearkens back as far as prehistoric times. It is known that dance appeared very early in the prehistory of mankind as an important element of "imitative magic." This involves a belief in the ability to join with or influence forces normally beyond human control, via imitating the action of those powers or the desired results of the action. Dances by women focusing on the lower torso may have been dances of fertility, imitative of the birth process. Many scholars also point out that women's dances paying homage to the female as the source of life would likely have been prevalent in the apparently matriarchal cultures of pre- and early civilization. Although generally associated with the Middle East, the influences of Oriental dance can be found elsewhere. In particular, we see this in Spain and wherever Gypsies have travelled. Spain was held by Arabic rule for over 800 years (approximately seventh through fifteenth centuries AD), and all of the dances of Spain have been influenced by this. The original Gypsies were actually Indian; their language, Romany, is related to Sanskrit. At some point in history, the ancestors of the Gypsies left India and began a centuries-long movement westward. Whether Oriental dance was influenced by the Gypsies, or the Gypsies simply picked it up along the way, they certainly carried Oriental dance forms with them into Europe: "wherever they went... we find in dances the brilliant oriental use of the hand, quivering shoulders, bending spine, and jerking hips."1 By the time that the modern Judeo-Christian Western world became, on a significant scale, aware of the East in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, what once may have been a sacred dance had filtered down through the ages into the folk dances of many cultures and ethnic groups. Unfortunately, the repressive moral climate, insularity, and imperialism exemplified by the Victorian age made the West ill-equipped for appreciating the art and culture of non-Western civilization. The Orient was pictured as a paradise where sensuality and abandonment were the norm. The tourist abroad as well as the seeker of titillation at home eagerly accepted the distorted view of the Oriental woman as odalisque, a passive sexual plaything. The woman's dance was quickly turned into a spectacle for gawking. A young Middle Eastern woman wrote in the early twentieth century: Thus in Cairo one evening I saw, with sick, incredulous eyes, one of our most sacred dances degraded into a bestiality horrible and revolting. It is our poem of the mystery and pain of motherhood, which all true Asiatic men watch with reverence and humility... Such is our Asiatic veneration of motherhood that there are countries and tribes whose most binding oath is sworn upon the stomach... but the spirit of the Occident had touched this holy dance, and it became the horrible "danse du ventre," the "hoochie-coochie"... I heard the lean Europeans chucking, I saw lascivious smiles upon even the lips of the Asiatics, and I fled.2 The reaction of Americans to their first exposure of Oriental dance in the late nineteenth century was the same as that of their European contemporaries: shock and indignation from the morally righteous, and rapid exploitation by those who traded on the moral hypocrisy and lucrative pornography business of those times. The dance's moves were taken over and vulgarized, as strippers, prostitutes and burlesque showgirls pedalled de-humanized sexuality. The average American's image of Oriental dance today usually retains the influence of this unfortunate history, along with that of the more recent exploitation of the Oriental dancer by Hollywood, and is accompanied by modern stereotypes of Arabic peoples in general. As a member of the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American Islamic Relations was recently quoted, "All we see (of Arabs in the movies) are the three B's: bombers, billionaires and belly dancers."3 The term "belly dance" (an erroneous Western-ism arising from the equally erroneous eighteenth century French term, "danse du ventre," literally, "dance of the stomach") is often carelessly applied to anyone affecting a cabaret-style bra and belt, regardless of training or talent. Although incorrect, what this term refers to is the modern Raks Sharki (literally, "dance of the East") of Egypt, and its many counterparts. This is the contemporary form of Oriental dance, which in itself has many variations, ranging from country of origin (be it Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon or others) to period in (recent) history. Like any other dance form, the modern Oriental dance is constantly evolving, and each dancer brings her own interpretation to it. Although there is no single "correct" form of this dance, there is a body of knowledge and technique that has until recently only been passed down from dancer to dancer (that is, there is no generally accepted body of written reference works chronicling the dance), and there certainly is good and bad technique and execution.

Traditional Tunisian "Pot Dance."

The modern Raks Sharki and its relatives have grown out of the folk dance traditions of the countries they are found in, combined with the influence of the Western world. The large-scale commercialization of the dance as a cabaret (nightclub-style) entertainment is without argument a Western phenomenon -- Egypt, the most well-known home of the modern cabaret dance, is also one of the most "Westernized" of the Arabic nations -- although the dance itself remains intrinsically Eastern. The well-known (and stereotyped) cabaret costume -- bra and belt -- only appeared after Western contact with the Middle East and north Africa. Hollywood took this image and made it the universal rule; it boomeranged back to the Middle East where it is still de rigueur (with variations) for professional entertainers. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in "ethnic" dances of many countries, both in terms of preserving "authentic" dances as well as incorporating ethnic elements into modern dance. Any "authentic" ethnic or folk dance will be unavoidably changed when taken out of its cultural context and put into a format for presentation to an audience which most likely does not have the societal references of the dance's originating culture; this should be kept in mind when viewing any such presentation. However, this interest serves the vital role of preserving at least some of the essence of these folk traditions, in a world where old ways are rapidly fading before the advance of modern civilization. 1Agnes De Mille, The Book of the Dance (New York: Golden Press, 1963), p.53. 2Daniela Gioseffi quoting from Armen Ohanian, The Dance of Shamahka, translated by Rose Wilder Lane (New York: Dutton, 1923) in Earth Dancing: Mother Nature's Oldest Rite (Pacific Grove CA: Artemis Imports, 1991), p. 37. 3Ibrahim Hopper, quoted by Lewis Beale, "Islamic groups protest Arab stereotypes in 'True Lies,'" Gainesville Sun, July 23, 1994, p. 5D.

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