What is Bellydance?
Mention that you “bellydance” and you’ll get all sorts of interesting reactions. There will be a few that hear “ballet dance”, so make sure you enunciate! Next, you may see a look of shock, nostalgia, fun, or puzzlement. To the shocked and puzzled, I sometimes try to explain how its origins are as a social dance, women dancing for women at parties, and so on. But I can’t control what they’ve previously experienced, I can only present my own “definition” through my actions.
How do bellydancers themselves define it? Check out this discussion on Bhuz.com from a few years ago. Around page five, Nadira Jamal contributed this wonderful diagram:
