Expressions of Belly Dance

 “Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.”

-Voltaire

Belly dance is an improvised art form. This profession has a multitude of profiles, which come in a variety pack. These numerous assortments require attentiveness to detail, as well as vigilance, for the synchronization of music. It is the harmony of the rhythm that meets the body.

The most important mode is the feeling of the music. It is the way to perceive the sensitivity of the inventiveness, which is translated through the body, and brought to the people, for the people.

It is perfection.

Perfect is the absolute way to conform to a description of an ideal type. It’s a lifestyle, a culture of its own accord, for the dancers all strive to deliver a performance that is unearthly original. The classical timeliness of this stainless expression is endless. One can always move, can always sway, and can always hum the tune of the drum. However, it takes a physical absorption and consistency to perfectly deliver.

Belly dance demands strength. It is most important for the dancer to be calm in the heart and serene in the mind. If the heart and mind are connected to the music, the body will follow its desire. If the body is peaceful, then the movements will be graceful. The elegance of these refined movements is to honor womanhood, beauty. It’s timeless and filled with expression.

Tahiya Carioca, a legendary belly dancer, said Each decent Oriental dancer must express life, death, happiness, sorrow, love and anger, but above all, she must have dignity. What does she mean by this? Every dancer is trained to captivate and to inspire feeling. The dancer grounds herself to the flow of the accented and rhythmic pulses while conveying emotion, to the viewer. All of the energy that lives within the dancer, emotions and thoughts, should be placed in the function of belly dance. It is with determination and tuning into the music, that the dancer is able to implement and achieve a great performance. 

It’s not just the dancer that is highly regarded in this style. The music is the motivator for the movement. 

The instruments are crucial. They ignite the rhythms with their chemistry. It is the beat which assists the soloist dancer. This distribution praises the sounds of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. The dancer produces the natural beauty of the Middle East, all with the help of the musicians. They follow the dancer, as the dancer pursues the music.

The exotic tunes command attention. It is the thunderous sound of the drum that escapes from the drummer’s hands, encourages adrenaline; it generates power while requiring establishment. The volume of the oud, a small guitar with a short neck and round body, shapes unique sounds with a low, warm timbre. The Egyptian harp, the qanun, the most integral part in Arabic music, has a quick modulation of sounds only achieved to temporarily rise the tuning of the strings. It lays down the law of pitch, organizing the scale for other musical forces, to feed off one another, thus impressing the dancer to accompany the beat.

  

These, and other classical pieces in the Arabic world, constitute a performance of perfection. What the musician and the dancer feel while they perform is one thing. However, for the audience, it’s an exclusive experience, connecting them to that moment, realizing that they are being brought into being, feeling, living.

To bring a person into being, that is perfection.