People have different opinions when they are asked about the definition of a romantic belly dancing. However, if you trace it back, people have their own idea of how they define romantic. Regardless of your experiences and lifestyles, everyone will describe this form of dance from their distinct point of view.
There are people just like those who love to dress up in drag who describe belly dancing as sexy and romantic. Surprisingly, this dance wasn’t introduced that way; strip teasing was. However, both forms of dances are different from each other.
History of belly dancing
You probably learned in school that belly dancing was designed for women in labor. In fact, young girls began dancing at early stages of their life to train their bodies for the process of birthing. It is unknown whether women and girls knew what these dancing exercises were created for such purpose; however it was practiced and followed for so many years.
Take note that this dates back thousands of years ago. To carry out the birthing process, they would dig a hole in the ground and use it when women go into labor. The soon-to-be mother was told to control her abdominal muscles and manipulate certain muscle movements during the contractions to make the birthing process easier and more efficient. During the labor, the pregnant mother was supported by her fellow women as they chant and dance to help her in delivering the child.
In the present time, if you carry out this practice and invite a group of Middle Eastern Dancers to help a belly dancer during labor, this wouldn’t be acceptable. Nowadays, the only thing that’s acceptable in the labor room is to play music while giving birth. However, women who attended belly dancing classes admitted that the lessons helped them improve muscle strength and manipulation during the delivery procedure. They also pointed out that listening to music during the delivery period helped ease the difficulties in their birthing experience.
How did strip teasing started?
Strip teasing, on the other hand, begun with a housewife who was looking for a way to entertain her husband. Later on, other wives heard about this and were inspired to entertain their husbands by removing under garments as the music played. Then, a man discovered about this practiced and used his entrepreneurial skills to introduce and popularize strip teasing. And instead of under garments, entertainers were made to wear costumes.
Evolution of Belly Dancing
Before, belly dancing was just used for the purpose of easing the birthing process but later on, it evolved from private parties to public night clubs. With each generation passing by, belly dancing was introduced from one country to another, evolving with different style and culture. Now, this dance is recognized as adult or family entertainment. As a matter of fact, it was introduced to the Americans in 1950s at a Middle Eastern restaurant by a woman. It evolved from one style to nine unique styles of interests. This just shows that belly dancing goes a long way from birthing exercise to a renowned dance form.
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from https://pixabay.com/photos/bellydance-belly-dance-dance-3916579/
2nd image from https://pixabay.com/photos/people-moors-and-christians-parties-1854034/
