Decolonising Belly Dance: Theory and Practice
This Decolonising Belly Dance course is aimed at those who want to learn ‘belly dance’ beyond its bodily movement. It will look into the dance as a cultural celebration addressing its historical journey, its travel to the west and its development to the different styles we see today. It will tackle the myths that surround it, the problematic terminology and the stereotypes associated with it through the theories of Orientalism, Male & Colonial Gaze and Feminism. The practical side of the course will teach the foundational moves of the dance in its modern shape with awareness spotlighting the Egyptian moves, offering space for learning, improvisation and joy through dancing to music from the SWANA region. This course is inclusive and welcomes all those who wish to embark on the journey of bellydance with an open mind and heart. Adult participants are welcome from any age, gender, size or other backgrounds.
Image credits
Banner: Jean-Léon Gérôme, Dance of the Almeh (c. 1863)
Photo: Little Egypt (Ashea Wahba) one of a series of photos by Benjamin Falk. (c. 1890s)
Course Overview
All sessions held in person at the Arab British Centre in London
Week 1 | Tuesday 31 March | 6:30-8:30pm
Theory
When did belly dance start?
Egypt’s dance styles: Baladi, Ghawazi, Awalem, Raqs Sharqi, Bellydance
Practice
Hip drops , hip circles, shoulder moves (circles, shimmy)
Week 2 | Tuesday 7 April | 6:30-8:30pm
Theory
Region’s belly dance styles: Oryantal dans (Turkey), Tsifteteli (Greece), Others
Practice
Camel move, Egyptian shimmy
Week 3 | Tuesday 14 April | 6:30-8:30pm
Theory
Belly dance traveling to the West. Colonisation, Orientalism, Male and Colonial Gaze. Little Egypt and World Fairs.
Practice
Hip pump, Chest moves
Week 4 | Tuesday 21 April | 6:30-8:30pm
Theory
American belly dance: Styles, 2nd wave feminism, 3rd wave feminism. Fitness, community building, vocational, mental health.
Practice
Pelvic moves, Step-touch
Week 5 | Tuesday 28 April | 6:30-8:30pm
Theory
Props: hip scarves, veils, snakes, Fire. Asaya
Practice: isolations, floorwork
Costume: Two-piece
Practice
Hagala , Horse move
Week 6 | Tuesday 5 May | 6:30-8:30pm
Theory Recap
Misconceptions: Belly dance history, name, the development of raqs sharqi
Cultural appropriation vs appreciation
Current discussion on the foreign dancers
Practice
Practice and Party!
Meet Your Teacher
Maysa Ismael is a Syrian dancer and founder of the Shik Shak Shok School of Belly dance. She began belly dancing in 2014 in Syria and started teaching in London in 2021. Through Shik Shak Shok, Maysa offers belly-dancing classes that are culturally informative and gender inclusive, celebrating all people’s access to the art. She aims to decolonise bellydancing and dismantle the negative connotations associated with it. Maysa’s other work experiences include the field of forced migration, women’s participation in peacebuilding, protecting civilians in conflict and meaningful participation of refugees. She is a fellow with 1325 Women in conflict fellowship and holds an MA in Sociology from Goldsmiths, University of London.
Why decolonise bellydance?
‘Belly dance’ refers to a form of dance that evolved from traditional dance styles in Egypt including Baladi, Ghawazi and Awalem. These are local social and celebratory dances performed in private spaces or in the streets. They are characterised by improvisation, torso and hip movements in a flirtatious and cheeky manner.
In the late 19th century, this relatively new dance form started to be performed on the stages of Egypt's entertainment clubs and scenes and thus was subject to changes greatly influenced by the socio-cultural environment in Cairo which was highly multicultural. Because of that, the dance started absorbing and incorporating foreign moves and techniques leading to the birth of a new dance style called ‘Belly dance’. Here choreographies were introduced and potential changes to the Belly dance costume may have taken place. In Egypt, this dance form is called ‘Raqs Shaqi’ which literally translates into ‘eastern dance’. We will talk about the role of Badia Masabni and the ‘Golden Era’ dancers such as Tahia Carioca and Samia Jamal.
The term ‘belly dance’ was first used in 1864 by the French press as a nickname to the painting La danse de l'almée (The Dance of the Almeh) by Jean-Léon Gérôme, which was displayed at the Paris Salon. The name is believed to have sexualised the dance and represented it from an Orientalist lens let alone that it doesn’t represent the dance which included moving many other parts of the body. While practitioners have been trying to find an appropriate name, they found that so far ‘raqs sharqi’ better represents the dance.
Decolonising belly dance is a long overdue process that attempts to reclaim belly dance by understanding how colonisation impacted it, and how it continues to shape and define its story, practice and discourse alienating the native dancers and the original communities. The process involves understanding the origin of belly dance, how the dance moved the West, how that journey impacted its practice in Egypt and the Arab countries and allowed the belly dance scene to be dominated by non-native dancers. Through this course, we will look into the meaning of the props we are holding, the terms we are using and the role we can play to acknowledge the culture from where this dance emanated and how to honour this dance, educating ourselves about it and how to perform it and benefit from it in an ethical way.
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