Farasha Hanem
New member
The problem is that bellydance is not as old as a lot of people think---it's only about 150 years old or so, give or take. The notion that bellydance is an "ancient fertility goddess dance" has no historical basis in antiquity, but does make "good advertising" for bellydance classes and workshops, though misleading. Bellydance is based on folkloric dances such as baladi, sha'abi, Raqs assaya, Haggala, Maleya luff, etc., and are more hip-driven than say, folk dances from India, which are more feet and hand driven.
Bollywood is indeed influenced by many sources, based on classical Indian dances such as Kathak, Bhangra, and Bharatanatyam, and can contain elements of bellydance, and even Western genres such as hip-hop.
I recommend Shira's web site, http://www.shira.net, which contains excellent articles about the history of bellydance, and more. There are many members here who also are teachers, and a number of them have had the wonderful opportunity of studying bellydance abroad in the countries of origin. They are always more than happy to answer people's questions about bellydance.
Whoops, I believe we have diverted somewhat from the original topic....
Bollywood is indeed influenced by many sources, based on classical Indian dances such as Kathak, Bhangra, and Bharatanatyam, and can contain elements of bellydance, and even Western genres such as hip-hop.
I recommend Shira's web site, http://www.shira.net, which contains excellent articles about the history of bellydance, and more. There are many members here who also are teachers, and a number of them have had the wonderful opportunity of studying bellydance abroad in the countries of origin. They are always more than happy to answer people's questions about bellydance.
Whoops, I believe we have diverted somewhat from the original topic....
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