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Belly dance is a dance form originating in Africa and the Middle East. It was created to prepare women for birth and is influenced by Indian and African dance moves. These moves include swaying and rotating your hips and the lower body is mostly used. Traces of the dance are found from up to 6000 years ago! This dance is known to empower women and make them feel confident when they do it.

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Hip Sways

In this move you bend your legs and go on your tip toes to start. To move you slowly straighten and bend your leg when you want one side of your belly to go up. To make it smooth you also move your tip toes when you straighten your leg.

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Hits

This move is less smooth then the other one and is also faster. For this one you don't need to go on tip toes but you need to bend your knees. To hit all you have to do is straighten your leg.

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Belly Dance is a common type of dance mostly performed by the middle eastern and Arab communities. Arab music is often associated with belly dance and modern classical music by the name of al-jadid is usually what the dance is performed to. Instruments like cellos, accordion, tablahs and flutes are commonly played when people are performing belly dance.

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Belly dancers have various different clothing and accessories they dress in. They wear hip scarfs which is a basic accessory. Different types of skirts that can be thick, long, short, fishtail style, or chiffon are worn. With it they wear beaded or coined tops that show the belly button and are either sleeveless or have sleeves that are tight at the top and open at the bottom. Pantaloons which are wide at the bottom or tied to the ankles may be worn. They can also either wear a type of long decorated dress called a Beledi dress. Headbands or turbans are hair accessories belly dancers wear to hold their hair. Footwear is not an essential part of the outfit, but belly dancers wear either high heels or soft shoes with beads to match the rest of the regalia. Sarongs which are longer than hip scarfs and have fringes, are an important part of a belly dancer’s outfit.

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Belly dance is important to the people who perform it because it boosts self-confidence and self-expression. It appreciates natural curves and movements of the body. It celebrates diverse body types and highlight the strength and beauty of the performers. Belly dance helps improve the balance and posture of belly dancers and strengthens the core muscles.

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Belly Dance Association with Celebrations and Practices

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Belly Dance Association with Celebrations and Practices

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Belly dance is performed at occasions and celebrations such as weddings, birth announcements, gender reveals, and festivals throughout Middle Eastern history. In Turkey, Muslim women used it to prepare muscles for birth, or help young women show readiness for getting married. In Egypt, belly dancers were hired to bless happy couples. Belly dance didn't associate too much to religious practices, but was performed at occasions, mostly weddings.

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Today belly dance is a popular way of fitness. It isn't performed at occasions such as weddings and birth announcements, it is mostly learnt at dance classes as a fun dance. Lessons teach basic traditional dance moves and encourage belly dancers to express themselves through movement. It strengthens many muscles and is a good physical activity.

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Belly Dance is used as dance form to express self-confidence and promote self-expression. Belly dancers use dance to express their feeling. They convey happiness, anger, pride, and jealousy by dancing. Women can explore their feelings, spirit, and creativity. Belly dance makes women feel included because there are no restriction to do it. It wasn't culturally used but it was used in occasions.

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Belly dance is a very old form of dance and traces of it found from 6000 years ago! It was danced by middle eastern people pretty often but during the 18th and 19th centuries became very popular. Traditionally it is performed when women gather and dance together to prepare women's muscles for birth. This dance has evolved a lot since then and now it is mostly performed solo and is rarely performed to prepare women for birth and is considered a good form of exercise and makes women feel confident.