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Belly Dancing is very popular not only in Egypt. All over the world women are realizing the health benefits of this type of dancing. Egypt is often the first country that comes to our mind when belly dancing is mentioned or thought of.
Egyptian women! One could write forever about their beauty. They are kind, faithful, lovely and very sensual, especially when they are dancing. Not so different to many woman from any part of the world. Egyptian woman have created the art of not just dancing as the Western world thinks of dancing. Egyptian woman dance the very sensual and flowing dance known as belly dancing. Most Egyptian woman can belly dance and are usually taught as children by their mothers as the benefits to a woman’s health has long been understood by many generations of Egyptian woman.
The name "Belly dance" or "Raks Sharki" has a very long and colorful history.
Belly dancing does not mean moving only the belly. When women belly dance, they use their entire body, head, hair, shoulders, arms, hands, legs and feet.
It is truly magical to watch!
Egypt is the country that most aspiring foreign dancers wish to visit and possibly participate in festivals, or take dancing classes, attend a show, buy music, and purchase that special custom made costume of their dreams.
A belly dancer can dance wearing any kind of clothing in a casual setting, and may simply tie a beaded hip scarf around her. However, on stage, in a restaurant, or at a party, it is expected that a dancer will wear a full belly dancing costume, these colorful and beaded costumes are every bit important and necessary to the dancer as the music she chooses to dance to.
The very foundation of the belly dance costume is the bra and the belt. Belly dance costume designs are divided into various styles depending upon the number of pieces making up the bra and belt. An "Oriental" costume contains several pieces, a bra, one-piece belt, a skirt which may or may not be attached to the belt and the veil.
Another kind, called "Top" is a one piece costume consisting of a bra connected to the skirt with a lycra mesh which may be the color of the bra and skirt or may be flesh colored, and a veil (there is no belt).
The last design consists of a bra and skirt without a structured belt, the belt is a part of the skirt. This costume would also include a veil, other matching accessories are an option and they are gauntlets, anklets, wrist cuffs, upper arm bands, head and hair bands, necklaces, earrings etc. However, some dancers just use the bra and the belt separately to match other skirts and veils they may already have.
Often there is more than one person working on one costume. The crafts people are generally women. They all have their own talents in creating the beautiful Belly Dancing costumes, some of them create the base of the bras and the belts, and others add the decorations and others do the finishing work. In fact, one belly dance costume can take more than a month of handcraft to complete.
To make a belt, the designer draws the shape of the belt on a piece of vazlin or pellon, this is a heavy weight backing much like the material used in shirt collars and cuffs, but heavier. This template is then usually used to cut out three pieces of this material.
The designer then irons the three layers together to create a strong flexible piece. The chosen fabric and covering is added to this layer of the belt design. This piece is ironed to the fabric and sewn together. It is now ready to go to the next process of the decorations.
The construction of the bras is not much different than that of the belts. The designer first makes the size of the bra cups from leather like material, creating a very stiff foundation. The sides of the bra are made from the vazlin/pellon the same way as the belts. The bra is then ready to be covered with the fabric.
Enjoy your dancing when you order your own unique handcrafted Belly Dancing items direct from Egypt created by some of Egypt's finest crafts people using the skills handed down through the ancient Egyptian generations.
We certainly hope you may have the opportunity to one day visit this mystical ancient land and have the chance to see the traditional dance while cruising upon the Nile.
Even though we do not currently have Belly Dance items to our quality available, have left this page as it is found to be of grat interest to many on the history of Belly Dancing.
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