A Dance By Any Other Name

"The name we give to something shapes our attitude toward it."

"From antiquity, people have recognized the connection between naming and power."

The name "belly dancing" entered U.S. awareness in the 1890's, when the Columbia Exposition in Chicago first brought Middle Eastern dance artists to the attention of the American public. A savvy promoter named Sol Bloom advertised the scandalous "belly dancing" as a way of attracting more visitors to the entertainments of the world's fair.

Modern-day dancers are challenging the use of this term. Some leaders in the dance community advocate the use of more correct terms such as "Middle Eastern Dance" or "Oriental Dance", while others continue to embrace the name "belly dancing".

What's Wrong With The Term "Belly Dance"?

Names have power. For many people, especially those who have never truly seen the dance performed by a talented professional, the name "belly dancing" carries with it that scandalous reputation that accompanied its arrival on U.S. shores. "Do you take your clothes off? Is it like stripping?" are common questions that arise when someone tells a friend she is trying out a "belly dancing" class.

In the Middle East, the term for the dance is "raqs sharqi" in Arabic and "Oriyantal dansi" in Turkish. The correct translation into English for both of these terms is "dance of the East", or "Oriental dance". Neither language uses the name of any body part in its name for this dance form. In fact, many Middle Eastern people feel that the name "belly dance" is a vulgar term for a beautiful performing art.

The mere word "belly" sounds humorous to many people. It is associated with beer bellies, belly laughs, jelly bellies, fire in the belly, pork bellies, the belly of the beast, and bellying up to the bar. The Red Elvises recorded a song titled, "I Want To See You Belly Dance." Comic Craig Shoemaker has a section in his stand-up routine called "My Mother Was a Belly Dancer." Because of all these comic associations, the term "belly dancing" sounds rather humorous and undignified to many people.

So Why Do Some People Still Want To Call It Belly Dancing?

Still, there is a group of professionals who have made a conscious decision to call what they do "belly dancing". This approach is particularly popular in Pagan circles, where the dancers want to honor the abdomen as the center from which new life emerges. These artists seek to reclaim the term "belly dancing" from its scandal-linked origins and imbue it with the power of something sacred.

Many modern-day dancers will use the name "belly dancing" to advertise their classes, because they realize that is the name that "the general public" of prospective students is likely to recognize. But they'll often advertise their performances as "Middle Eastern Dance" or "Oriental Dance" as a way to distance themselves from the unsavory reputation that the other term has managed to retain for over a century or the undignified connotations that the word "belly" raises in many people's minds. Rather than calling herself a "belly dancer", an individual may refer to herself as an "Oriental dance artist" to gain more respect in the academic dance community.

What If It's Not Purely Oriental?

Many artists today have experimented with blending belly dance with other dance forms such as African, jazz, and modern dance. Once movements that are not inherently Middle Eastern in nature have been added to the dance, it becomes something that is no longer truly Middle Eastern dance. People often call these blends "fusion". For example, a dancer who brings together modern dance and Oriental dance might call the result "ethno-modern fusion".

Now What?

Middle Eastern dance? Oriental dance? Belly dance? Ethno-modern fusion? Raqs sharqi? Or something else? Use the term that makes you the most comfortable, but do so from an informed perspective. Think about what response the name you select is likely evoke from others, and choose accordingly.

What Do You Think?

Respond to our opinion poll below to register how you feel about naming the dance that so many of us love to do. Then view the results to see how your own opinion compares to what others have expressed.

Poll reflects votes since October 26, 2002.

Find out more about why even in the 21st century, many people in the U.S. associate "belly dancing" with stripping and other scandalous behavior.

That "Snake Charmer" Song. Describes how the Middle Eastern dance form first came to the U.S., how the term "belly dancing" first arrived in American vocabulary, and how the "snake charmer" song came to be associated with this dance form.

Book Review: Looking For Little Egypt. Review of a book that provides detailed information about how "belly dancing" first came to the U.S., came to be known by that name, and came to be associated with scandal. Excellent in-depth research by Donna Carlton.

Acknowledgements

This article originally appeared on the Suite101 web site, in the Middle Eastern Dance category, on April 14, 2000.

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