Legend of the origin of belly dance
Belly dance originated from fertility and religion
Representative legend: female prayer dance- "According to legend, there was a beautiful young woman who came to the temple to pray because she could not have children after marriage. She threw herself, twisted her waist and wagged her hips in front of the idol, as if dancing, praying to the god of fertility to fulfill her dream. Her graceful dance charmed the priests present and immediately reported it to Pharaoh. Later, she used her' dance' as a priest dance. " According to this view, oriental dance is developed from this kind of dance. ? Proof-? The tradition that belly dancers dance barefoot just confirms that belly dancing is a religious ceremony in ancient times. Barefoot is to show that they are close to nature, keep the most direct contact with the earth, and show the profound artistic conception of nature and human reproduction vitality. ? There is another typical example of this statement-two slow movements in belly dancing are imitations of women's abdominal rhythm during childbirth. And there is a theory that belly dancing originated from pregnant women in the Middle East to prepare for the smooth delivery. ? An American folklorist recorded a thrilling "dance birth ceremony" she witnessed in a remote village in Morocco. She recorded the scene at that time with amazing brushstrokes: when a Moroccan woman was in labor, other women in the village formed three circles around her. While singing, they rolled their bellies and pulled them back hard from time to time. The movement was slower and stronger than the "flutter" in our current belly dance. They moved the arranged circles clockwise while repeating these movements ... ? Life is so sacred and precious that belly dancing is a tribute to life-this is also the original spirit of belly dancing. Today, when we dance with the drums that seem to come from the ancient times, can we appreciate these ancient meanings?
belly dance originated from the legend of the court and the representative of lust: the story of Salome? Salome is the stepdaughter of Herod, the ancient king. Her mother Herodias asked Salome to dance the seven-layer gauze for Herod in order to kill John, a believer who opposed her marriage with Herod. She danced in front of Herod, wearing seven layers of gauze, and then with the rhythm of the music, each gauze garment on her body slowly receded in turn, and the jade arm relaxed and the dance steps floated ... When the last layer of gauze faded from Salome's crystal-clear body, Herod was crazy about the beauty of the girl, and the king promised her a wish, even if it was half of Babylon, the king would agree. So Salome asked the king to present John's head to her on a plate according to her mother's instructions. ? There is a saying that Salome's "Dance of the Seven Veils" is the predecessor of belly dance. The "Dance of the Seven Veils" originated from ancient Babylonian mythology-there was a goddess of war and love named Ishtar, who was also the goddess of the earth. It is said that she was the daughter of the moon and had a beautiful appearance that could make demons fall for her, in order to pursue the dead. Legend has it that when the goddess descended from heaven to hell, every time she descended a heavy sky and entered a heavy door, she took off a veil and gradually lost her divinity. Desperate for love, it can't help but remind people of the White Snake in China's classical legend, and Du Liniang who died for love and was reborn for love. The dance of the seven-fold yarn is to imitate Istar's descent from the celestial body to hell, taking off her gauze clothes again and again. In this process, various body languages are constantly mobilized, which is a kind of dance that is very functional and exciting.
proof-? Another historical legend also confirms the saying that belly dancing originated from the palace lust: during the Otto-Ottoman Turkish Empire, the harem of the Sultan Dynasty was full of beautiful women, with 3, beauties. Therefore, how to win the favor of the Sultan and gather 3, favorites became a matter of concern for harem women day and night. It is said that the Sultan's method of selecting beautiful women made the ladies-in-waiting cover their faces with scarves and dance in front of the Sultan only with their bellies exposed, so whether the ladies-in-waiting have superb abdominal skills has become a major factor to attract the king's attention. Oriental dance gradually became popular in the harem under such circumstances, and because most of the ladies-in-waiting were bought and sold into the palace, they could leave the palace after the expiration of the seven-year contract according to the regulations at that time, so it was only natural that these harem wives brought the dance in the harem to the people, which gradually became a form of entertainment performance at parties or festivals and gradually became a part of people's lives. It's really "in the old days, Wang thanked the Tang and flew into the homes of ordinary people". ? This legend can also explain why today's Turkish-style belly dance is more charming, hot and unrestrained than other styles in terms of movements and costumes, and why Turkish belly dance has more floor movements.
In short, whether belly dancing really originated from the court or not, there is no doubt that belly dancing was once a court dance in the Arab world. It is no wonder that some people call it an Arab ballet, and it is indeed equivalent to the ballet of the French court in the 17th century. ? People who love belly dancing today, do you remember the beautiful images in the Arab court thousands of years ago? They used up all their love to carry out every movement, and love gave them the power to dance. In this sense, belly dancing is an expression of love, an eternal theme.
what are the characteristics of belly dancing?
belly dancing is a very feminine dance. It is characterized by swinging the abdomen and vigorously dancing the arms and chest with the ever-changing fast rhythm. These movements become belly dancing, which is an unbreakable dance technique. Belly dancing must be performed on a smooth floor, barefoot dancing and music, with extremely fast and complicated perceptual body movements and fast dance steps, just like in Europe and America.
Of course, belly dancing can be solo without accompaniment. The unique Arabic music full of romance makes belly dancing more dynamic. Common accompaniment instruments such as UT piano, Ney, Deblek tambourine, dulcimer, etc., among which the tambourine of percussion instrument is particularly important. When dancers perform their unique skills of twisting their waists and dancing their bellies, the addition of drums has a multiplier effect.
belly dancing is also combined with other props, such as snakes, swords, veils, candles, flames and so on. The appearance of these props may be influenced by ancient belly dancing and mysterious religious ceremonies. Some countries in the Middle East still respect these dramatic and mysterious performances. In particular, the intricate snake tricks, snakes like men and women, hermaphroditic snakes, are very strange and full of Arab mystery.
As a beautiful body art, belly dance creates an elegant, sexy and feminine dance language through the rotation of pelvis, buttocks, chest and arms and the dazzling hip swing, which fully displays the feminine beauty of women's bodies. It is a kind of whole-body exercise, which can make your legs, abdomen, shoulders and neck fully move, thus improving the elasticity and flexibility of your body. The movement of the arm is very important, it can express the elegance and exquisiteness of the dancer. It is not only a sport, but also a spiritual bond between mind and body.
Belly dancing is not a woman's patent
When we shoot belly dancers, we usually choose those female belly dancers who wear charming topless clothes and do dazzling hip swaying movements ... We basically don't shoot those male belly dancers.
belly dance, which is also known to westerners as oriental dance, evolved from Arab folk dance. But this kind of folk dance is not a woman's patent.
Tarik Sultan, an oriental dancer and historian, explained to us, "It was not until the 2th century that belly dancing became a dance performed by pure women. Before being influenced by Europe (the late 17th century), oriental male performers were not unusual, but very common.
Despite his personal success as an oriental dancer, Sultan said that his biggest challenge was to broaden people's horizons and make people understand that his performance was not imitating women's performances.
Sultan received more and more invitations to perform. He said, "I am against the idea that I am a man dancing with a woman. In fact, I provide people with a real cultural perspective. Once an audience saw my performance and the acceptance was very good. "
Sultan has 2 years of experience in performing and teaching. Living in new york, he has performed on many famous stages, such as Lincoln Center in the United States.
He admits that it is sometimes challenging to find a job as a male oriental dancer, because "people won't look for something if they don't know it exists."
what are the styles of belly dancing?
The origin of belly dance
It originated from belly dance in the Middle East and is one of the oldest dance forms in the world. Legend has it that it is a form of entertainment to celebrate the fertility of women and the mystery of life. With the passage of time and the blending of regional culture, belly dance has gradually developed into a folk dance, which is often seen in festivals and celebration scenes. At present, belly dancing has spread from the Middle East to all countries in the world. It is not only the love of hot girls in Europe and America, but also the new favorite of girls in China, Japan and South Korea.
The main belly dance style
Egyptian style: introverted and subtle Egyptian flavor, with the elegance of court dance. The range of motion is relatively small, but it emphasizes the control of muscles.
Turkish style: bold and unrestrained, with great amplitude, exaggerated crotch movements, and exposed clothes, which have great visual impact.
The focus of belly dancing exercise is to slim waist and thin arms, but just like every aerobic exercise, it will be effective if you stick to it regularly for a long time. Listen to music, find the right feeling, and release enthusiasm in the rhythm.
Six misunderstandings that beginners of belly dancing must know
Misunderstanding 1. I'm shy, afraid to jump, and I can't let go of my movements.
This is the first pass for every beginner, and it is also the most basic problem that must be overcome when learning belly dancing or other dances. No matter what you do, practice is the most important thing, especially learning to dance. If you don't dance yourself, you can't dance well.
Myth 2: I don't like to jump in front of the mirror.
Some people dance so intoxicated that they are immersed in their own feelings, regardless of whether they dance well or not. In fact, no matter how good a dancer is, she should constantly improve, so she must find her own problems in the mirror to make continuous progress. Therefore, when learning to dance, you must jump in front of the mirror, so that you can improve your shortcomings in time. Of course, when the basic skills are good and the dance is solid, you should perform more and compete more. Exercise yourself and improve yourself.
Myth 3: Only pursue technology, not feeling. Only pursue action, ignore music.
This is a mistake that many students are prone to make after practicing at a certain stage. Many students will have a great sense of accomplishment after practicing a difficult movement, or ignore the feeling of dancing (that is, the feeling of dancing) in order to practice a complete finished dance.
in that case, I suggest you learn aerobics. Remember, you are dancing, not acrobatics or aerobics. Every dance movement is inseparable from music. Belly dancing means that you should listen to this music and make corresponding movements immediately. The body should dance with the music, and dancing without music is not infectious. When practicing, you should use 7% of your energy to listen to music, and give the remaining 3% to your body.
Myth 4: You can't master the beat and understand the soul.
beat: We must first understand music. Beat is very important. Students who have just started dancing always can't keep up with the beat, and every time they come out, their movements will be faster than the music beat, which leads to that dance has nothing to do with music, and the effect is fragmented. The exercise is very simple. We emphasize that any dance must be combined with music. We will do warm-up exercises before class, and then it is time to listen to music.
remember: listen to the beat and melody of music wholeheartedly. The advantage of this is that music can bring you a state of being divorced from real life, completely entering music and making you feel comfortable! How to keep up with the beat is actually very simple, and every action of preparing for exercise is also related to the beat of music! Every beat clearly appears in our ears, but whether you listen attentively or not. When doing every preparation, we will hear a "thump" and "pa" in the music, which is the case with conventional music.
Our actions just follow these two points. No matter how fast or how slow, this law remains unchanged! Some students said that I kept up with the beat. In fact, we saw with our eyes that your movements were either fast or slow! ! The reason is this: we listen to the thump and thump carefully, and the thump lasts for a certain time. The same is true. Many students rush to the next action before the thump is finished, which leads to the snatch, so we should practice with slow songs when practicing. Most of our basic training time is slow songs. Listen to the duration of the music beat with your ears, and your action will never be off track after getting used to it, so you will succeed. Therefore, the action is not too much, as long as you can keep up with the beat, you can dance to the music again: without the beat, no amount of action is as lonely as clouds! ! If the simple action can keep up with the beat, everything will be icing on the cake!
soul: after we practice the beat, every movement looks good after jumping out, but it lacks life. How to inject vitality into dance? In fact, it is very simple to practice. First, practice in the preparation exercise. After the music is released, feel it with all your heart, and realize what you feel when you hear it. In layman's terms, music can make people feel sad and imaginative. In the same way, how do you feel after hearing this song? This is called dance feeling! Combine your basic feelings and moods with actions to release your inner activities, and your actions will have vitality. Remember: first, you must move yourself, and then the people who watch you dance will be moved by you!
so a good dancer is very selfless when dancing. The songs of basic training can make people feel most comfortable. Students can feel the things in the songs. Of course, everyone's feelings are different, such as a piece of music.