Dance improvisation is the process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including body mapping through levels, shape and dynamics schema.
Nagwa Fouad is an Egyptian belly dancer and actress. She has appeared in around fifty Egyptian films.
Chhau, also spelled Chhou, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions. It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed, i.e. the Purulia Chhau of West Bengal, the Seraikella Chhau of Jharkhand and the Mayurbhanj Chhau of Odisha.
Dances in Iran or Iranian dances are dance styles indigenous to Iran. Genres of dance in Iran vary depending on the area, culture, and language of the local people, and can range from sophisticated reconstructions of refined court dances to energetic folk dances. The population of Iran includes many ethnicities, such as Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Arabs, Baluchis, Turkmen, Jews, Armenian, Georgian peoples, in addition to numerous Iranian tribal groups which can be found within the borders of modern-day Iran. Each group, region, and historical epoch has specific dance styles associated with it. Raghs is the Arabic word for dance, and is almost exclusively the word used for dance in Persian, as the Persian word for dance, paykubi, is no longer in common usage. It is also the word in Azerbaijani for dance (Reqs). The Kurdish word for dance is Halperke, and the Lurs from Lorestan use the word Bākhten for dance.
Ghawazi are female dancers who danced in return for money in public settings, and the streets. There were male dancers as well, including men who performed movements associated with women and who were pejoratively called khawal. While the performative and traditional raqs sharqi in urban Egypt was more classical and influenced by more formal and classical Western styles such as classical ballet or Latin American dance, the term ghawazi in Egypt refers to the dancers in rural Egypt who have preserved the traditional 18th to 19th-century styles.
Baladi can refer to an Egyptian musical style, the folk style of Egyptian bellydance, or the Masmoudi Sogheir rhythm, which is frequently used in baladi music. It is also sometimes spelled in English as 'beledi' or 'baladee'.
Bellydance Superstars is a professional American bellydance troupe formed in 2002 by producer and manager Miles Copeland. In its first six years of touring, it presented 700 shows in 22 countries.
Rachel Brice is an American professional belly dancer in Tribal Fusion style belly dance based in Portland, Oregon. She is the artistic director and choreographer for The Indigo Belly Dance Company and a frequent performer with the Bellydance Superstars. In June 2011 she opened her own dance studio in Portland, Oregon, called Studio Datura. There she hosts regular dance classes along with workshops from her 8 Elements™ Approach to Belly Dance training program.
The Indigo Belly Dance Company is a tribal fusion style belly dance company that was based in San Francisco. It was founded by Rachel Brice in 2003. Its members include Brice, Mardi Love, and Zoe Jakes. Past members include Sharon Kihara, Ariellah Aflalo, Janice Solimeno, and Michelle Campbell. Many of these dancers currently teach and perform internationally, and have also appeared with Bellydance Superstars.
Tribal Fusion Belly Dance is a modern Western form of belly dance that was created by fusing American Tribal Style belly dance and American Cabaret belly dance. Artists frequently incorporate elements from Popping, Hip Hop, 'Egyptian' or 'Cabaret' belly dance, as well as movement principles from traditional forms such as Flamenco, Kathak, Odissi, and other folkloric and classical dance styles.
Gothic belly dance, also named and separated in substyles as Gothic fusion belly dance, dark fusion belly dance and Gothic tribal fusion, is a recently founded dance art movement, distilled from the influences of Middle Eastern dance, tribal fusion, goth subculture and neopaganism. Originating in the United States in the 1990s, it has spread to be practiced by amateur and professional dancers around the world, and it is growing with the spread of tribal belly dance formats.
Improvisational Team Synchronization, Improv Team Sync, or ITS belly dance is a style of group dance improvisation, often associated with Tribal Fusion and belly dance. ITS is performed by a group of dancers consisting of one of more leaders and followers. The dance relies on a shared vocabulary of movements, each initiated by the leader using a distinct cue movement. After the cue, a short choreographed movement sequence, or combo, is performed by the group. The leader chooses the combo based on their interpretation of the music, which is often done spontaneously during the performance. The result is a dance that appears choreographed, but is in fact structured improvisation. This format of structured group improvisation was first developed by Carolena Nericcio-Bohlman, the founder of American Tribal Style.
The Bedlah or Badlet Ra'as is a traditional Egyptian folklore costume mostly worn by women, but in some Egyptian weddings men dancers wear it too. The word badlah is an Egyptian Arabic for "suit".
Croatian national costume, also called as Croatian traditional clothing or Croatian dress, refers to the traditional clothing worn by Croats living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, with smaller communities in Hungary, Austria, Montenegro, and Romania. Since today Croats wear Western-style clothing on a daily basis, the national costumes are most often worn with connection to special events and celebrations, mostly at ethnic festivals, religious holidays, weddings, and by dancing groups who dance the traditional Croatian kolo, or circle dance.
Belly dance is a Middle Eastern dance that originated in Egypt, which features movements of the hips and torso. An expressive dance, it is one of the oldest forms of dance. It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style; with the Egyptian styles and costumes being the most recognized worldwide due to Egyptian cinema. Belly dancing in its various styles and forms is popular worldwide with many schools around the globe practicing it.
Tahitian drumming is a style of drumming native to Tahiti and French Polynesia. Tahitian drumming and dance have become symbols of Polynesian heiva to the western world. Heiva is the Tahitian term for entertainment. This authentic performance symbolizes the past and present state of social hierarchies within the community and the island. There has been a significant amount of change to Tahitian drum dancing within the past fifty years. These changes have come from many different aspects of Polynesian society. However, many of them stem from the broader outreach of this tradition to the rest of the world. This music has served as inspiration for many other styles across the globe, especially in other areas of the Pacific.
The following are the special concepts and terminology of belly dance. As this dance has many forms and can be found in North Africa and the Middle East, a significant proportion of the terminology is in Arabic. Turkish or Turkish-loan words may also be encountered among belly dance terms.
Dawn Xiana Moon is a Chinese American singer-songwriter and bellydancer based in Chicago, Illinois. She is the first musician to blend traditional Chinese music with Americana, pop, and jazz. Moon is also the founder and producer/director of Raks Geek, the first bellydance and fire company of its kind.
Sindhi clothing are a part of the Sindhi culture. Sindhi women and men wear the Shalwar Qameez or the Kurta with Pyjama. Women also wear Sari or ghagra. However, before the adoption of the Shalwar kameez, kurta, the Sari as well as other articles of clothing, Sindhis had their own traditional costumes.
Arab folk dances, also referred to as Oriental dance, Middle-Eastern dance and Eastern dance, are the traditional folk dances of the Arabs in Arab world. Arab dance has many different styles, including the three main types of folklore, classical, and contemporary. It is enjoyed and implemented throughout the Arab region, from North Africa to the Middle East.
