Belly dance, also referred to as Arabic dance (Arabic: رقص شرقي‎, translit. Raqs sharqi, literally: “oriental dancing”), is an Arab expressive dance which originated in Egypt and that emphasizes complex movements of the torso. It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style.

Belly dance is primarily a torso-driven dance, with an emphasis on articulations of the hips. Unlike many Western danceforms, the focus of the dance is on isolations of the torso muscles, rather than on movements of the limbs through space. Although some of these isolations appear similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet, they are sometimes driven differently and have a different feeling or emphasis.

 

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Throughout its history, Egypt has inherited many different kinds of dance. They all have a long history and a rich tradition. As dance has many forms and expressions, it is more appropriate to talk about the traditional dance language of Egypt, rather than Egyptian dance.

Moreover, it is difficult to separate secular and spiritual dance in Egypt. Folk dance and high arts are also closely linked. Dance forms can have a secular, sociocultural, political, spiritual and religious character, all at the same time. Dances in Egypt are performed to celebrate many things, such as work, combat, or life, as well as accommodating death in rituals, processions and ceremonies that accompany Egyptians throughout their lives.

Folklore workshops

Tribal Fusion Belly Dance is a modern Western form of belly dance which 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.

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According to Hindu Mythology, dance is believed to be a creation of Brahma. It is said that Lord Brahma inspired the sage Bharat Muni to write the Natyashastra – a Sanskrit treatise on performing arts. Its first complete compilation was written between 200 BCE (Before Common Era) and 200 CE (Common Era). The text covers topics such as stage design, body movement, postures and emotions, makeup, musical scales, merging music with art performance and so on. The text also explains the various kinds of emotions that go in performance art and their classifications. The Natyashastra, therefore, acts as one of the foundation stones of all forms of Indian classical dances.

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Persian dance or Iranian dance (Persian:رقص ایرانی) refers to the 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, 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.

Iran possesses four categories of dance and these genres are; chain or line dances, solo improvisational dance, war or combat dances and ritual or spiritual dances.

Persian workshops

Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Afro-Brazilian origin in 2/4(2 by 4) time danced to Samba music whose origins include the Maxixe.

Samba is a dance to black/African people in Brazil who brought much of their music and dance culture into Latin America with them upon arrival into many Latin American countries. Samba music is very similar to and has been influenced by many Angolan music genres. It has also been influenced by many other Latin American music genres and dances. The Samba music rhythm has been danced in Brazil since its inception in the late 16th century. There is actually a set of dances, rather than a single dance, that define the Samba dancing scene in Brazil; however, no one dance can be claimed with certainty as the “original” Samba style.

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African dance refers mainly to the dance of Sub-Saharan Africa, and more appropriately African dances because of the many cultural differences in musical and movement styles. These dances must be viewed in close connection with Sub-Saharan African music traditions and Bantu cultivation of rhythm. African dance utilizes the concept of as well as total body articulation.

Dances teach social patterns and values and help people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community while celebrating festivals and funerals, competing, reciting history, proverbs and poetry; and to encounter gods. African dances are largely participatory, with spectators being part of the performance. With the exception of some spiritual, religious or initiation dances, there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers. Even ritual dances often have a time when spectators participate.[3] west African dance is more hip hop and up beat

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Flamenco, in its strictest sense, is a professionalized art-form based on the various folkloric music traditions of Southern Spain in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Extremadura and Murcia. In a wider sense, it refers to these musical traditions and more modern musical styles which have themselves been deeply influenced by and become blurred with the development of flamenco over the past two centuries. It includes cante(singing), toque (guitar playing), baile (dance), jaleo (vocalizations), palmas (handclapping) and pitos (finger snapping).

A typical flamenco recital with voice and guitar accompaniment, comprises a series of pieces (not exactly “songs”) in different palos. Each song of a set of verses (called copla, tercio, or letras), which are punctuated by guitar interludes called falsetas. The guitarist also provides a short introduction which sets the tonality, compás and tempo of the cante.

Flamenco workshops

Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in the U.S. and Europe. Although originally informed by and borrowing from classical, modern, and jazz styles, it has since come to incorporate elements from many styles of dance. Due to its technical similarities, it is often perceived to be closely related to modern dance, ballet, and other classical concert dance styles.

In terms of the focus of its technique, contemporary dance tends to combine the strong but controlled legwork of ballet with modern that stresses on torso. It also employs contract-release, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation characteristics of modern dance. Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction are often used, as well. Additionally, contemporary dance sometimes incorporates elements of non-western dance cultures, such as elements from African dance including bent knees, or movements from the Japanese contemporary dance, Butoh.

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