About belly dance
In the West, the nickname “belly dance” has become associated with stereotypes of harem slave girls gyrating seductively for the pleasure of the male onlookers. This portrayal is in fact largely based on Western fantasy.
Sadly these Orientalist notions have lingered on long past their sell by date to taint this beautiful dance, not least because both men and women alike love this glamorous sexy image. Yet the real dance history is equally fascinating and ultimately more rewarding.
A brief history of Oriental dance
Oriental dance has its roots in the folk dances of the Middle East and Northern Africa, where hip and other torso movements are a commonplace feature of dance. The simplest elements of the dance, such as hip lifts and shoulder shimmies, are known to and danced by men, women and children alike.
Muslim traditions surrounding music, performance and social gender roles have very much affected the dance as a performance art. Traditionally, female dancers were only considered respectable if they performed solely for a female audience, so performances were small scale and held at private residences in the women's quarters.
Street performers also existed, but were accorded little respect. Street dancers were primarily members of the "Ghawazee", a gypsy tribe, and were already on the fringes of society. Some of them were also prostitutes, lowering the respectability of street dancers further.
As such, it was not until colonial times that staged performances on a larger scale were held. It was at this time that the local dance started to be called “Oriental Dance”, to differentiate it from Western Dance. 
In this period Cairo nightlife blossomed, with Western style venues opening their doors to both ex-pat and local audiences, and soon the local dance was on display at these venues alongside Western entertainment. The dance, traditionally performed quite statically, expanded to fit the new stage space - travelling steps were incorporated, along with more graceful flowing arm work.
These borrowed from Western and Latin dance styles, particularly ballet, but transmuted into something that stayed true to the Middle Eastern heart of the dance – much as Western instruments such as the accordion were adapted to Mid Eastern quarter tones to become a quintessentially Middle Eastern instrument.
The costumes transformed too. Previously there had been no special costume for the dance, with professional performers generally wearing richer, more decorated versions of their day to day clothes.
These garments were of course flowing desert garb suited to the hot climate, hence a scarf would commonly be worn tied at the hips to help accentuate the movements. Paintings from the time depict street dancers wearing full pantaloons and long white chemise with flowing sleeces worn under a long fitted waistcoat and a hip scarf tied low on the hips.
However depictions of dancers in Hollywood movies and Orientalist art had started to favour a more glamorous midriff revealing costume, and dancers in Cairo began to where these in order to meet audience expectations.
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