Belly dance through ages, a showcase in B'luru

A belly dance show in the city this weekend will throw light on its evolution since the 1700s and the social and political lenses that have shaped it.

Forty students of Nrityakosh, a belly dance school in Koramangala, will present ‘Safar-e-Raqs’.

It is said belly dance started as a fertility dance, birth ritual and a celebration of important life events in some cultures and was nowhere close to what the pop culture of today represents. It travelled to different countries and adapted to the local mores, becoming less liberalised as the patriarchal forces swooped down to govern women’s bodies.

So there is no one way to define the origin and characteristics of belly dance, says Debapriya Das, who runs Nrityakosh. However, the style we see today originated in North Africa and the Middle-East, she informs.

The two-piece costume that has become synonymous with belly dance emerged during the 1900s, influenced by European and Egyptian aesthetics. But it has acquired a sort of negative image, worn by women in films who are either seductresses or vamps. Portrayals by Helen and Bindu are glaring examples of that.

“Some of my students don’t tell their parents they are learning belly dance. Perhaps because of the costume,” Debapriya feels.

The name itself is not without its problems. Critics say belly dance has racist connotations, a product of “the white lens”. “It was coined by Europeans between 1880 and early 1900. The sight of traditional dancers in Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia moving their hips and the bodies (with abandon) was almost blasphemous to the Europeans. Because, back home, women were corseted and every inch of their body covered,” Debapriya explains.

However, in some good tidings, “many men are now pursuing belly dance professionally”, which was commonplace historically.

‘Safar-e-Raqs’ at Bangalore International Centre, Domlur, on July 2, 5 pm and 7.30 pm. Tickets available online.