Belly Dance Styles

Are there different belly dance styles?

Yes! There are many belly dance styles but they all have far more similarities than differences. All true belly dance styles are based on the same dozen or so classic “foundation” belly dance movements. What determines style more than anything is the type of music that’s danced to. The three most commonly performed belly dance styles around the world today are based on (1) Egyptian/Arabic , (2) Turkish , or (3) modern fusion world beat music.

What belly dance style do you teach?

I specialize in classic belly dance. That is, I teach the traditional foundation belly dance movements, techniques, and concepts that form the base of all the major belly dance styles. These movements are introduced in my belly dance video series. This series teaches you slow movements, fast movements, hip lifts and hip drops. Many of these movements are demonstrated as belly dance video clips. This approach gives the student a solid base from which she can comfortably dance to the music of her choice. Being a contemporary American woman, my preferred dance style is modern belly dance with a strong grounding in traditional Eastern influences.

Do I have to belly dance to a particular type of music?

It depends. If you’re belly dancing in private for your own enjoyment or self improvement, you can belly dance to the music of your choice (you’ll learn fastest to the music that makes you feel most like dancing). However, if you are learning a traditional or ethnic style of belly dance, then you do need to master the authentic music for that style (example: using the proper Turkish music for Turkish cabaret style belly dance). This site feeatures belly dance music that you can download and listen to as MP3s.

Return to the frequently asked questions about the belly dance.