Belly dance has now spread across the country, with belly dance communities in every capital city and many regional centres. Also, thanks to Whenever Wherever in 2001, the Belly Dance fever began popularizing it in a large part of Latin America and later taking it to the United States. Nowadays the Belly Dance is a characteristic dance of this singer which presented a variant with a rope entangling it in her body and dancing to the rhythm of Whenever Wherever. Shakira is the only artist in the music industry who has used Belly Dance on several occasions in her artistic career.
Belly Dancing -- a.k.a. "Raks Sharki" or "danse orientale" -- is among the oldest continuing classical folk dances in the world, evolving from the fertility cults of ancient society. Associated with both religious and erotic traditions, it is traditionally danced barefoot, and with its emphasis on abdominal muscles and movement of the chest and hips, is designed to be performed primarily by women. The music accompanying the dance is most influenced by the rhythms inherent in near- and middle-Eastern music, although contemporary belly dancers are increasingly open to the influences of Western music as well.
She dances to show the beauty of the female form, to interpret the mood of the music, to fascinate her audience. A lot of peculiar instruments are used in the Middle East to create music that belly dancers dance to. The instruments include win, percussion and strings instruments. Mahmoud Reda and Dr. Mo Geddawi – Both men are part of the Egyptian Reda Troupe that founded Egyptian folk dance and made it famous. They are choreographers and soloists and still teach in belly dancing workshops around the world.
Middle Eastern or Eastern bands took dancers with them on tour, which helped spark interest in the dance. These included a Turkish dance, and Crissie Sheridan in 1897, and Princess Rajah from 1904, which features a dancer playing zills, doing "floor work", and balancing a chair in her teeth. The popularity of these dancers subsequently spawned dozens of imitators, many of whom claimed to be from the original troupe. Victorian society continued to be affronted by the dance, and dancers were sometimes arrested and fined. The dance was nicknamed the "hoochie coochie", or the shimmy and shake.
She takes her troupe all over the world and composes her own numbers. Khaled Mahmoud – He hails from Cairo, Egypt but is based in the United Kingdom, London to be precise. His روبي - قلبي بلاستيك style of belly dance is reminiscent of the Egyptian folk style and Raqs Sharqi. His dance style is graceful, yet energetic at the same time. He participated in the International Belly Dance Congress in the United Kingdom, and because he is in demand, he teaches and performs in different festivals around the world. It originated from India more than 5,000 years ago and was spread throughout the Middle East when gypsy tribes migrated to Europe, Egypt, and India.
To express herself well, a belly dancer needs a certain amount of concentration and discipline. As far back as the ninth century, a great belly dancer was defined to Caliph Mu' tamid as one who had "loose joints and a great agility in twirling and swaying her hips" (Dance Perspectives, pgs. 7, 8,). Alla Kushnir – She is one of the greatest belly dancers who, with a happy disposition, seemingly goes crazy when she starts performing. She is the most resourceful of all modern belly dancers and was taught this art by Tarik Sultan.