Become an expert of using props in belly dancing

Belly dancing is one of the oldest dance styles in the world. Its origins come from a mix between different countries of the Middle East and the North of Africa. It has different names around the world, in Arabic countries, it is known as “Raks Sharki”, which literally means Middle East dance, in Greece is known as “Chiftetelli”; regardless of the name people have given it, belly dance has become so popular all over the world. At the beginning this dance was performed only by women, as it was associated with fertility, nevertheless men started dancing it as well, making it enjoyable for all people, not only as viewers but as dancers. In the Middle East, people always tried to keep the essence of this rhythm, focusing meanly in hips and belly movements. Then you must be wondering “Where did the props come from?”

By the XIX century belly dance arrived to North America, with the Arabic emigration, dancers performed shows in cabarets, fairs and theaters, Americans were amazed not only because of the exotic costumes, that revealed knees, shoulders and stomachs but because of the sensual movements. Belly dancing became part of Americans’ lives, they were inspired by the Egyptians and then they wanted to bring something new, so dancers from everywhere, foreigners and non-foreigners decided to incorporate elements to those dances, to make them more eye-catching and unusual.

At first dancers started using the veils, which were large pieces of fabric made of vibrant colors; they used the veil as an entrance element, going into the stage with it all around their bodies, then along the song dancers took it off, showing little by little more parts of their body; in some countries of the Middle East this makes allusion to a striptease, so they don’t even use it or if they do, it’s for a short period of time and emphasizing turns. On the other hand, there are some countries, like Lebanon, which love the veil, so they use it from the beginning to the end of the performance. This prop is usually utilized with a slow song in the background. The veil gives you much versatility, as you can use it in multiple ways, doing different figures and combining it with belly dance movements, you can even use more than one veil at the time.

Another element that dancers started incorporating was the sword, the got inspired by some paintings of that age; for using it they had to have resistance and balance since it was a heavy and dangerous prop. Dancers performed their regular belly dancing steps like shimmies, undulations and turns, and on top of that, they added the sword, they could put it on their heads, their arms, palms and even their waists. The sword is usually used while they play a song with percussion. The sword represents a symbol of power, that’s why by using it you can reflect strength and courage. Despite its beauty if you don’t use it properly you could end up doing a mess, so in order to avoid this, you can learn the technique with this StepFlix class, which shows you how to develop this skill.

In Egypt dancers used chandelier on top of their heads, as a belly dancing element; this was a metaphor to represent wisdom and light in their souls. This prop is linked to Turkish traditions, where people hold trays in their hands and on top of them they carry candles, while they move around the tables to cheer up the party.

One of the most famous props in belly dance history are the wings, they receive the name of “wings of Isis”, alluding to an Egyptian Goddess called that way. Dancers have found a large variety of wings, with any color they want and any shape they imagine, nowadays dancers even use wings with lights and feathers. This is a really magical prop since when a dancer use it they seem flowing like if they were real wings. However this is a really hard element to use, it requires strength in your arms and coordination in your whole body, not to mention the creativity that you have to have to perform a choreography with it.

There are lots of props in belly dancing, such as canes, usually used with a joyful song in the background, “chinchines”, which are little cymbals placed between your middle finger and your thumbs, similar to the castanets in Flamenco; we also have hula hula, which gets engaged very well with belly dance since this dance has plenty of circular hip movements and at last but not least we have fan veils, which are used in a similar way than the veil with the difference that these are shorter and have a support that allows different movements; generally two fans are used at the same time, either one in each hand or both in the same hand to perform different effects.

All these props are ideal to perform a spectacular dance show, don’t be afraid to incorporate them in your combinations, they bring a special something to any choreography.