Turkish Belly Dancing

What you Should Know About Turkish Belly Dancing
By Wendy Simons

Turkish belly dancing is sometimes referred to as oriental dansi or Dance of the East. Though the exact origins of the Turkish belly dancing has never been ascertained it is said to have become popular with the Romantic movement in the 18th and 19th centuries as Orientalist artists showed it as being a depiction of harem life at the time of the Ottoman Empire.

During this period dancers from a variety of Middle Eastern countries started to perform these dance routines at different World Fairs and drew crowds that could have given viewers of technological exhibits a run for their money.

Turkish belly dancing may have been rooted in the Sultan’s palatial harems but it is now much closer to gypsy dancing than to the Egyptian and Syrian/Lebanese forms. The Turkish belly dancing has developed from the Ottoman rakkas and progressed to the oriental dance that is known throughout the world today.

Turkish belly dancing is not constrained by any laws that restrict dancer’s movements as do Egyptian belly dancing and so are more extroverted and express their movements unrestrained and is close to its Romany roots due to the fact that a whole lot of Turkish belly dancing performers owe their origins to Romany heritage.

The Turkish belly dancing routines are much more energetic, athletic, some would say gymnastic, and the dancers are adept with the use of their fingers when playing the finger cymbals that are known as zils. Serious followers of Turkish belly dancing consider dancers who cannot play the zils as being somewhat less accomplished belly dancers.

The Turkish belly dancing is also characterized by its use of the Karsilama rhythm which has a 9/8 signature that is counted as 12-34-56-789. In addition, the Turkish belly dancing costumes are quite revealing and mostly the belt is worn high up on the waist and through use of split skirts, there is ample exposure of the legs though these days dancers are becoming more modest in their attire and the attires are more like the Egyptian costumes.

There are famous Turkish belly dancers and the better known dancers are Tulay Karaca as well as Birgul Berai. Immigrants from Turkey brought with them, in the 1930s and 1940s the Turkish belly dancing routines to New York and began to perform their dances in nightclubs and restaurants which were often dubbed as Classic Cabaret or American Cabaret and some famous Turkish belly dancers were Anahid Sofian and Artemis Mourat.

Author Details:
Wendy Simons, copywriter for various websites including, Belly Dancing and The A to Z of.

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