Honouring the Art of Turkish Belly Dance

Words by Ceren Yilmaz Dogan.

Almost every little girl in West Asia has been infatuated by a belly dancer at some point in their early life. Our parents have made us dance like them at house gatherings, parties and weddings. My first encounter with a belly dancer was at three years old in a small hotel bar in Turkey, my mum told me I would imitate her dance moves and hover around her in awe. Bellydancers have always been intertwined in our culture. They perform at hotels, clubs, restaurants and are always on some late-night TV program. In Turkey, you could not have a new years eve programme on TV without a belly dancer and everyone would wait to watch her. Every era would have its famous belly dancer and every man, woman and child would love them.

But for young women, a time comes in our life when we quickly learn that we must never become one. As much as they are loved in our culture at some point you start hearing stories of the belly dancer who got disowned by their family. Your aunt may dare you to tell your dad you want to be a belly dancer as a “joke”. Somehow in some form, you learn that it wouldn’t be okay. To be a belly dancer would mean that you would be treated like a ‘whore’ in most families.

Nevertheless, most of us women continue to love and admire our belly dancers. The usual consensus is that belly dancing came from Egypt. It’s a dance primarily led by the torso and hips. The style of dance differs throughout the SWANA region. In Egypt, it is known to be more controlled and precise, whereas in Turkey it is more playful and energetic. Although the dance has been sexualised by orientalist and exotic depictions of West Asia, it is not sexual, it is a folk dance and performance art.

This is a story honouring the art of belly dance or ‘Oryantal’ as we call it in Turkey. A celebration of the artists brave enough to perform their art, despite any prejudice they may face. May they be viewed in all their glory and command the respect they deserve as artists and as women – we will always be in awe of them.