About Mediterranean Folk Dance

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Added: Tue. Aug 07, 2012 6:03pm
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For many people folk dance – one of the categories of folk lore - often refers to dances of historical importance in a group’s culture and history. Others refer to the dances that reflect tradition at time when the difference between common folk dance and high society dance were slim.

Dances are considered to be "ethnic" and "traditional" when they are used to represent cultural roots. As a result, nearly all folk dances are ethnic. If some dances, such as polka, cross ethnic (and geographic) boundaries those distinctions are made among the dancers. For example, Czech polka vs. German polka.

The beauty of folk dance is that it is a group activity that can be enjoyed by dancers and audiences alike. Often at the core of festivals that celebrate special passages, like weddings and birthdays, they highlight the joy of community and tradition.  Folk dancers wear the costumes of their culture (beaded vests, scarves, flowing pants or skirts, etc.) and perform – as a community – to the beat of their folk music.

Belly dance is among the oldest forms of Middle Eastern folk dance. One such dance, the Raks Sharki “The Dance of the Orient”, also known as belly dancing performed as a birthing aid.  The body movements were believed to have helped women in childbirth. 

In time, the movements were recognized as artful.  About 100 years ago at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893 a dancer by the name of “Little Egypt” first introduced this type of belly dance.  It has taken a while for western sentiment to recognize that this dance represents a spiritual connection between mind and body. It is esthetic and it is a celebration of the feminine soul and inner spirit.

Here are some belly dance videos:

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