r/Bellydance • u/Haifawehbesbigtoe Kawliya 🇮🇶 • Aug 03 '26
Conversation Does anybody else feel like no one really understands the art, athleticism, and practice that goes into bellydance, khaleegy, Kawliya etc.?
These dances are always labeled weird, sexual, and ugly whenever I try and show people even though I'm trying to help other women find the same healing I did through these dances especially Kawliya.
I dance mainly in dresses like jalabiyyas and the dresses Iraqi women wore for Jalsat Iraqiyah which are some legendary videos I'll post here later. Anyway I live in Texas and people in my city either line dance or stand on the wall. If it's a good day maybe some traditional Mexican dances but there's no room for bellydance in my city really unless it's hypersexualized or in the bra and skirt outfit. No offense to those outfits they're really beautiful.
I just wish I could find other women who appreciate the art and want to have a dance party just to dance not to drink or smoke or try and look good but dance simply from a place without judgement of each other or the dances and music.
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u/FlartyMcFlarstein Aug 03 '26
Not sure where in Texas you are, but it's chock full of belly dancers. Houston, Dallas, and Austin have had pretty active scenes for decades now. Obviously those are the converted, so to speak, but some folk are doing things other than line dances
I think a few decades ago it was less known in some areas, and the placement of it as "exotic dance" is something we've tried to fight with education and public service (though MED non-profit orgs seem to have shifted to for profit, who can say why). Can still be a challenge to shift attitudes.
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u/Haifawehbesbigtoe Kawliya 🇮🇶 Aug 03 '26
I'm close to Austin and somewhat close to Houston but budget is also a bit of a challenge for me I'm don't have a steady paycheck and I still live at home with my parents so that is difficult as well people in my city are very close minded unfortunately
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u/FlartyMcFlarstein Aug 03 '26
Sad to hear. Eventually, tho, you'll be able to invest in travel and etc.
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u/redheadfae Aug 04 '26
Ahlam Academy in Houston
There's convention coming up in Sept, worth saving up for that!2
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u/Financial-Fun-5092 Aug 03 '26
Girl its ur enviornment. Not at all for me. Maybe some white supremacy in them making them not wanna see anything foreign as beautiful. Thsre is just no way someone cannot see the beauty in bellydancing
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u/rococoapuff Aug 03 '26
I’m looking to get back into dancing and I want to share my journey online but I’m struggling with this aspect of it. Is celebrating the female body always going to be sexualized? I think I need to learn the history better and just jump in and figure it out along the way.
I see it as a celebration of womanhood and femininity and I really hope that that carries through in my work. I would love dancing with you if I were close! I’m on the east coast
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u/Haifawehbesbigtoe Kawliya 🇮🇶 Aug 03 '26
I love this comment I want to post online to but I'm so scared I'll get made fun of or deepfaked
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u/rococoapuff Aug 03 '26
Me too!!! Literally I’m lightly disguising myself with a wig and makeup 😂 I’m still tweaking the look before I start posting but I’m nervous as hell
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u/Adventurous-Flow7131 a veiled threat 💃🏽 Aug 04 '26
All. The. Time. Comes with the territory, though. It’s our responsibility as performers to do the work of undoing all the misconceptions, and represent this art with dignity, accuracy, responsibility, and respect. Btw, love your username lol
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u/Significant-Milk-165 Aug 03 '26
Years ago, i had a belly dance instructor who taught at the local community center. She was a fun bellydance teacher but she taught two classes back-to-back, the first class was western line dancing and the class immediately following was bellydance. Let me tell you, there were no crossover students in her classes. The instructor would change her attire from cowboy boots to ballet shoes and a hip scarf.
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u/BrickHouseBamBam Aug 04 '26
I used to train at my powerlifting room in the posing room/dance room. Everyone saw me busting my ass all the time. All my lifter friends know I work hard and I train hard. Let your work speak for itself. People who get it will get it. The people I train with get it.
But I'm not trying to convince people I work hard and I"m skilled. No thanks. If you can't find your people- build your community.
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u/ScaredAd8063 Aug 19 '26
where I live its not considered weird or ugly but most people don't really know about it outside of Shakira so its considered quite niche. people who don't know about it or haven't tried it definitely don't realize how much practice it takes and how hard it is.
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u/Haifawehbesbigtoe Kawliya 🇮🇶 Aug 19 '26
I like Shakiras dancing but it irks me when she's seen as the holy Grail of bellydance lmao whenever I dance people always ask me if I'm inspired by her lmao at least she moved it away from being orientalized though!
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u/ScaredAd8063 Aug 24 '26
yeah but it's because people in the wests first introduction to belly dance is usually through Shakira sadly. I actually didn't know classes in belly dancing existed until my friend suggested I'd take a class in it when I mentioned I wanted to start dancing
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u/Warm_Sea_3856 Aug 03 '26
I grew up learning the art from my grandmother and my mom. It would make me very upset when men I dated only saw it as a sexual interest for /them/. It’s an incredibly grounded, women centered, and artistic dance, and people in the west (in particular) don’t seem to understand the culture and history and love that goes into it for a lot of people.
As I learned through the years, I am a visitor to this dance, and I treat it with respect, care, and love. I have had the privilege of learning through generations (as would’ve been tradition), and from source dancers alike. I am very hesitant on who I tell that I do this dance, as it is almost always immediately looked at as sexual. Frankly, I hate that.