Arab folk dances

Arab girls dancing Khaleegy
Arab dance
MediumDance
Types
Originating cultureArab culture

Arab folk dances (Arabic: رقص عربي, romanizedraqs ʿarabiyy), also referred to as Oriental dance, Middle-Eastern dance and Eastern dance, are the traditional folk dances of the Arabs in Arab world. Arab dance has many different styles, including the three main types of folklore, classical, and contemporary. It is enjoyed and implemented throughout the Arab region, from North Africa to the Middle East.[1][2]

The term "Arabic dance" is often associated with belly dancing.[3] However, there are many styles of traditional Arab dance[4] and many of them have a long history.[5] These may be folk dances, or dances that were once performed as rituals or as entertainment spectacle, and some may have been performed in the imperial court.[6] Coalescence of oral storytelling, poetry recital, and music has a long-standing tradition in Arab history.[7] Among the best-known of the Arab traditional dances are the belly dance, the ardah, and the dabke.[8]

Traditional dancing is still popular among expatriate Arabs and has also been successfully exported to international folk dance groups all over the world. All dancers wear the traditional costume to embody the history of their culture and tell their ancestors stories.[9]

  1. ^ Hammond, Andrew (2007). Popular culture in the Arab world : arts, politics, and the media. Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 978-9774160547. OCLC 148667773.
  2. ^ Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2016-08-08). The Encyclopedia of World Folk Dance. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442257498.
  3. ^ Trier-Bieniek, Adrienne (2015). Feminist Theory and Pop Culture. Springer. p. 4.
  4. ^ "The Traditional Arabic Dance". Our Pastimes.
  5. ^ Kashua, Sayed (2007-12-01). Dancing Arabs. Grove/Atlantic, Inc. ISBN 9781555846619.
  6. ^ Mason, Daniel Gregory (1916). The Art of Music: The dance. National Society of Music.
  7. ^ Khouri, Malek (2010). The Arab National Project in Youssef Chahine's Cinema. American Univ in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774163548.
  8. ^ Buonaventura, Wendy (2010). Serpent of the Nile : women and dance in the Arab world (Updated and rev. ed.). Northampton, Mass.: Interlink Books. ISBN 978-1566567916. OCLC 320803968.
  9. ^ Boosahda, Elizabeth (2010-01-01). Arab-American Faces and Voices: The Origins of an Immigrant Community. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292783133.