About Bellydancing - Common Misconceptions

Very often, people have inaccurate ideas about Belly dancing which has been misaligned and associated with a sexual revealing of the body.

Bellydancing is like stripping - No it isn't. Belly dancing is not at all a strip tease. The belly dancer does not remove her costume; it is very much a part of the dance routine. A belly dancer is proud of her costume, and it is crucial to wear the most elaborate and elegant dress to convey class and professionalism.

1893 World's Fair - The rapid hip movements of the dancers at the Egyptian theatre and the fact that they were uncorseted, was considered shocking to the Victorian sensibilities of the day. The popularity of these dancers spawned dozens of imitators after the Fair, many of whom claimed to have been dancers at the Chicago Fair. Due to cultural misunderstanding about the nature of the dance and misrepresentations by the many imitators in Burlesque halls and carnival sideshows, the western world considered it risque, leading to the stereotype of an erotic suggestive dance.