Belly dancing fashion,Two very different styles

As the the art of Bellydance has gained in popularity in the West it has morphed into two very different styles each with their own fashion sense;

belly dancing skirt

Oriental:
The more traditional "oriental" style most people associate with Bellydance is feminine and colorful with jeweled costuming, bright and abundant colors. In fact this style owes much to old Hollywood movie makers that thought they knew what Bellydance costumes should look like including the two piece more skimpy costume. When these movies were shown in the Middle East the local Bellydance costume makers were quick to adopt the Hollywood approach. The two piece became standard.

Tribal:
The second style is a pure American adaptation and hybrid called "Tribal" or Tribal Fusion. Costuming, as demonstrated here by Moria is darker, more funky and earthy with chunky jewelry from all over Africa, Afghanistan, India and just about everywhere else. Dancers often have extensive body tattoos, and piercing to accentuate their costuming. Costumes are normally very personal to the dancers with most of the top practitioners, such as Moria, making their own costumes combining all sorts of fabrics and adornments. Much of their time is spent seeking out unique pieces to create new costume concepts.

I can personally vouch for the fact that traveling is always interesting with the Tribal dancers. It is particularly exciting at airports when they and their bags go through security checks. Lots of metal, sharp points so it is best not to get into a line full of Tribal dancers.

belly dancing skirt
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