BELLY DANCE

DANZA DEL VIENTRE.

Moroccan folklore is extremely diverse. It varies not only from one area to another but each tribe, nomadic or sedentary, has its own repertory, the extent and wealth of which will surprise the layman. Besides the exotic, picturesque, colorful or romantic aspects of the setting, folk dancers form an ensemble of traditions, a world of symbols which are undecipherable today.

Moroccan music is of many types; it includes Arab, Berber, classical, and Popular elements. Musicians perform in concerts, in cafes, at private homes, at circumcision ceremonies, marriages, funerals, and religious processions and in accompaniment to dancing and storytelling.

Neither is it a 'belly' dance, since much more is involved than just the stomach muscles.

Oriental dancing, as the Arabs themselves call it, is one of the oldest forms of dance, originating with pre-Biblical religious rites worshiping motherhood and two of its movements (the only two actually done with the abdominal muscles) have as their practical side the preparation of females for the stresses of childbirth. Thus it is also, in a way, the oldest form of natural childbirth instruction.

Generations of Bedouin and Berber mothers may have to bear their young not only without benefit of hospitals and modern antiseptic methods, but also without the comfort and muscular aid of what is definitely an ancient folk ritual. This is because even some Arabic people are now beginning to see sex in what is simply a gymnastic exercise for a natural function. As a result, the ritual is slowly dying out.