Thread: Post pics of Oriental Bellydancers with Tattoos!

Hey ladies.

I was wondering if anyone has seen many Oriental (Cabaret and Egyptian style) bellydancers with lots of visible tattoos. I know it's very common in the Tribal world, but there are very few Oriental Dancers I've seen that are heavily tatted. Interested in seeing pics!

Sonya in Chicago is pretty heavily tattooed.
Sonya's Souk - Chicago Belly Dance Performer & Instructor


Taletha in Colorado (formerly of Kentucky) has many amazing tattoos. (She dabbles in tribal, but is mostly an Oriental gal):

Taletha, Belly Dancer in Denver, CO - Photo Gallery

Princess Farhana has tattoos

There aren't many top-name, professional oriental-style dancers with visible tattoos. Princess Farhana is the biggest name I can think of, too, but as you can see from her gallery Princess Farhana of Hollywood belly dancing, she often chooses poses or costumes that cover her body art for her photos. There are many less-famous, lower-level pros, hobbyists, and student dancers with tattoos, though.

One of the reasons the sort of extensive tattooing that one finds in tribal is not terribly common elsewhere in the dance community is that getting too much body art can be detrimental to one's marketability and image in the oriental styles. While certain artistic body modifications are historically part of some Middle Eastern tribal customs, tattoos are considered a serious sin in Islam, Ruling of tattoos in Islam. It is possible to have visible tattoos and still get hired by Muslim customers, but some people will be turned off by it and question your motives or expertise. To a somewhat lesser extent, the GP may not respond well to your body art, depending on what design(s) you've chosen. For some audiences, hiring a belly dancer is buying a fantasy, and the stereotype simply does not include tattoos of Hello Kitty, song lyrics, Native American folk art, and so on.

If you want body art and you want to dance professionally, and especially if you want to dance for ethnic audiences, it may be wise to plan your designs so they can be conveniently covered by costuming or makeup. The professional dance market is very competitive, so it's a good idea not to rush into anything that might put you at a disadvantage without fully considering all points of view.

In her gallery you can see pictures of Bahaia:
"Belly Dance with BAHAIA - Media"

Mysterious has a "full sleeve" of tattoos, but most often has it fully covered. She dances in Northern California (San Jose, SF Bay Area).

Me.
I have been dancing for almost 12 years and never received complaints (at least not that they shared with me, lol). My Arab audiences have always responded well to my dancing and either re-hire me or refer their friends to me. I think if you dance well and represent your art as a professional your audience will hardly notice your ink. Here is a picture of the one on my leg and I also have a large one on my back.
Photo GALLERY

Gia al Qamar has some awesome tattoos...hopefully she will chime in and post a pic!

While not what I would consider heavily tattooed, I do have two tattoos on my back. I was already performing professionally before I got them and fully expected to lose some work since I dance for ethnic audiences a lot. However, it didn't have any effect on the number of bookings and I haven't received any negative comments or reactions from ethnic audiences. When I am communicating with someone to book a gig, I always make sure that at least one of my promo photos shows my ink so that the client will have the chance to see them before booking me.

Thanks for your input, everybody!

This is a subject I am both interested in and one of a personal nature. I had a very serious burn on my abdomen not too long ago and though it is still in the recovery phase, my doctor thinks there may be some visible permanent scars. I am thinking about, once I see the total extent of the damage, getting a tattoo over it. We'll see.

On another note, anyone have suggestions for an excellent scar cream? There are so many out on the market.

Mederma worked pretty well on my daughter's scar on her back. She had heart surgery and the scar runs most of the length of her left shoulderblade. It's a fairly thin line now. For most people scars take a few years to really settle down, and depending on how it does it may or may not take tattooing very well. I have flowers around some small scars on my belly but none of the tattoos actually covers one, its more of a distraction.

I've also not had any negative experiences with anyone not liking my tattoos, granted I may not get contacted or hired if someone didn't like them in my photos, but I have no way of knowing that.

Also living in the San Francisco area, it may seem a bit more mainstream and not raise as many issues as it might if I lived somewhere else.

If there is a request to cover them, I would gladly do so. As it is for most of my gigs I wear a wig to cover my short crazy colored hair.

Azhia!

Kahina has butterfly tattoos.

You can see them when she's dancing in this video:



and in the pictures from her website.

Originally Posted by NancyAsiya

Mederma worked pretty well on my daughter's scar on her back. She had heart surgery and the scar runs most of the length of her left shoulderblade. It's a fairly thin line now. For most people scars take a few years to really settle down, and depending on how it does it may or may not take tattooing very well. I have flowers around some small scars on my belly but none of the tattoos actually covers one, its more of a distraction.

I've also not had any negative experiences with anyone not liking my tattoos, granted I may not get contacted or hired if someone didn't like them in my photos, but I have no way of knowing that.

Also living in the San Francisco area, it may seem a bit more mainstream and not raise as many issues as it might if I lived somewhere else.

If there is a request to cover them, I would gladly do so. As it is for most of my gigs I wear a wig to cover my short crazy colored hair.

off topic, but i have the same scar as your daughter...for the same reason:heart surgery. she will be so thankful when she's older that it's on her back and not on the front!

I have a Celtic Triple Goddess knot on my lower back. Aside for people being fascinated by it and wanting to touch it all the time, I haven't had any negative comments. A little teasing about my tramp stamp now and then, but. . .

Here is the clearest photo I have of it:

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{{{HUGS}}}

Originally Posted by shaabichic

off topic, but i have the same scar as your daughter...for the same reason:heart surgery. she will be so thankful when she's older that it's on her back and not on the front!

Most of the time she is, but she's almost 11 so most everything is "dramatic" now.

Back to the tattoos, here is one of my faves from a photo shoot last year. Most of my costumes go with my tattoo colors very nicely.

Originally Posted by Andalee

Me.
I have been dancing for almost 12 years and never received complaints (at least not that they shared with me, lol). My Arab audiences have always responded well to my dancing and either re-hire me or refer their friends to me. I think if you dance well and represent your art as a professional your audience will hardly notice your ink. Here is a picture of the one on my leg and I also have a large one on my back.
Photo GALLERY

The tatoo on your leg is the prettiest one I have ever seen! If I saw you dancing in the same light as that photo was taken I'd think it was a henna tattoo to be honest!!

Originally Posted by Sirène

Kahina has butterfly tattoos.

You can see them when she's dancing in this video:



and in the pictures from her website.

Beautiful tatoos,person and dancing!