Thread: Belly Dance From a Man's Perspective

BELLY DANCE FROM A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE
by Adam Burke

As a man, I can easily say that I enjoy watching skilled belly dancers perform. Most men do! And, I'm sure, most people -- of all ages and walks of life -- would agree that a good belly dancer is a great pleasure to observe. Of course, it would be silly for me, as a man who loves women, to deny that the moves of a talented female belly dancer can be especially erotic. The art form is inherently sensual both in its history and its nature. But -- as any knowledgeable dancer will point out -- it is far more than that.

We know that the origins of belly dance involved fertility ritual and, more generally, the worship of "the Goddess," or the Feminine Nature of the Cosmos. Recently, many anthropologists and behaviorists have discovered substantial evidence that one of the most attractive features of a woman's body -- from the point of view of a heterosexual man – is the ratio of waist to hip, irrespective of size. This seems to be a trigger to the male erotic impulse, as far as we can tell. Naturally, then, the sight of a woman skillfully moving her waist and hips is likely to "inspire" many a man! This may also explain the preponderance of female belly dancers over male ones, though there are surely more elaborate reasons for this, as well.

The reason I begin with the admission that belly dance is highly attractive to me as a man, is that I would like to dispense with this factor and move directly to the more important reasons I enjoy and support belly dance. Chief among these other reasons is that I greatly enjoy "the arts" and especially talented artists in their fields, whatever those may be. Belly dance is undeniably an art form, and a rather ancient one at that. Having studied a variety of art forms myself -- especially some from the Far-east -- I have learned that there is a great deal of both tradition and discipline involved in mastering them, along with relatively long periods of time and high levels of concentration. Typically, the level of commitment one must apply to such forms is rare amongst Americans these days. Ours is a culture of quick returns and a fast pace. Oriental arts require a level of patience and quietude of mind which most of us are hard-pressed to bring forth. So, those who manage to do so deserve my utmost respect. Then, those who are able to combine their knowledge and training with a personal flare and a vibrant spontaneity are those who best serve both the traditions from which their art has come and the modern audiences to which they perform.

Moreover, I believe that all forms of artistic expression are absolutely invaluable to the very meaning of "culture," and never more so than in these hurried times of sound-bites, rapid media and high-dollar pursuits, to which belly dance is antithetical. There is great value, it seems to me, for the modern individual to take time to become enchanted and immersed in art from time to time, for this may be most therapeutic, indeed. I can think of few art forms more capable of enchanting an audience than belly dance.

As a musician, I have greatly enjoyed being able to participate in the form with the drum or lute. Granted, this allows me a more intimate experience of belly dance than I could have otherwise, but I have always enjoyed watching belly dance. I am pleased to learn that belly dancing seems to be enjoying increased popularity in recent years. Both audiences and dancers are growing in numbers. Besides the enchanting nature of the dance, I suspect that a good deal of this renewed interest lies in the apparent tendency -- as we've seen in recent years – for Americans to gravitate toward more "spiritual" interests.

Whether belly dance is more sensual, more spiritual, or both at once! my guess is that it helps people to connect with some mysterious and profoundly important past and its promise of greater connection to the earth, to a healthier life, and, indeed, to our own True Natures.

"level of patience and quietude of mind" what a lovely explanation of the acquisition of skill.

An insightful and beautifully written piece, and interesting to read the male perspective.

Thank you.

"We know that the origins of belly dance involved fertility ritual and, more generally, the worship of "the Goddess," or the Feminine Nature of the Cosmos."

Uh, what? No, actually, we DON'T know this. Would you mind citing some scholarly sources?

Belly dance is derived, within the time frame of recorded history, from secular folk dances. What kind of dances were associated with ancient goddess worshipers is unknown.

There is nothing wrong with using belly dance as part of one's own spiritual belief system, but this doesn't make it ancient history.

Originally Posted by ssipes

Belly dance is derived, within the time frame of recorded history, from secular folk dances. What kind of dances were associated with ancient goddess worshipers is unknown.

There is nothing wrong with using belly dance as part of one's own spiritual belief system, but this doesn't make it ancient history.

Thank you for writing this.

Beyond the historical inaccuracies in the article, as an anthropologist, I also wish people would stop making claims on research based on sensationalized news stories. I will leave it at that, but if you are interested in both which disciplines have been studying waist-to-hip ratios and what their actual findings have been, I highly recommend reading the scholarly articles for the research and paying attention to both methodology and levels of statistical significance and correlation. This preference has not been upheld in all of the cross-cultural studies, so is currently considered valid primarily for Western European derived cultures. It is considered a cultural bias rather than an innate one. It is, however, correlated relatively strongly with certain health outcomes, so it is important - just not as a worldwide indicator of subjective attractiveness.