Belly Dance

導讀：想到肚皮舞，你腦中會出現什么畫面呢？但是它可能并非你所想的那樣。

What do you see when you think of belly dance？ Its probably not what you think.

Belly dance is not a dance of sex nor did it begin that way. Throughout Middle Eastern history， Oriental dance （the better way to call belly dance） has been a family dance done at such situations as weddings， births， and festivals. Men， women， and children in those cultures have always belly danced for fun， not to make others have romantic feeling to them.

In Sparta， women danced for Artemis， who was a goddess of the moon and of fertility. Referred to as the Kordax， their dance generally used the hips and stomach.

Many early civilizations believed that women were almost only meant for making babies. In some cases， women were honored because they seemed to controlled the power of nature. Tribes in the South Seas， New Guinea， East Polynesia， Africa， and Greece not only thought that having a baby in the belly would be impossible， but that the human race would die， unless the women performed the fertility dance.

In traditional Muslim society， women often gathered to perform a type of belly dance after the evening meal， a dance they called“Raks-sharki”. After feeding their husbands and sons， women would gather in a separate location to dance （such activity was not allowed in the company of men）. That traditional “after dinner” dance was important because it developed the muscles needed for childbirth. As such， young women showed their readiness for marriage by dancing for the mothers.

As it has for thousands of years， the belly dance has become popular. In both the West and the Middle East， professional dancers perform at nightclubs， weddings， and other events. But the old art of Oriental dance is still seen， in many parts of the Middle East， as an informal dance， one that people of all ages do for fun when with friends and family. And it is a dance that you can learn to do for fun， entertainment， or fitness.

Vocabulary

fertility n. 生育

hips n. 臀部（單數hip）

tribes n. 部落（單數tribe）

muscles n. 肌肉（單數muscle）

（Have you seen belly dance？ What do you think of it？）

童家鑫 改編