Velvet Ghawazee > Info > Tribal belly dance costumes

Tribal belly dance costumes

Belly dancing is believed to be the oldest form of dance still practiced today.  This means that belly dancing has very real historical roots, and even those who study belly dancing aren’t quite able to place its origin precisely.  Many theories explain this phenomenon through the idea that belly dancing comes from many cultures and areas of the world, and may have originated in several places.  For this reason, tribal belly dancing is a popular way for people to feel connected to their heritage or history in general.  If you are someone who loves tribal belly dancing, then you need the right tribal belly dance costumes.  Let us help you find the perfect costumes for yourself or your dance troupe so you can accurately portray this ancient form of dance.

Because belly dancing has such a wide variety of cultural roots, there are many different kinds of tribal belly dance costumes.  Because of this, you can choose a costume based on how much you like the look of it, or you can select a costume that is as culturally accurate as possible.  If you are performing your belly dancing in front of large groups, either with other dancers or alone, it is more important to choose a tribal belly dance costume that is culturally accurate, especially if you will be performing for commemorative cultural events, at parties where the individuals belong to that specific cultural group, or at locations where other items from that culture are being represented, such as an authentic restaurant.

If you need to have a tribal belly dance costume that is accurate, then it can be a little confusing trying to figure out what to purchase and how to put it together.  Of course, in-depth research of your style of dance and the area of the world it comes from can help immensely in choosing an appropriate tribal belly dance costume, but that isn’t always a possibility in our busy world.  The major styles of historically accurate belly dance that are performed today are Greek/Turkish dances, Gypsy/Romanian styles, Indian belly dance, and Egyptian dancing styles.  Greek, Turkish and Egyptian belly dancing has typically been more conservative throughout time, and therefore the costumes are also conservative.  You’d be safe in this category to build your costume around a caftan, adding a hip scarf and head scarf where appropriate.

The Gypsy or Romanian belly dance costumes, on the other hand, are a little different from the Turkish, Greek and Egyptian styles. Tribal belly dance costumes for this style of dance echo the overall clothing style of Gypsies, such as velvet skirts and dresses, clothing embellished with coins and other beautiful objects, and items such as feathers and fringe for decoration.  Gypsy tribal belly dance costumes also include something called a Ghawazee coat, which is an elaborate one-piece top and skirt in rich velvet.  These coats can be made with or without sleeves and often have such details as a corseted front or back and bright sequin or gold details.  These outfits are considered quite authentic among those who know tribal belly dance costumes.

Belly dancing is also known to be from India, and other countries in the vicinity.  The tribal belly dance costume for Indian belly dancing is similar to the costumes that we have chosen to Westernize in the modern age.  Skirts or harem pants are both acceptable, and hip scarves are a great addition.  Embellished tops are culturally accurate and veils and scarves are very common as well.  Whichever style of belly dance you choose to perform, make sure you have a good tribal belly dance costume that honors the heritage of the dance and its originating country.

Resources for Belly dance heritage and Velvet Ghawazee

Belly dance costumes
Belly dance DVDs
Egyptian belly dancing
Belly dance pants
Belly dance hip scarves
Belly dance jewelry
Tribal belly dancing