belly dancing.....?

[LiveJesusForever]

is it immoral to belly dance? what about just for the exercise?

 

[Living Soul Dance]

is it immoral to belly dance? what about just for the exercise?

Immoral?

Immorality comes from a person's heart & intent.
Immorality is not a certain type or style of dancing.

Definition:

immorality






the quality of not being in accord with standards of right or good conduct;

​

According to this difinition, I don't think it would be in good conduct to belly dance in a place where belly dancing is not accepted! But; if your at home with your husband and the music is not perverted, or if your doing it without offending someone else, or you doing it to increase your abdoninal stretch (again without perversion), that's your choice!

By the way, perversion is anything outside of God's original design or intent.

And according to Christian & Jewish standards of right conduct i.e "Holiness"; you must ask yourself," Am I breaking one of God's commandments?" i.e."Am I worshiping some kind of idol?"
"Am I coveting someone else's husband or wife?" i.e. "Lusting? or trying to seduce someone?" If so, then your wrong as a Christian or a Jewish person. If not, why worry?

Psalms 24:4 says- Clean hands (no harm or offense to the Lord or to another) and a pure heart (pure intent or pure motives).
These are the things that matter most to God.

Richelle

 

[Ainuhina]

I've been doing a belly dancing workshop at christian artists seminar in Holland last summer...and of all the dancing courses I took there it was the one which had most to do with faith

the teacher had a way of giving each movement a verse in the Bibel so that when you danced you were dancing the Bible...it's hard to explain...but it was really like wow

and in the last session she just made us move to the music as if we were dancing a prayer.....

I think it depends on why you dance not so much on what you dance...if you dance to be sexy or I duuno what it's bad...but if you are dancing for God I think he even likes belly dancing

be blessed

 

[LiveJesusForever]

I've been doing a belly dancing workshop at christian artists seminar in Holland last summer...and of all the dancing courses I took there it was the one which had most to do with faith

the teacher had a way of giving each movement a verse in the Bibel so that when you danced you were dancing the Bible...it's hard to explain...but it was really like wow

and in the last session she just made us move to the music as if we were dancing a prayer.....

I think it depends on why you dance not so much on what you dance...if you dance to be sexy or I duuno what it's bad...but if you are dancing for God I think he even likes belly dancing

be blessed

that's awesome!! i wish there was a class like that where i live!

 

[Ainuhina]

the teacher was from Germany so I just had class like this for one week

I think there should be more teachers like her

 

[deornie]

I love belly dancing! I think it celebrates femininity and grace!

A while ago we already had this discussion here will try to find you a link!

There you go:
http://www.christianforums.com/t2142153-is-belly-dancing-bad.html

 

[xXMeant2LiveXx]

awesome...no way is it immoral
i really want to learn belly dancing and maybe salsa

 

[livingword26]

is it immoral to belly dance? what about just for the exercise?

Isn't the answere to that question going to have to come from where belly dancing came from and what it expresses?

 

[devotedancer]

I don't think belly dancing is 'immoral' and I think good points have been made about where when how and why belly dance.
My only thought would be to make sure that you do do it with the right motive, the right heart and also make sure that it isnt going to make anyone else stumble. Sometimes this can happen without our knowledge,bbut we need to try and prevent it when possible. (What I mean is- a male watching you may be caused to stumble if your dress is inappropriate or alike. You probably know all this anyway!
Hope that has helped- dont want to put you off or anything though.

Romans 14 v 21 says 'It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.'

 

[Cassiane]

Isn't the answere to that question going to have to come from where belly dancing came from and what it expresses?

There are several theories about the origin of belly dancing, including preparing women who were pregnant for the first time for childbirth.

 

[FrauleinElsa]

No way is it immoral. It's a good way to stay in shape and have fun. I wish there was a class near me too!

Liz

 

[Merlin]

It's not immoral. It is good exercise.

 

[Alicia3218]

i really wanna learn how to belly dance. It seems like it would be fun. Also i hear it is healthy and good for girls to belly dance due to child birth and such.

 

[Bernergirl]

I've been belly-dancing (dress tribal, dance cabaret) for probably six or seven years now. I don't think it's immoral, but probably one of those things left up to conscience. Personally, as long as I dress modestly and am dancing just to *dance* and not for any reason that would *make* it wrong, I don't have a problem with it.

I'm not sure about the several theories thing... It's always been pretty clear in the circles I've run in that belly-dancing originated as an earth-worship ritual that was done in bare feet to keep you closer to the earth. Men were not permitted to attend.

However, as long as one is not actually dancing to worship the earth, I doubt it will kill anybody.

 

[GodFlute2]

Personally I don't just because I don't have an interest in it. If you're doing it for the exercise I supppose there's no harm in it. As long as that's the only reason you're doing it.

 

[PriyaRoshni]

I have been belly dancing or Raqs Sharqi for 12 years now, and I really love it. I will tell you some of what my first teacher taught me about belly dancing, forgive me if I muddle it up.

Belly dancing was originally called "Beledi" which means folk dancing, it was just that belly's seemed to be involved that people who didn't speak the lingo changed what it was called. In traditional belly dancing the woman (I will just talk about women, because men do it too) is completely covered up, she wears a dress that goes from her neck right down to her feet and has splits up the side with a under skirt. Traditionally it was a dance that women did when they got together in their woman only parties, so there is nothing about enticing men at all. I believe Turkish dancing is more provocative and has belly exposed and does a lot more 'suggestive' moves. Forgive me but I really dont know anything about it, but my teacher did not like it and my opinions are just what I have heard from her.
Now in all the time that I have been dancing, I have never danced in front of a man, and that is including my husband (although he would like me to I am just shy). I once taught a friend a dance and she danced for her husband on her wedding night, he still sends me emails telling me how grateful he is .
Belly dancing is very good exercise, its is very good for women, particularly antenatal and postnatal, speaking as a midwife, i wish every woman would do it.

Another form of dance that I am very interested and wanting to learn next year is Bollywood style dancing. In Bollywood movies, they never kiss and are modest in clothing and generally don't engage in premarital naughtiness, very different to what we find on normal TV programs and in movies. I also read somewhere that once an actress is married in real life, her popularity drops off dramatically because men will not go to movies that she is in because they dont want to 'lust' after a married woman. Now if we could all have that sense of morality.

Anyway, that is a little of what I know, I was first attracted to it because I loved the music, you cannot keep your hips still when listening to it. Belly dancing is good for you and fun, so go for it!

 

[MarriedMelody]

Belly dancing is not immoral if you are dancing at your home for your husband.

 

[JaelVega]

Forgive me, I stumbled across this thread while searching google. I have been fascinated with Middle Eastern dance for many years and recently began practicing the art form under a teacher within the last year. I am also a Christian involved in ministry doing film and drama for youth and young adults. I see a great number of things that Christians find acceptable in secular film and secular theater and unacceptable in Christian film or theater. I think this has also occured in the case of belly dance.

An understanding of the root of the dance and a dancers intentions on stage are crucial to whether a dance is 'immoral' or not. Just like I act publicly (and have played villains and immoral women publicly in theater and film) I dance publicly, however, I do what I can to make sure my dance is not intended to entice or seduce men. As one of the other posters said earlier, the dance was never designed for that purpose. There is actually evidence of women in Biblical times participating in 'belly' dances of various sorts (Moses' wife may have been from one of these cultures). Raqs Sharqi (as its properly called in one of its many forms) can be compared to Spanish folklorico or flamenco dancing. We find these forms acceptable even though they can be far more enticing or sensual. In the same way we have wedding dances to pop music and various cultures have celebration dances (the Greeks being a fantastic example), the Middle East had 'belly dancing' where women would get together and dance with other women. The men did different dances. It could very well be used in a wedding chamber but things did not change until the harem days of the Byzantine Empire, and even then there is little mention of dance for seduction.

One of the biggest wrecks to the credibility of raqs sharqi came from the movement in Turkey to cater belly dance performances, photos, and videos to the sex industry. Turkish dancing was already known for its 'anything goes' style, this just pushed it over the edge. That style still has not recovered its reputation.

Another issue that comes into play is how a venue treats a dancer. Are they an object (many 'dive' type resteraunts have this awkwardness in effect) or a person? Are they allowed to share the beauty of the dance or are they there to entice the men to come again? Are they a plaything or an artist? I found I was substantially more comfortable watching a group of dancers in a fusion dance exhibition at a local art venue then at a dimly lit, enclosed resteraunt with hookahs and pillow boots.

Christian dancers face a great challenge: portraying the beauty of the dance and not just using their bodies to get tips (this is even a challenging area as if you dance for tips, there's the moral choice of accepting tips in your belt or having a friend carry a basket, or even explaining the custom of showering the dancer with bills instead of touching her belt to give her a tip). We must be more careful with our choice of costuming as well. If you have a long torso that doesn't like to stay inside of t-shirts in the first place (this is my dillemma lol) then I don't see the problem of baring it for a dance. Simply compensate by making sure your legs are well covered and your bra is not cut too low. Many Egyptian dancers (in Egypt its actually a law) opt for either nude colored or black mesh body stockings that allow them to still perform rolls and other belly moves while being covered in a sense. Even something so simple as wearing long gloves or flesh colored tights and cheerleader briefs can help that line between being beautiful and being seductive.

A smile can also speak 1000 words. A dancer who looks like she's out to express her art, have a good time with the audience, dances with children, and doesn't play to men (always play to the woman lol) can portray a very family friendly show as opposed to the dead serious diva with the sexy slow music. A veil (for those not familiar with the dance this is a large silk cloth the dancer uses as a prop, not to be confused with Muslim or harem veils for the face) can be a huge help in modesty as well.

A Christian dancer also has a whole slew of options open in the area of showing praise to God in her dance. She can portray a Biblical character or dance to Christian music (fusion allows you to dance to anything from slow-classical to heavy metal so your options are endless). Even a simple gesture of bowing to the Father after you bow to your audience or praying before each dance can indicate praise to him. If you like Henna, incorporate a verse in Aramaic or a cross in your tattoo work.

My point is, the beauty of Raqs Sharqi is that its what you make it. All Christian artists in the secular world are faced with the challenge of maintaining our faith and performing our art. Put God first, celebrate that you can dance because of Him and are free to dance because of Him, and the answers you seek on what the lines of morality should be will be made clear

 

[Shawny]

Its not immoral-immorality lies in the eye of the person who one who is having such dirty thoughts. Belly dancing is just another form of dancing like any other-why it can even help to shape up and lose weight! Its people's mind that need to be cleaned!

 

[Billnew]

For those interested,
the Renn. group, SCA has mid-evil dancing to include belly dancing.
I have only been to 3 events, but the dancers were good.
You can attend the dance practice and not go to
events, if you don't want to perform.

www.sca.org