What is Belly Dance?

Belly dance is an expressive dance which emphasizes complex movements of the torso. It is thought to originally be a Middle Eastern folk dance, though there is evidence of this sort of dancing having been popular throughout Eurasia and Africa for thousands of years. Belly dance has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style.

The Ghawazi (also ghawazee) dancers of Egypt were a group of female traveling dancers of the Dom people (also known as Nawar). The ghawazi style gave rise to the Egyptian belly dance style, raqs sharqi, by the first half of the 20th century.

While the performative raqs sharqi in urban Egypt was heavily influenced by Western styles such as classical ballet or Latin American dance, the term ghawazi in Egypt refers to the dancers in rural Egypt who have preserved the traditional 18th- to 19th-century style.

Method & Materials

The sculpture is made of needle felted wool with a wire frame for structure and flexibility. It doubles as a holiday tree topper. She wears a red ghawazee coat with a full skirt. The “buttons” on the coat are rhinestones. Rhinestones also decorate the front of her skirt, her hair and her neck. She has been lightly sprayed with a fine spray glitter to give your tree some extra bling, though not so much that she’s messy or needs to be hidden the rest of the year. There are LED lights hidden under the surface of her “skin,” clothing and hair that can be turned on and off as you will. It will require three AA batteries (batteries not included). Place her on a shelf or holiday tree to add some spice to your life!

While this item looks like a doll, it isn’t meant for children.

Dimensions:
13? tall x 7 1/2? x 5″ diameter