Bellydance has had a long struggle finding its legitimacy around the world as an actual art form. One of the main issues is the lack of real terminology. There are several different styles and each teacher uses their own vocabulary- making it very difficult for your skills to be applied for different teachers/locations. I have been working on a project to solve this issue.
Ballet has been very prominently recognized as a classic dance art. One of the reasons it is so highly thought of is its universal vocabulary (in French) that each dancer must learn that is associated with a certain movement. For example, any ballerina knows what a plié is and the technique associated with it. Dancers from any part of the world can teach/be taught using this same vocabulary.
So why wouldn’t bellydancers use Arabic terminology for a Middle Eastern dance style? It doesn’t make sense! I have worked with Michael Ghobrial (of the popular mahraganat group Tamer w Michael) to come up with Egyptian Arabic vocabulary that can be used regardless of the region or instructor you first learned from. Please feel free to use these in your own classes. I would love to hear feedback! I attached a chart with list of movements as well as flashcards you can print (double-sided) to teach with or just to practice. Good luck!
| Movement (English) | Movement (Egyptian Arabic) |
| Chest circle | Dayrit el sidr |
| Hip circle | Dayrit el wist |
| Snake arms | Eid el taaban |
| Snake arms (one side) | Eid el taaban nahya wahdah |
| Hip lift | Airfaa el wist |
| Hip drop | Nazil el wist |
| Chest lift | Airfaa el sidr |
| Chest drop | Nazil el sidr |
| Head slide | Zahlaa el ras |
| Hip slide | Zahlaa el wist |
| Chest slide | Zahlaa el sidr |
| Maya (wave of the sea) | Mogit el ba7r |
| Reverse maya (wave in reverse) | Aaks el mog |
| Camel | Gamel |
| Undulation/stomach roll | Lafit el btn |
| Shimmy | Hiz |
| Shoulder shimmy | Hiz el keytaf |
| Shoulder roll | Lafit el keytaf |
| Big hip circle | Dayrit wist kbira |
| Hand undulation | Hazit el eid |
| Flutter (shake) | El hazaz |
| Floreos (magic) | Shawaza |
| Spot turn (3-point turn) | Lif fi mkanak |
| Hip twist front | Lif wist odam |
| Hip twist sides | Lif wist gnab |
| Hip drop kick | Nazlit el wist |
| Egyptian walk | El mashya el masrya |
| Hagalla | Hagalla |
| Jewel | Gawhara |
| Figure 8 | Tamanya |
| Hair flip | Albit el shaar |
Part of Body:
Arms- eid
Hip- wist
Chest- sidr
Head- ras
Shoulders- keytaf
Hair- shaar
Movements:
Circle- dayrit
Lift- airfaa
Drop- nazil
Shimmy- hiz
Roll- lafit
Slide- zahlaa
Twist- lif
Flip- albit
Reverse- aaks
