At the 1893 Chicago World Expo, a group of foreign girls performed a bold and open new dance. Dancers wear gorgeous and exposed clothes, twist their bare waist with the music, and the metal ornaments on their bodies make a crisp collision sound under the swing. At that time, the audience was completely shocked by this dance, which caused great controversy at that time. Some people think that the costumes worn by dancers are too revealing. Some people think their dancing is indecent. It is in this great controversy that this ancient oriental dance began to be known by people all over the world and has been passed down to this day, becoming a relatively well-known international dance.
On the eve of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America, Americans proposed to hold an Expo to commemorate this great historical event. This is 1893 Chicago World Expo. The number of visitors reached 27.5 million, which undoubtedly became the largest exhibition activity in the world at that time, and also became a window to show the world the most advanced science and technology, industrial products and cultural customs at that time, making it popular all over the world and objectively promoting the development of the world economy and society.
Chicago was chosen as the host city of the World Expo for a reason. At that time, Chicago was already the most prosperous city in the United States, with 850 trains passing in and out every day, 3 universities, 465 churches, 1, 400 hotels, 1 symphony orchestra, 24 daily newspapers, and streets illuminated by gas lamps. All high-rise buildings have been installed with elevators. In addition, Chicago is also a distribution center for goods. The area of this area only accounts for 13% of the national population, while the population reaches 35% of the national population. Railway mileage accounts for 37% of the country, and cereal crop production accounts for 55%. 1889, Chicago's roads and railways transported 200 million people, reaching 550,000 people every day. 1889, Chicago harbor had more than 22,000 ships with a total throughput of 8.9 million tons, so the World Expo was held here at that time.
Belly dance is an ancient traditional dance in the Middle East and Central Asia. There are different opinions about its emergence and development, and there are also different statements and stories about its emergence and development. There is a saying that belly dancing was originally a dance that ancient Egyptian women danced when they were having fun together, showing their breastfeeding and fertility to God by swinging their breasts, waist and buttocks, which was also verified in ancient Egyptian murals before 3500 AD. There is also a saying that oriental dance originated from the court dance of Ottoman Empire in Turkey, which is a kind of aristocratic dance and spread to the Middle East, North Africa and other places including Egypt in the16th century.
According to its action characteristics, belly dance mainly forms three styles: Egyptian style, Turkish style and Indian style. Among them, Egyptian belly dance is characterized by introversion, implication and elegance of court dance. The range of motion is relatively small, but it emphasizes muscle control. The Turkish style is characterized by bold and unrestrained movements, large amplitude, exaggerated crotch movements, exposed clothes and great visual impact. Indian style is charming and colorful, adding Indian dance style, including Indian unique gestures (such as five fingers open, little finger and ring finger bent into the palm). At the same time, the concert found a very Indian feeling.
In recent years, belly dance has also begun to rise in China, becoming the most common dance type in various fitness places. Because belly dancing can not only ease the mood with music, but also slim the waist and arms, it has become the first choice for many women to exercise.