1) Hissing. Hissing is frequently done in the USA when the audience wants to show the dancer appreciation, but it is actually considered an insult in the Middle East. As we are a Middle Eastern art form, it is best NOT to do this as it shows ignorance of the culture which spawned the dance. If you have a mixed audience of Americans and Middle Easterners, this could also be quite confusing.

2) The dance started out as a form of seduction in the harems. First of all, "harem" is our pronunciation for the Arabic word "ha- RAHM'" which means "forbidden." Muslim societies were (and some still are) segregated, so the harem is the place where women lived that is forbidden to men. Although many women may have congregated there, most were relatives (sisters, mothers, daughters), so there wasn't likely much competition for the FATHER, BROTHER, or SON. Even in rare instances where there were large harems full of captive non-relatives, the "sultan" would not enter to choose his partner based on who danced the sexiest. The partner was most likely chosen by the head wife or the sultan's mother, so it was most advantageous to schmooze her.

3) Veils (Salome, Ishtar, etc). Salome and the 7 veils is a myth created by Oscar Wilde, then expanded on by Richard Strauss, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and others. There is no evidence that this happened in history. I know that the Bible says that an unnamed dancer performed for Herod, then asked for the head of John the Baptist in return, but it never says that she used veils or described her movements in any way that would lead one to believe that she belly danced.

Further, the association of Innana/Ishtar with belly dancing with veils is another stretch that is similar to that above. The story is that Innana had to remove a garment at each of the gates of Hell in order to go further. The story never says she danced, that she removed veils, or used  seduction.

Although veils are used in the Middle East today, they are an entrance prop and are not “danced with” the way they are here. Veil dancing originated in the west and is a purely western thing. Period.

4) Sword dancing was started by Gypsies who used soldiers' swords to entertain them. There is one historic painting that depicts a dancer (Ghawazee?) with a sword on her head, but there is no evidence that this was ever a widespread practice. It is NOT considered authentic or folklore. However it is enjoyed by Arabs and is frequently requested, so go ahead and use sword for ethnic audiences.

5) A belt and bra is considered the "traditional" belly dance costume.  Middle Eastern women are modest and would not have worn anything that showed a bare midriff. This is a Hollywood invention. They adopted the idea to meet western demands for what they envisioned. Other costume pieces (such as a choli, tassel belts, etc.) that are frequently worn in the west are not authentic either. While it is true that some women who danced earned coins that they subsequently sewed on to their clothing, this never was done in a fashion that resembled a coin belt or bra.

6) The dance is not meant to be sexy. As a therapist, I often recommend belly dancing for women who are recovering from sexual assault and domestic violence as a means to recover their power. This means ALL their power. People are sexual beings, and there is nothing wrong with being sexual. There is something wrong with exploiting sex or being disrespectful. In other words, sensual and sexual are okay. Slutty is not. What you do in private is up to you, but when you are in public, you should represent yourself and the dance in a respectable manner. When you are true to yourself and respectful of yourself, your audience, and the dance, you are most likely on the right track.

7) “Gypsy” dancing. The correct name for Gypsy is Rom, Roma, or Romany. Other names used by the Gypsy people to describe themselves are: Cigano, Tsigani, Tzigane, and Zigeuner. Some tribes do refer to themselves as “Gypsy”, but some consider this an offensive term. Not all Rom share the same language or the same culture. They are spread throughout a wide geographic area, so unless you are specifically describing which tribe you are representing when you do a “Gypsy” dance, and the work is based on research, you are doing fakelore. The most common term for fakelore pieces is “Fantasy Gypsy”. There is nothing wrong with Fantasy Gypsy, but please identify it as such so that ignorance is not spread to your audience. The dances, dress, and music used by Russian, Spanish, Egyptian, and Turkish Rom will all be different.

8) Goddess and Pharaonic dancing. While there are many historical references to dancing in Pharaonic times and as part of temple worship that occurred in the Middle East, there is no evidence that this was belly dance as we know it today or a precursor to belly dance. That knowledge is lost in antiquity. “Goddess dancing” and “Pharanoic dancing” is like “Gypsy dancing.” It’s a made-up vision of what the creator thinks it was like. It’s fakelore, not folklore.

9) “History.” Beware of  “history.” There are many things that are written in seemingly scholarly places that are either flat out untrue or are distorted. Sometimes the distortion happens because the lens that the information is filtered through colors the interpretation. Sometimes the information is true for one culture, but not all. Sometimes it’s pure fantasy. It’s very difficult to generalize because there are a variety of cultures within the Arab, Coptic, Jewish, and Rom people that inhabit the area in and around the Middle East. What’s true for one is not true for all.