Our stunning dame this month goes by the mononym Daria, a professional belly dancer shimmying and shivering her way around Egypt. You can find her on Instagram or TikTok as @daria_bellydancer where she shows off her unique talent and damn good looks as as she travels the world.
There’s a whole belly dancing scene on those platforms, with plenty of gorgeous and talented gals showing off different styles of this unique Middle Eastern entertainment. You 007 fans out there have already been introduced to the Turkish-Romani variation called oryantal dans in From Russia With Love. This is the “gypsy” style which showcases very gymnastic movements and those little finger symbols called “zils,” set to the exotic 9/8 karsilama rhythm.
That’s a fairly modern version of the dance. In fact, the term “belly dance” goes back to French observers in the late 1800s, and descriptions of “oriental dancing” can be found as far back as Ancient Greece. There’s no question that belly dancing has its roots in ancient Egypt; the “classical” style called raqs sharqi was popularized worldwide by Egyptian cinema in the early 20th century. This is the form practiced by our lovely Daria and other influential dancers like Shakira. It compares to the Turkish style in that the body is more stationary, most of the movement is focused on the torso and hips rather than the arms and legs.
Something you may have noticed about Daria is how non-Egyptian her name and complexion are. Raqs sharqi has been on a steep decline in its native Egypt since the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Since these dancers are dressed in bedazzled bikinis rather than bedsheets, it’s easy to see why a 90.3% Muslim country wouldn’t be jazzed about their daughters taking it up as a career. Still, raqs sharqi is a big part of the country and its history, and is in high demand for weddings and parties. Dancers from Eastern Europe, who have issues with their own hyper-conservative regimes, have been making careers for themselves in The Beloved Land by satisfying that demand. While I couldn’t find much personal information on our beautiful dancer, it’s a safe bet that Daria is one of these belly dancing implants.
Some people see this trend as cultural appropriation- it was made illegal for foreign dancers to shake it in 2004. Some people see it as preservation of a dying art- that very law was repealed later in 2004. Some, like you and I, don’t care about that sort of thing, and appreciate the dance simply for being way sexier than twerking.
Spud media 