Studies & Degrees in Oriental Dance

Choose where you would like to study Oriental Dance:

The Middle East has so much to boast of in terms of culture and traditions—folk dance is one. History tells that oriental dance is one of the many folk dances that highlight the rich folkloric heritage of the Middle East. With the rich cultural, historic, and artistic offerings of the program, students will become deeply involved in honing and enhancing their abilities and skills as they study the depths of Oriental Dance. The entire program will offer students many great learning opportunities in discovering and understanding the traditions and cultures of Middle East.

Historically speaking, Oriental Dance can be traced back from the ancient Middle Eastern fertility ceremonies, where women performed dance for other women. The tradition continued through time as women taught their girls the dance at an early age to strengthen and fully develop their abdominal muscles for future pregnancies and childbirth. Later on, girls learn the muscle isolation techniques as they do more practice and control their movements toward perfecting the dance. Oriental Dance is more widely known as “belly dance” or the dance of the stomach and it became even much more recognized when it was portrayed and linked with sleaziness and sexual glamour in films and fictions.

Oriental Dance which is intricately characterized with hip movements can be performed using various techniques, depending on the where it is danced. Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Morocco all have their exquisite techniques that can be uniquely attributed with their culture. Performers of the dance from different parts of Middle East express their styles when festive occasions are celebrated. In some occasions, the oriental dance is performed when people want to have fun and party wearing their costumes. It was the Europeans that turn this folk dance into social dance not just to spark and express performance art but to answer the demand for more ways to get entertained.

Professional oriental dancers who staged performance to both fashion and recognize the Middle Eastern traditions, assimilated by European social dance techniques by Western choreographers, have learned and mastered their dancing skills as the demand for dance artists grew higher. The entertainment industry is pushing its power to attract more professional dancers and artists. Hence, students of the program should acknowledge this opportunity to finish the program and pursue a career in the entertainment industry and to help the Middle East maintain its influence in cultural scenes. The burgeoning dance scenes of the Middle East and the Oriental Dance have been flourishing across the Arabic boarders as a sea of performances of this cultural dance have been held in various places around the world.

Students who successfully completed the course can pursue their career as artistic directors, dance choreographers, dance instructors, and professional performers. With their education and intensive background, not to mention the learning and practical experiences they gained from the institution that offers such rare program, they can practically help others to appreciate the real beauty of Middle Eastern culture and Oriental Dance.