Shalimar - Middle Eastern Dance Studio

17/05/2023

21/02/2018

Remember to enroll for belly dancing lessons. Don't be shy, we all had to start somewhere. It's great exercise and does wonders to revitalize the intimacies.

21/02/2018

Scimitar

The scimitar has always been the traditional weapon throughout the Middle East, so it is only natural that the scimitar would make its way into belly dance routines as well. The scimitar dances were designed to reveal the power, strength, and goddess-like beauty of Arab women.

Students should always use a dulled student sword and not move onto a professional scimitar until they can complete the full scimitar practice four times through without losing the scimitar. Modern moves involve balancing the scimitar on the dancer’s head while completing various moves while standing or kneeling.

19/02/2018

Spectacular dancing by Horus Mozarabe. This is a must see.

www.thetribalmassive.com www.themassivespectacular.com thumbnail photo courtesy of www.YanivHalfonPhotography.com Horus Mozarabe performing fusion bellydance...

14/02/2018

Zills

A belly dancer can create and participate in the musicality of the performance by playing finger cymbals (also called zils, zills or sagat). The sound of the belly dancer playing finger cymbals adds a new level of excitement and energy to the dance. Finger cymbals come in many sizes, colours and textures. The smaller and thinner ones produce a high pitched ring while the heavier ones create a lower tone, as with most brass instruments.

The zills can either be used to compliment or contrast the basic rhythm of the music. Most often, they feature best with traditional music as certain patterns are fundamental, e.g. a Taksim, or Masmoudi rhythm.

13/02/2018

Remember to contact us for Belly Dancing classes. Be part of the tribe.

12/02/2018

Male Belly dancing done by the wonderfully talented ZADiEL

The amazing male Bellydancer Zadiel with a hot Drum Solo! ► Add me on Facebook: https://facebook.com/zadiel.sasmaz ► My Youtube channel: https://youtube.com/...

08/01/2018

Shalimar Belly Dancing School has officially opened the doors. Be sure to read our page and then contact us for any further information you might require. Hope to see you soon shaking your coin belt!

18/09/2017

Shalimar Middle Eastern Dance Studio is based in the Northern Suburbs of the Western Cape. We focus mainly on the advancing of Belly dancing as a male form of art and dance but do also teach the women that are interested in belly dancing.

Male belly dancing is hardly a new phenomenon. Most belly dancers date the practice back to the Sultan's court in the final centuries of the Ottoman Empire, when women were largely prohibited from performing on stage. Young men, generally ethnic Greeks, Armenians, or Romani, drawn, from the Empire's non-Muslim population, would be trained as dancers.

The presence of these male belly dancers during those historical periods reflect Turkish society then, when men and women were strictly segregated, and where men dominated all aspects of life. Even celebrations, including those in weddings then, have separate functions for men and women, thus these male belly dancers easily supplied what was lacking and missed.
Turkish male belly dancers also had their counterparts in Egypt, where they were around until around mid 19th century. W.E. Lane's book "Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians" and Gustave Flaubert's "Travels in Egypt" describe these dancers extensively.

Come and join Shalimar on a Tuesday night for from 19:30 to 21:00 for the Shimmy of your life!