The author of this Flickr photo adds: "Turkish Belly Dancer in hot pink - This performer shares her traditional Turkish belly dance interpretation during a show of the performing arts of Turkey in an Istanbul night club and restaurant. The audience this evening is a typical mix of tourists and visitors from dozens of countries around the world."
Belly dance forms currently being performed in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus is believed to have been influenced by Arabs before the Ottoman Empire as much as by the Egyptian Syrian and Lebanese belly dance forms.
It is understood that Turkish law does not impose restrictions on belly dancers, whereas in Egypt dancers are required to cover their midriffs and the dancers cannot perform some floor work and certain pelvic movements. This difference has resulted in a marked difference in style of belly dancing - ‘Egyptian belly dance is noted for its restraint and elegance, whereas Turkish belly dance is playful and uninhibited’. Costumes of Turkish belly dancers have been very revealing, but now there seems to be a move towards making the dancers wear more modest costumes similar to Egyptian-style belly dance costumes.
It has been noted that many professional belly dancers and musicians in Turkey are influenced by Romani heritage. Also styles from Kurdistan have an influence as Kurdish people too were mixed with the Ottoman Empire, because of which there is a lot of elements of fusion styles in Turkish belly dance. It is also to be noted that there is a distinct Turkish-Romani dance style which is different from Turkish oriental dance style. Turkish dancers are known for their energetic, athletic including even gymnastic styles, and their adept use of finger cymbals (zills).
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