Middle Eastern dance

"Oriental dance" redirects here. For "oriental dance" in popular culture, see Belly dance.

Middle Eastern dance, sometimes called oriental dance, comprises a variety of dancing styles historically associated with ethnic groups in the Middle East. It may include influences from other parts of the world, such as Western dance, and may also be present in regions that have overlapping or shared ethnic or cultural demographics with the Middle East (namely North Africa, which is part of the Arab world) while not being Middle Eastern per se.^[1] The Middle East is generally understood as a region that comprises the majority of West Asia, albeit including Egypt and excluding the Caucasus.

Tentative list

Arab

Middle Eastern Arab dance encompasses historical dancing styles among Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant, as well as Iraq and Egypt. It includes the following: ardah, baladi, belly dancing, dabke, deheyeh, fann at-tanbura, hosa, khaleegy, mizmar, raqs sharqi, shamadan, tahtib, tanoura, and yowlah.

Armenian

The Armenians are an ethnic group who, while indigenous to the Armenian highlands, have historically inhabited and culturally impacted parts of modern-day Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran, among other countries. Consequently, Armenian dance has been present in the Middle East for centuries, including: berd, kochari, shalakho, tamzara, and yarkhushta.

Assyrian

Assyrian folk dance: khigga.

Cypriot

See: Greek Cypriot dance and Turkish Cypriot dance.

Kurdish

Kurdish dance: dilan.

Persian

Persian dance: classical Persian dance.

Turkish

Turkish dance: Çiftetelli, halay.

Jewish

Jewish dance: Hora, Tza'ad Teimani, Israeli folk dance

See also

• Sufi whirling, among Muslim practitioners of Sufism
• Zaffa, an Egyptian wedding march