Middle Eastern dance

Traditional dancing styles of Middle Eastern ethnic groups

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

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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

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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2025)

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### Arab

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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

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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

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Assyrian folk dance: khigga.

### Cypriot

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See: Greek Cypriot dance and Turkish Cypriot dance.

### Kurdish

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Kurdish dance: dilan.

### Persian

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Persian dance: classical Persian dance.

### Turkish

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Turkish dance: Çiftetelli, halay.

### Jewish

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

## See also

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

## References

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1. ^ "Dance in the Middle East: Moving forward, step by step".

## Further reading

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* Lamiaa ElKholy. "Egyptian and Turkish belly dancing - between stigma and artistic expression". AlArabiaEnglish.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dances of the Middle East.

* Turkish-Egyptian folk dance
* From dabke to buraa, dance is integral to Middle Eastern culture
* Sacred World of Middle-Eastern Dance

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Dance

* Index
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Participation|

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Middle Eastern music

By style|

* Arabesque (Turkish)
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By region|

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Related topics|

* Dance (Arab, Assyrian folk, belly, Israeli folk, Jewish, Kurdish, Persian, Pontic Greek, Turkish)
* Dastgah
* Fantezi
* Iqa'
* Kanto
* Khigga
* Dengbêj
* Arabic maqam (Iraqi maqam), Turkish makam
* Usul

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Middle East

Countries|

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Culture|

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Related terms|

* Eastern Mediterranean
* Fertile Crescent
* Greater Middle East
* Levant
* Mashriq
* Middle East and North Africa
* Near East
* Syria (region)
* West Asia

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