Bellydance costumes

a comparison between Cabaret and American Tribal styles

by Brenna Sharp

Most people, when they think of bellydance costume, think of lightweight, sheer, floaty materials with cheap flashy sequins and lots of skin showing. In short, Cabaret costume.

But there is another style loosely referred to as American Tribal costume. It makes use of heavier fabrics, heavier trims and doesn't really show much skin at all. It is based on the traditional ethnic costumes from India, North Africa and everywhere in between.

The following is a comparison of the two.

Cabaret	American Tribal
loose hair bound w/single band	hair often contained within headwrap
spangled bra-top	short-sleeved midriff-baring bodice
fitted hipband	hip scarves
2 or 3 sheer, split, ankle-length skirts	1 or 2 full, opaque, calf-length skirts
pantyhose (optional)	ankle-length pants, usually blouse-y
heels or bare feet	bare feet or sandals/slippers
tucked, removable veils (optional)	tucked, removable veils (optional)
light-weight, modern, glittery jewelry	heavy, ethnic jewelry (lots of it)
false coins & sequins wherever possible	real coins & shisha wherever possible

As you can imagine, there is quite a difference in silhouette between them. Compound that with the differences in materials used and you get two almost entirely unrelated looks.

For those who are curious, yes, there are some differences in the two dance styles and in the musics used although to the unitiated the differences are frequently indistinguishable. American Tribal places more emphasis on traditional dance movements, music instruments and music arrangements although it can get rather polyglot. Cabaret is a more modern version developed in this century in Europe and North America and incorporating European instruments and music arrangements.