The style Awalim (meaning "learned one" and "world") performs is Tribal Bellydance. We start with a good technical foundation of Egyptian bellydance and combine it with American Tribal Style, American Cabaret, North African, Turkish, Indian Rajisthani and Persian. Fusion is our main focus but we make sure we have a good foundation in a certain style before fusing it with another to stay true to its feel. To find out more about the Awalim Dance Company and/or to see us perform visit the Show, Calendar and Bio pages.

Bellydance is probably one of the oldest forms of dance in the world. Many people think it was done to help with childbirth and I have read and heard of many times when it was successfully used in that process. The moves are done by most Middle Easterners, men and women, in just their regular party type dancing but it becomes "Raks Sharki" "Danse Oriental" or "Bellydance" when it is used for a stage performance, whether by a soloist or a troupe. It is thought that there is a connection with the nomadic Rajisthanis and the gypsies, or Ghawazee, of Egypt and the Rom of Spain. Many dance moves are very similar, as is the music. The Awalim were the educated female entertainers in Egypt and the Ghawazee were the street dancers. It is widely speculated that both might have also been prostitutes but more likely is that they had more sexual freedom than most women and so were labeled whores. The Awalim were some of the few women in Medieval Egypt allowed to read and own property, they wrote poetry, played instruments and sang as well as danced. The Ouled Nail of North Africa actually earned their dowry performing and then married. This might have been true with other tribes as well.

Jamila Salimpour brought the feel of this old style of bellydance to the modern American stage at the first Renaissance Festival after being asked to design a show that would fit into the Old World theme of the festival. Taking cues from National Geographic's pages as well as folkloric teachers in the area Jamila Salimpour's dance company, the legendary Bal Anat, popularized ethnic costuming and presentation in the Bellydance community that has become what is called Tribal bellydance.