Raqs Sharqi belly dancing consists of movements that are executed throughout the body. The focus of the dance is the pelvic and hip area. It is, fundamentally, a solo improvisational dance with its own unique dance vocabulary that is fluidly integrated with the music’s rhythm.
Raqs Sharqi dancers internalize and express the emotions evoked by the lyrics and the music. Appropriately, the music is integral to the dance. The most admired Raqs Sharqi dancers are those who can best project their emotions through dance, even if their dance is made up of simple movements.
The dancer’s goal is to visually communicate to the audience the emotion and rhythm of the music. Raqs Sharqi translates from Arabic as "dance of the Orient" or "Oriental Dance". This is the oldest dance in the world. Belly dance is a misnomer as the all parts of the body are involved in the dance, and the most important body part is the hips. The dancer’s goal is to visually communicate to the audience the emotion and rhythm of the music.
Many see Raqs Sharqi as a woman's dance, celebrating the sensuality and power of being a mature woman. A common school of thought believes that young dancers have limited life experience to use as a catalyst for dance.Sohair Zaki, Fifi Abdou, Lucy, Nagwa Fouad, and Dina are all popular Egyptian dancers above the age of forty.
Despite the fame of female dancers, men often perform Raqs Sharqi as well, however, not in public in Arab countries.