The term belly dance is a misnomer. City-based belly dancer Leena Viie reiterates this fact when she says, "We use our entire body to communicate." The dance form's name also emerged from the Western view of traditional West Asian dance forms such as raqs sharqi; it was derived from the French expression "danse du ventre" which was used in the Victorian era. With its origins dating back to the time of Alexander the Great, belly dancing is often referred to as the oldest dance in the world. Tomorrow on World Belly Dance Day, Viie is launching an online belly dancing festival to spread awareness about the form and also raise funds for migrant workers impacted by the pandemic via the NGO Goonj.

The festival will feature workshops and masterclasses by over 30 international dancers who've made a mark in the circuit including Colleena Shakti from the US, Silvia Brazzoli from Italy, Zara Abdelrehman from Egypt and Julia Farid from Ukraine. While the live talks will begin this week, the workshops will be conducted between June 1 and 21 for which registrations are open.