Turkish style belly dance
and it is closer to its Romany (Gypsy) heritage than Egyptian and Lebanese styles. Overall, Rakass is a very dynamic, energetic and even athletic cabaret style.
Turkish belly dance movements
Turkish belly dancing is flamboyant and dynamic. Its movements are higher, faster and lighter than other styles, such as Egyptian baladi, for example, as the ‘tak’ in Turkish rhythm is more frequent than in Egyptian rhythms. Hence, the predominant hip movement is the hip lift, rather then the hip drop. Also, in Turkish belly dance, 
movements are large and leaps and floorwork are common.
Two famous Turkish style belly dance moves are the Turkish backbend and Turkish drop.
Turkish style belly dance costumes
Turkish style costumes are some of the most revealing of the cabaret style. The belt is often worn high up on the waist, with split skirts which expose the entire leg. Turkish belly dancers often wear high heel shoes, in order to emphasise their movements.
Turkish style belly dance music and rhythms
The rhythms of Turkish belly dance music can be fast and repetitive. Some of the most used rhythms in Turkish belly dance include chiftetelli and the karsilama (also known as kashlimar). Turkish instrumentation also varies from that of Egyptian music. The bouzouki is played instead of the oud; more wind instruments are used, such as the clarinet, and the Turkish drum (equivalent of the tabla) is called dumbek.
Famous Turkish belly dancers and instructional DVDs
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A famous Turkish belly dancer from the 70s and 80s is Princess Banu, while other famous 
Turkish belly dancers include Eva Cernik, Tulay Karaca and Birgul Berai.
If you would like to learn more about Turkish belly dance, there are some good instructional DVDs for sale. One of these, which can be found on Amazon, is ‘I love Turkish Belly Dance’ by Sarah Skinner.
