HIPPER THAN THOU BELLY DANCING HOLDS SWAY OUTSIDE MIDEAST.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

It's still the same sensual, undulating, fiery, mysterious dance. But would you please stop calling it belly dancing.

Yes, the purveyors of that fascinating dance, which evolved from India through the Mideast to Eastern and Western Europe, would prefer it had a far different nickname - something along the lines of Middle Eastern or Oriental dance.

Those that study the stuff have gotten a bellyful of the popular misconceptions fueled by James Bond films, animation and harum-scarum restaurant routines.

Chiefly, the notion that the dance is all about the tummy, well, takes a bellyflop.

``The average person imagines it's one step away from striptease,'' says Jillina, who leads a wildly colorful 10-member Middle Eastern dance company that performs weekends at the Carousel restaurant in Glendale.

``This is folkloric dancing that's also an art form. It involves the hips, the arms, the entire body. It isn't just the belly.''

The dance focuses on isolating different parts of the body, moving them independently in sensuous patterns, weaving together the entire feminine form. Belly dance is generally performed barefoot, which is thought to suggest the intimate physical connection between the dancer, her expression and Mother Earth.

During Jillina and the Sahlala Dancers' performances, throbbing, rhythmic Iranian and Lebanese music plays while the troupe dances fast and furious in wildly colorful, flowing sheer costumes.

Customers at the Carousel, which is an Armenian restaurant, get involved in an odd tipping ritual in which they give the waiter $20 bills and the restaurant employee, in turn, fans the dancers with $1 bills - 20 of them - sending them sailing through the air to land at the dancers' feet in a blizzard of green.

``It's an Egyptian practice that shows the patrons appreciate us,'' Jillina said. ``It becomes part of the show.''

Jillina's company will be among the performers Saturday at the fifth annual Bellydance Awards, which take place at California State University, Northridge's Performing Arts Center. Her troupe is nominated in the best dance company category.

Awards are also given out for dancer of the year, cabaret dancer, modern Egyptian dance, ethnic dancing and music.

``People don't realize how hard it is to do right,'' said Anisa, who runs Anisa's School of Dance in Sherman Oaks and has been teaching Oriental dance since 1974. ``But it's a very natural dance and you can learn how to do it. Interest goes through spurts. Anytime there's something in the media about belly dance, there's a sudden surge of enthusiasm. I get a lot of women who are tired of the gym and want to do something good for the body that's also fun.''

That brings up yet another misconception - that belly dance was designed to entertain men, even though males around the world are often the dance's most ardent supporters. In truth, the ritualized dance has been performed throughout history for other women, generally during fertility rites or parties preparing young females for marriage. In most cases, men weren't even allowed to witness it.

Western sultans, though, can thank Little Egypt, the famous exotic dancer who belly-danced at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, for sparking a revolution in navel awareness.

``Yes, men all over the world love watching it,'' said Van Nuys resident Suzy Evans, producer of the Bellydance Awards, which are presented by the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance. ``As time went on and the dance moved west, it got this reputation for being incredibly sexy and mysterious and men became intrigued. There's no denying it.''

For male fans, as artistic as belly dance is, the fact that the dancers are generally half-naked and gyrating doesn't hurt.

In effect, Little Egypt marked the start of tummy tourism and Hollywood's fascination with the centuries-old art.

``In the mid-'70s, there was this huge interest in belly dance as a post-hippie thing,'' Evans, 48, said. ``Just about anyone my age at some point took lessons. Today, some women have gotten hooked on it as exercise, but it's really a mind/body art.''

Saturday's two-hour awards ceremony - which includes a dozen performances from such well-known, single-named belly dance entertainers as Baraka, Judeen, Katia, Sabura and Sakti - is the centerpiece of four days of Oriental dance events, starting today with a lecture and reception, a shopping trip Friday through the garment district, and a brunch and fashion show Sunday. All events except the awards start at the Pars Art Center in Van Nuys.

``Perceptions are changing,'' says Carolynn Ruth, a Sherman Oaks paralegal who is among the organizers of the weekend. ``But I don't know of another art form that has so much baggage attached. People don't have these bizarre misconceptions about ballerinas and ballet.

``Nobody thinks ballet is easy or anyone can do it. And unfortunately a lot of people think there's not much to belly dancing until they see a good dancer. Anyone can put on a two-piece costume and sequins and shake - but to do it well takes a lot of study.''

Ruth says she sees the same reaction whenever somebody who knows only the hoodoo-voodoo belly dance stereotype is introduced to the real deal.

``They always say, 'I had no idea.' They never realized how beautiful and fine a dance it is and how much training it takes. It's always this big surprise.''

``FIFTH ANNUAL BELLYDANCE AWARDS''

Where: Performing Arts Center, California State University, Northridge, Student Union courtyard, Plummer Street and Zelzah Avenue.

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $28, parking $3.

Information: [phone] or www.bellydance.org.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- cover -- color) Too Hip

Middle Eastern belly dancing has acquired new status as an art form

(3 -- color) In satins and spangles, dancer Larrisa greets her audience.

(4 -- 7 -- color) A quick look at what Westerners call belly dancing, clockwise, starting at upper left: The art form involves intricate movements by women wearing elaborate, bright-colored clothing. Jillina and Sahlala Dancers entertain at the Carousel Restaurant in Glendale. Jillina, the group's head dancer, takes a bow. Larrisa is showered by enthusiastic fans' tips.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News