South Africa has been celebrating a traditional dance usually associated with the Middle East. Cape Town performers wowed audiences on World Belly Dancing day with style and flair to celebrate a rich and complex art form. CGTN's Travers Andrews has that story.

Belly Dancing may be rooted in ancient Egypt but never before has it been such a popular pastime in Cape Town, where the celebration of the female art form can truly be appreciated.

Over 200 belly dances from around the city took part in this year's event, which like many others focuses on the cultural and performance aspect of this female dance, it's all in aid of a good cause as well.

TENILLE LINDEQUE, FOUNDER, WORLD BELLY DANCE DAY, CAPE TOWN "It's women dance, danced by women, for woman, it's a dance of fitness and celebration, women do it around the world to connect with their feminine, to get fit, to get healthy and essentially World Belly Dance Day, is the belly dance community coming together around the world, to raise money for charity."

Many believe belly dancing is natural to a woman's bone and muscle structure, with moves emanating from the torso, rather than the legs and feet, which may also point to why there is such diversity amongst participants. Also unlike many other forms of dance, where there is very specific body type required, belly dancing cuts across economic and racial divide and celebrates the female body in all its forms.

TENILLE LINDEQUE, FOUNDER, WORLD BELLY DANCE DAY, CAPE TOWN "We have dancers from all over the Western Cape joining us for performances, we dances from the Cape Flats,we have dancers from the leafy suburbs of Constantia and we have little girls as young as five and dances as old as 65 on the stage today."

But belly dancing is also a lifestyle choice, that is lived through performance as well as the immersion into the social and cultural aspects, it's these unique characteristics that have attracted many women, who are convinced of it's healthy mental and physical benefits.

"I work six jobs so I get very annoyed very quickly, so the stress relief of belly dancing has been fantastic and I've actually managed to lose 12 kilos, so it's been really nice I love it."

"I must say I'm not the smallest girl, so it actually made me comfortable in my own body, so when I stand on the stages don't care about my size, just shaking and showing everybody what I've got."

This years event was in aid of Rape Crisis, a local organization that assist many women affected by this terrible crime, all in all though, with moves this good, it's easy to see why so many women are looking to this ancient performance art form, for physical and mental enlightenment.

TRAVERS ANDREWS, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA "Like so many other major around the world, belly dancing in Cape Town continues to broaden out into the mainstream and play to sold out events like this, which does a great job in marketing the fun, physical and cultural aspects of this increasingly popular pastime, Travers Andrews, CGTN, Cape Town."