The international event, which takes place on the second Saturday of May every year, is celebrated by belly dancing schools around the globe to not only promote the art of belly dancing, but also to raise funds or items for charity.
This year World Belly Dance Day is on May 9 and Plett's celebrations will be held at the Whitehouse Theatre from 19:00 and will showcase five Garden Route belly dance studios from Knysna, Plett, Mossel Bay and George.
Dancers of all levels will share the stage to perform a wide range of belly dancing styles including tribal Lebanese and Egyptian.
The art of belly dancing dates back more than 7000 years to where images appear on the walls of Egyptian pyramids. These were the days when the dance was exclusively for women who taught young girls about all things feminine and lead them into womanhood.
Only in the early 1900s did belly dancing reach the international stage when shows were taken over to Europe and the United States.
The reason World Belly Dance Day was established in 2007 was to remind the public that belly dance was an art form, a cultural event, a sport and social and family entertainment. It also served as an opportunity to help those in need.
Founders said they wanted to show the world that belly dancing was not something reserved only for nightclubs, but an art that brought people from different ages, nationalities and backgrounds together.
They encourage enthusiasts around the world to host either a show, a dance competition or a workshop on the day and donate proceeds to charity.
For Plett's event tickets will be sold at R50 for children and R100 for adults and will be available at The Old House Shop. All proceeds going to Tshisa Talent.
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