Tribal belly dance developed in San Francisco in the 1960s by Jamila Salimpour and other American belly dancers interested in dance styles that represented more of a Middle Eastern folklore look to their dances. Tribal belly dancing grew in popularity at Renaissance festivals throughout the United States. Salimpour traveled with a 40-person performance troupe called Bal Anat, giving tribal belly dancing national recognition. In the 1980s, Carolena Nericcio developed an offshoot of tribal belly dancing called American Tribal Bellydance, which uses an improvised lead-and-follow group formation.
Tribal belly dancing uses more traditional Middle Eastern music, occasionally mixed with Western instrumental music, but for a more rustic feel, music is used sparingly. Tribal dances incorporate props such as finger symbols and swords, and some include snake dances and folk-line dances. Costuming is layered, and dancers are more covered up than in other belly dancing styles with thick, natural weave fabrics such as cotton. Ethnic jewelry and makeup accentuate tribal belly dance costumes.
Cabaret belly dancing developed from Eastern movie industries and night club performances. There has been some debate on use of the term "cabaret" for this type of dance. While in America the term cabaret denotes a "show business venue" akin to 1920s vaudeville, in Europe cabarets can imply x-rated live nude shows, so many belly dance performers and historians prefer the term "night club" or "American Restaurant" in reference to this style of dance.
Different from the group performances in tribal belly dance, solo dancers generally perform in cabaret belly dancing with a set five-part structure: entrance, veil dance, fast section/drum solo, slow section and finale. Some dancers incorporate elements of other dance forms such as ballet, jazz or modern dance into their routine. Cabaret belly dance uses lavish musical elements, incorporating large orchestras, over-dubbing in prerecorded music, and mixing traditional and modern Middle Eastern music. In cabaret, performers wear two-piece costumes, with decorated bras and flowing skirts or harem pants made from more expensive materials such as silk, chiffon or satin. To represent their night club namesake, these costumes often glitter with sequins and beading. Performers use veils as props in their dances.