PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

• In Search of the Origins of Dance. Our favorite origin theories say more about us than they do about people of the past.
• Feminism and Belly Dance. An introduction to the ways feminist thought can guide belly dancers.
• The Image of the Eastern Dancer: Flaubert’s Salomé. By Andrea Deagon. Analyzes Flaubert's description of Salomé's dance, explains why it's not an Eastern style of dance.
• Naked Belly Dance in Ancient Egypt, Part 1: Are They Really Belly Dancing? Part 1 of this article. It examines depictions of dance from ancient Egypt and analyzes whether any show evidence of belly dance.
• Naked Belly Dance in Ancient Egypt, Part 2: Are They Really Naked? Part 2 of this article. It examines the use of nudity in Egyptian art.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: The dancer in the photo is Andrea Deagon at age 17.

Andrea Deagon received her Ph.D. in Classical Studies from Duke Unviersity in 1984. Since then she has taught at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand) and at her undergraduate alma mater, Guilford College (Greensboro, NC) before coming to University of North Carolina-Wilmington, where she coordinates the Classical Studies program and teaches in the Women's Studies program.

Andrea has studied Oriental dance since age 17, and has had a wide range of performing experiences in the US and (opportunistically) overseas. She periodically teaches local classes and regional seminars. One of her goals over the past ten years has been the integration of her academic research and writing with her goals and perceptions as a dancer. These articles are a part of that process.