Belly Dance Fun & Frolic

Sometimes we get carried away taking ourselves too seriously as belly dancers. Here are some frivolous activities to indulge in when you find yourself getting too stressed out! Wipe that disapproving frown off your face! Put aside that bra that you're beading or that belt you have to repair, and take a few minutes to have some fun! We all need to smile now and then!

Cartoons & Visual Delights
Silly Songs & Poems
Jokes
Opinion Polls, Puzzles, Quizzes

Belly Dance Coloring Book
Important Notice!

Cartoons & Other Visual Delights

The Belly Dancer And The Diet. A fine cartoon by the distinguished artist, Dr. William M. Smith.
Belly Dance Discussion Bingo. A light-hearted look at the topics that belly dancers repeatedly talk about online. By Arwen Cochran.
Romany ("Gypsy") Discussion Bingo. The misguided stereotypes, erasure of very real people with very real histories, fake claims to being one of them, and just plain fantasy that Romany people deal with every day.
How to Become a Millionaire Through Belly Dance. By Arwen Cocharn.
The Raq-ettes. Drawing from ancient Egypt.
The Belly Dancer's Day Off. Drawing by Karmelita.
Evolution. Drawing by Karmelita.
What's in a Belly Dancer's Handbag? Drawing by Adrianne Belly Dancer.
Steph's Spud. Anisteph has the best-dressed potato this side of the Nile!
Animated Dancing Pages. Turn on the volume on your sound card. Select one of these choices. Wait about 30-45 seconds for most of the page to load. Then scroll s-l-o-w-l-y down the page and watch the dancing!
The Snake Charmer. An animated cartoon featuring an elegant snake and a lovely snake charmer by Shira.
Rattie Repertory Mayhem Dance Company. Featuring Safana and Yamina!
Dances With Cows. Watch a video clip of a cow named Rambler dancing with Tom, the farmer who takes care of her. (Note: this is not belly dance. More like social dancing.)
Priscilla's Perfect Performing Penguins Of Persia. Watch this up-and-coming troupe of students do a recital just for you!

Dancer Dolls. Athena's fashion dolls aren't ordinary clothes horses dedicated to showing off prom dresses and high fashion.
Wee Wee Monsieur. Review of a video in which the Three Stooges dress up as harem girls and dance.

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Silly Songs & Poems

Mood Music

Here are some fun and frolicky audio clips to enjoy while you explore the rest of this menu.
Streets Of Cairo. Small MIDI file that takes only a few seconds to download, and most computers already come with the software needed to play this. This version arranged and played by Scott M. Smith.	Dance Of The Snake Charmer. You need the RealAudio plug-in for your browser to play this one. Takes about a minute and a half to download at 28.8 kbps.

Iqa Tishrub. Enjoy this new playful twist on an Egyptian drum rhythm!
Pervy Men Are Everywhere! Zumarrad's poem expresses solidarity with every belly dancer who has received unsavory inquiries from men about her services.
Bassboussamatic. Here's a unique RealAudio sound clip for you to listen to. It won "Best Joke" at Oasis Dance Camp for its creator, and she wasn't even there to claim her award in person!
We Are The Bedouin Bumpers! Here's a song for you and your belly dancing friends to warble the next time you need to liven up a hafla.
Sally, Sally. "Worse Verse" about a belly dancing snail. Huh? A snail? "Her costume problems grew and grew! Oh, what's a dancing snail to do?"
Nance And Her Dance. A limerick about a belly dancing camel? No! Say it isn't so! Maybe I should re-do her costuming and give her a hip belt made of camel tassels???
Kamella, Kamella. Another silly little poem about another belly dancing camel! "Kamella, Kamella, the camel so fair had lovely long lashes and beautiful hair...."
Moosetafa. A poem that unveils the story of a male belly dancer.
Jingle Belts. For a belly dance Christmas singalong!
Belly Dancer's Twelve Days of Christmas. For a belly dance Christmas singalong!

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Belly Dancing Bellydancing Belly Dance Bellydance Belly Dancer Bauchtanzen Danse Du Ventre

Jokes & Stories

Shira Dressed For Halloween

Belly Dancing Jokes. Here's a potpourri of assorted jokes related somehow to belly dancing.
Silly Dance Names. Humorous dance name suggestions, just for laughs!
Evolution of Class Attire for Middle Eastern Dance. Vashti's light-hearted look at how her choice of what to wear to class changed over time.
Musician Jokes. More than 30 jokes about Arabic musicians. Plus a couple on other topics.
The Top 21 Reasons To Be A Belly Dancer. Need I say more?
Belly Questions. Snappy answers to common questions people ask belly dancers.
Belly Dance Christmas Fun & Frolic. Quick one-liners of belly dance Christmas humor.
Advice to Chickens on How to Do Belly Dance Entrances. By Saqra. Belly dance tips for chickens on stage presence, music transitions, and entrances.
The True Origin of Belly Dance: A Time Traveler's "Tail". By Shira. Light-hearted fan fiction that explores what Doctor Who can teach us about belly dance history. Placed online April 1, 2020.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: Shira shows off the costume she wore for a Halloween-themed performance in October, 2000. Photo by Dr. William M. Smith.

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Opinion Polls, Puzzles, & Quizzes

Opinion Polls

For Students

How to Learn? Are you learning with a teacher, video, or other method?
Choreography or Improvisation? Which would you rather spend time on in class?

For More Experienced Dancers

Collecting Tips. Different belly dancers have different opinions when it comes to collecting tips. What do you think?

For Everyone, Regardless of Dance Skill Level

Favorite Costuming Style. When it comes to costumes, are you part of the beads & sequins crowd, totally tribal, or something else?
What To Call The Dance? What name do you most prefer to use when referring the dance form Americans dubbed "belly dancing"?
Favorite Style Of Music For Dancing. Which type of music do you most like to use for belly dancing?
Why Perform Publicly? Why do you like to perform publicly?
Why Do You Love to Belly Dance? Even if you don't perform publicly, why do you love belly dancing?
Your Personal Safety as a Dancer. How do you feel about personal safety issues, and what has your experience been?

Shira Watching Video

Video Related

How Videos Are Used? How do you use the belly dance videos in your collection?
How Many Middle Eastern Dance Videos Do You Own? How big is your collection?
What Level of Professionalism Do You Expect On Instructional Videos? Is homemade okay?
VHS Tape, DVD, or VCD? Which type of media do you prefer to buy?
Buying DVD's to Replace Existing VHS Tapes? Are you willing to buy newly-released DVD editions to replace the VHS tapes you already have?
Pricing for Belly Dance Videos. How much are you willing to pay for a belly dance video?
Do Youtube and Other Video Clip Sites Change Your Buying Habits? Do they make you more likely or less likely to purchase commercial belly dance videos?

Quizzes & Puzzles

Quiz. Are you as knowledgeable as you think you are regarding belly dancing, Middle Eastern culture, and music?

Belly Dance Word Search Puzzle. 25 words related to Middle Eastern music and dance are hidden in this puzzle. Can you find them all?

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The Belly Dance Coloring Book

Outlines of belly dancing drawings. Go find your colored pencils or crayons, load up your printer with white paper, and unleash the artist in you!

Bella Wishes: From the Children's Book by Tessa May

These drawings come from the book *Bella Wishes*, by Tess Cacciatore. Copyright 2005, all rights reserved. The illustrations were drawn by Dave Rodriguez. It is a children's book that features a happy belly dancing hippopotamous. To learn more about the book, click here to read Shira's review.
	Bella Dancing With Her Arms Up. This picture appears on the front cover of the book.
	Shy Bella.
	Bella and Bo Doing a High 5. This picture features a new character introduced in the Bella television series.

Elegant Dancers: Drawings by Shira

These dancers capture the grace and beauty of the dance!
	The Dancer. A classic belly dancer.
	Gypsy Fantasy (Simpler Version). No, this is not an authentic portrayal of a Gypsy--just a fantasy drawing. This is a simple version without too many fine details, suitable for crayons, younger children, and those who don't care for detail work.
	Gypsy Fantasy (More Complex Version). Same as the other Gypsy Fantasy drawing, only with a floral print added to her scarf, vest, and hip scarf for those who like detail work.
	Classtime. A belly dancer in a practice outfit, ready for class or workshop.
	Secrets Unveiled. A belly dancer posing in a backbend with her veil.
	Floor Work. A belly dancer doing a graceful backbend as part of her floor work.
	Double Veil. Captured in motion, this elegant dancer is using two veils at once.

Playful Dancers: Drawings by Shira and her Husband Bill

Here are a few mischievous cartoons for you to enjoy!
	Maleea, The Belly Dancing Mouse. She likes the folkloric look, a baladi dress with a hip scarf decorated with coins.
	Carissa, The Dancing Camel. Costuming isn't easy for Carissa--there aren't very many vendors who make dance tops that fit over and around humps.
	Kamella, The Dancing Camel. Kamella has solved the problem of getting costumes to fit her hump--she just leaves her midriff bare!
	Sally, The Dancing Snail. Sally has learned that even a snail can be glamorous. Even her slimy trail glitters!

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ARTWORK CREDIT: Carissa and Kamella, the dancing camels you see at the top of this page, and also Sally, the dancing snail were all drawn by Dr. William M. Smith, then digitized and animated by Shira. Maleea the mouse was both drawn and animated by Shira. Camels and snail copyright 2001 by William M. Smith, all rights reserved. Mouse copyright 2001 by Julie Anne Elliot, all rights reserved.

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Belly Dance Fun & Frolic

Table Of Contents

Cartoons & Other Visual Delights

Silly Songs & Poems

Mood Music

Jokes & Stories

Opinion Polls, Puzzles, & Quizzes

Opinion Polls

For Students

For More Experienced Dancers

For Everyone, Regardless of Dance Skill Level

Video Related

Quizzes & Puzzles

The Belly Dance Coloring Book

Bella Wishes: From the Children's Book by Tessa May

Elegant Dancers: Drawings by Shira

Playful Dancers: Drawings by Shira and her Husband Bill

If You Like This Web Site, Please Read This!