Evolution of Class Attire
for Middle Eastern Dance

By Vashti

Vashti reminisces about the phases she went through with dance class attire over the years:

1. What do I wear to class?
2. Old worn leggings and T-shirt
3. Yoga pants, T-shirt, the only hip scarf I owned
4. Yoga pants, tied-up t shirt, one of six hip scarves I owned
5. Melodias, Sharifwear Gypsy top, one of nine hip scarves
6. "Bellydancer" rhinestone pants, one of six Sharifwear tops, quiet hip scarf as coin scarves are too loud
7. Yoga pants, Sharifwear top, one of three quiet hip scarves
8. Old worn leggings, T-shirt, beat-up old hip scarf

About the Author

Vashti of Madison, Wisconsin, had 8 years of ballet training before playing with tap, modern dance, Scottish Country dancing, and ballroom before she discovered Middle Eastern dance in 2003. She became interested in reading about the history of the dance, watching footage of dancers from the various eras, and taking workshops from dancers with many different styles. Unfortunately her enthusiasm for everything bellydance has also turned her into a habitual collector of music and videos, much to the detriment of the budget. Already an amateur costumer, her dance studies led her to take up silk dyeing and jewelry making as well. In 2006 she co-founded the Madison Bellydance Alliance (www.madisonbellydance.org) and began to organize local haflas. She also blogs about silk dyeing at vashtisilks.wordpress.com In addition to this article, she has contributed to this web site some tips and tricks for dyeing fabric. PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Bill Tricomi, Madison, Wisconsin.

Copyright Notice

This entire web site is copyrighted. All rights reserved.

All articles, images, forms, scripts, directories, and product reviews on this web site are the property of Shira unless a different author/artist is identified. Material from this web site may not be posted on any other web site unless permission is first obtained from Shira.

Academic papers for school purposes may use information from this site only if the paper properly identifies the original article on Shira.net using appropriate citations (footnotes, end notes, etc.) and bibliography. Consult your instructor for instructions on how to do this.

If you wish to translate articles from Shira.net into a language other than English, Shira will be happy to post your translation here on Shira.net along with a note identifying you as the translator. This could include your photo and biography if you want it to. Contact Shira for more information. You may not post translations of Shira's articles on anybody else's web site, not even your own.

If you are a teacher, performer, or student of Middle Eastern dance, you may link directly to any page on this web site from either your blog or your own web site without first obtaining Shira's permission. Click here for link buttons and other information on how to link.