Filler
Photo of Shira

 

 

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

Interesting & Informative Sites

 

Table of Contents

 

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Sites About Belly Dance

Why do I like these sites so much? Because they're not solely dedicated to advertising. In other words, these sites somehow educate, enrich, inform, amuse, or inspire the people who visit them.

  • Yasmina's Belly Dance Home Page. By Yasmina. I'd have to say this is one of the best of the web sites owned and operated by a dancer. She has articles, some jokes, a limerick, reviews of videos, music reviews, puzzles, a series of "Spotlight" articles on dancers and troupes, and a lot more. Better yet, she regularly adds new material to her site, so it keeps growing and is worth coming back to visit from time to time to see what's new.
  • Oriental Dancer. Many excellent articles and song translations.
  • Amara Al Amir. By Amara. Enjoyable collection of articles, some written by Amara al Amir and some by other contributors. Also links to selected articles on other web sites.
  • Meira, the Joyful Dancer. This rich site contains many articles, including an extensive one on the history of Oriental dance, instructions for making some costume pieces, and cultural information. Also sells postcards featuring her artwork and links to a site where you can buy her clip art for use on your flyers, business cards, etc.
  • Raqs Kashmir. This site by Kashmir in New Zealand offers humor, opinion pieces, safe dancing tips, how to do some moves, how to make some costuming pieces, and more.
  • The Gilded Serpent. A great online magazine published by Lynette Harris intended for aficionados of Middle Eastern Dance. Be sure to look for the "Archives" section so you can enjoy articles from previous editions!
  • Turbans, Tassels, & Tattoos. About American Tribal Style dance as done by dancers in Australia and New Zealand. Message board, advice on tattoos, workshop reviews, and back health.
  • Snake's Kin Studio. The main focus of this web site is on the activities organized by Lynette's studio in Oakland, California. However, the sections titled "Najia's Articles", "Edwina's Articles", and "Resources For SKS Students" will all appeal to belly dancers in general, whether you can attend Lynette's classes or not.
  • Museum Of Middle Eastern Dance. A photo gallery of nearly 60 scanned pictures from vintage postcards, Hollywood posters, and other sources depicting women in Middle Eastern dance settings. Some are genuine ethnic portrayals, some Westerners' harem fantasy.
  • Madam Mozuna's Caravanserai. By Shibar Mozuna and Veshengo. Here you'll find lots of useful dance tips, five poems, great quotes, suggestions on finding dance music, lyrics to three songs translated into English, a glossary defining more than 50 terms, suggestions on how to have a hafla, recipes, video reviews, book reviews, music reviews, and other great content.
  • Morocco's Meanderings. By Morocco. Local content includes articles on belly dancing and childbirth, floor work, ethics of ethnic, etc.
  • Belly Dancing For Older Women. This web site consists of several articles exploring topics related to belly dancing that are particularly slanted to the needs of older women, but interesting even for younger ones!
  • 1001and1.de. By Harald Gaertner. Site is in both English and German. Some song translations for Arabic songs, dance clip art, Arabic names with their meanings, event calendar, and more.
  • Learn-to-Belly-Dance.Com. Candra's web site is rich in articles on many topics of interest to dance students, including a historical timeline, overview of diverse styles, question & answer section, etc.
  • Anthea. Many articles written by Anthea over the years.
  • Raqs in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Male dancer Asim (Woodrow Hill) shares his research into Middle Eastern dancing during the SCA period.
  • Bellydance Stuff. By Lauren. Electronic postcards, tips on dance technique, information about different dance styles, and more.

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Pixie Vision, Glendale, California.

Shira

 

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News Stories

The following links lead to individual news articles that mention belly dancing.

News from Egypt

These are arranged in chronological order by when the news story appeared.

News from Israel

News from Syria

News from Turkey

News from Iraq

News from Sudan

News from Brazil

News from Finland

News from North America

News from China

General Middle Eastern Cultural Perspective

News from Europe

News from South Korea

 

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Orientalist Art

  • Museum Tours: Virtual Egyptian Museum. 124 lithographs by 19th-century artist David Robert.
  • Orientalist Art. Online gallery of artwork by 19th century artists, including Etienne Dinet, Charles Gleyre, Jean-Leon Gerome, Louis-Joseph Anthonissen, Henri Regnault, Ludwig Deutsch, Edward Lear, Leon Belly, and others.
  • Sahnobar Dance Ensemble. Excerpts and pictures from Orientalist writings in the 19th century about the Ghawazee.
Gerome

 

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Belly Dance for
Renaissance Faires & SCA Events

If you plan to offer belly dance as entertainment at either Renaissance Faires or events sponsored by the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA), then you'll need researched, documented information about the costuming and culture of the Middle East during the specific period of time covered by these events. Here are some web sites, listed in alphabetical order, particularly focused on information and vendors that will be useful to SCA members, Renaissance Faire guilds, or anyone else who wants to focus on belly dance within a historical context:

  • Narah Bint Nurr's Research Papers. One article on headwear in the Middle East and India before 1700, and another on Middle Eastern dance before 1700.
  • Cariadoc's Miscellany. Several useful articles: see Concerning the Archery of al-Islam, Some Sources for Islamic Persona, An Islamic Dinner, and Notes on Islamic Clothing.
  • Ottoman Traders. The Ottoman Traders are a historic re-enactment guild that portrays a Ottoman Turkish trading caravan of the mid-1500's. The site includes costume guidelines, photographs, political history, some Arabic and Turkish phrases, and more. Excellent resource for anyone wanting to create a historical Turkish persona!
  • Stefan's Florilegium: Sources For Medieval Middle Eastern Dancing. This site is a collection of e-mail messages collected by Mark S. Harris on the subject of belly dancing within the context of the SCA. The messages cover a broad range of topics.
  • Academy Of Saint Gabriel. This is an organization that researches historically accurate Medieval names for use within the Society of Creative Anachronism. The Academy Library contains a list of about 80 Arabic women's names (but doesn't tell what they mean), and includes an extensive bibliography on Middle Eastern names.
  • Raqs in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Male dancer Asim (Woodrow Hill) shares his research into Middle Eastern dancing during the SCA period.

 

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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.

 

 

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