Interesting & Informative Sites

Table of Contents

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.

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.

• Wriggles Give Nixon the Giggles. June 13, 1974. News story about Soheir Zaki performing for U.S. President Richard Nixon and his entourage during one of his state visits to Cairo in 1974.
• The Queen of the Belly Dance. November 4, 1977. Washington Post article profiling Nagwa Fouad at the height of her career.
• Fifi Abdou's Income. July 30, 1997. Brief article stating Fifi made the equivalent of 1.3 million dollars over three years through dancing.
• Musicians And Dancers In A Pharaonic Tomb. November 11, 1997. Describes a tomb at Saqqara with pictures of musicians and dancers on the walls.
• Nagwa Fouad: Hours of Glory. August 13, 1998. Al Ahram interview in which Nagwa talks about her life.
• World: Middle East Farewell to Egypt's Queen of Dance. September 21, 1999. BBC obituary for Tahia Carioca.
• Tahia Carioca, 79, Dies; A Renowned Belly Dancer. New York Times obituary for Tahia Carioca. September 22, 1999.
• Dancing to the Rhythm of Time. September 29, 1999. Al Ahram obituary for Tahia Carioca.
• Arabian Nighties. October 8, 1999. A lingerie souk in Cairo inspires the author to reflect on the role of sex in Egyptian society.
• Tummy Talk. July 19, 2000. Discusses the Oriental dance scene in Egypt as of 2000. Don't forget to click on the link at the bottom for page 2!
• Foreign Moves. February 21, 2002. How foreigners are carving out a niche in the Egyptian belly dance scene.
• Dina's Sex Tape Scandal
  • Dina Runs Off to Paris After Pornographic Videotapes of Her Were Found in a Businessman's Apartment. December 30, 2002.
• Belly Dancer Dina Denies Fleeing Egypt After Scandal and Admits Marriage to Businessman. January 12, 2003. Dina responds to rumors that she'd fled the country in the wake of the scandal by saying it was just a vacation.
• Dina's Porno Films for 100 Egyptian Pounds At Local Newsstands in Egypt. February 2, 2003. Police arrest a newsstand vendor for selling them.
• Dina Denied Admission to the Hajj (Pilgrimage). February 8, 2003. Saudi authorities deny Dina access to the country for the hajj.
• Dina Wears a Hijab, Ending Her Dancing Career. February 19, 2003. Dina takes the veil after completing the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
• Dina Trades in Being a Belly Dancer for Writing Poetry. May 24, 2003. Dina announced she was preparing to publish a book of poems she had written.
• Dina's Ex-Husband Proven Guilty of Pornographic Films. June 1, 2003. Hussam Abu Al Fotooh was convicted of secretly videotaping Dina and his other partners without their knowledge or permission.
• Hair Disease Behind Dina's Temporary Hijab. July 28, 2003. Dina explains that she started wearing hijab months earlier because of hair disease, not because of retirement.
• Dina Drops Charges Against Hussam Abu Al Fotooh. April 2, 2005. Dina decided to not press charges in the Egyptian courts against her ex-husband for secretly videotaping her due to the event allegedly having occurred in London.
• Fifi Abdo Refers to Dina as a "Substitute Dancer" Called In When She Has a Headache. May 13, 2003. One of Egypt's celebrity tabloids quotes from a television interview with Fifi.
• The Forbidden Dance. Undated. Article gives brief history of belly dancing and discusses current efforts by Islamic fundamentalists to suppress it in the Middle East.
• Ban on Foreign Belly Dancers in Egypt
  • Egypt Bans Foreign Belly Dancers. August 26, 2003.
  • Non-Egyptian Belly Dancers Booted. November 11, 2003. Egypt announces ban on foreign belly dancers.
  • Party's Over. March 4, 2004. Follow-up article by Al Ahram on the outcome of the ban on foreign belly dancers.
  • Foreign Belly Dancers Ban Lifted. November 16, 2004 update on the status of performing licenses for foreign dancers in Egypt.
• The Mystique Of Belly Dancing. 2004. What the Oriental dance scene in Cairo was like in 2004.
• Belly Dance Brings to Life City of Dead. September 24, 2006. Profile of an Egyptian woman who lives in the necropolis in Cairo and makes belly dance costumes for a living.
• Female Entertainers in Egypt Criticized for Offering Food to the Poor. October 18, 2006. Some Islamist clerics criticized female entertainers for using money obtained in a shameful way to help the poor.
• Cairo Street Crowds Target Women. November 1, 2006. Sexual assaults in downtown Cairo.
• Dina Accused of Violating the Code of Professional Film Artists. November 11, 2006. Reports allege she was dancing "wildly" in public with singer Saad al-Saghir.
• Male Belly Dancing Makes Comeback in Egypt, Defying Suppression. January 1, 2008. A look at the profession of male belly dancers in Egypt, including quotes from Tito.
• Male Belly Dancers Apply for Permits in Egypt. May 11, 2008. Al Arabiya article.
• Unsafe Streets. October 15, 2008. Al Ahram examines a rising problem in Egypt.
• Belly Dancing, a Now Silent Art. December 12, 2008. Amira Mohsen. In the newspaper The Daily News.
• Foreigners Preserve Cairo's Reputation as Belly Dance Capital. February 15, 2010. Insight into dance scene in Egypt at that time.
• The Life and Times of Carioca. July 1, 2010 review of a rough cut of a documentary about Tahia Carioca.
• How a Belly Dancer Could Achieve Martyrdom. February 9, 2012. A professor from Al-Azhar describes the circumstances under which a belly dancer could be considered a martyr.
• Dina Turned Away from Performing at a Wedding. October 4, 2012. This story was reported in several Arabic-language news outlets, but in an interview Dina denied it happened.
• Dancer Makes Political Statement. November 15, 2012. The dancer Sama al-Masri mocks the Islamist government in Egypt by dancing to a song filled with political innuendo.
• The Belly Dancing Barometer. February 19, 2013. Commentary on Egypt during the post-revolution stage under Morsi.
• Egyptian Belly Dancer "Shakes It" Outside U.S. Embassy in Cairo. September 3, 2013. Sama el-Masry celebrated the departure of much-disliked U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson in style.
• Dirty Dancing in Egypt. May 14, 2014. Raqs sharqi, the subversive dance art!
• Q&A: Bellydancer Aleya of Cairo. May 25, 2014. The Scoop Empire e-zine interviews U.S. dancer Aleya who now lives and works in Cairo.
• Egypt's Mood Sways on Belly Dancers. August 28, 2014. What it's like to work as a dancer in Egypt as of 2014.
• Notes on Belly-Dance. October 22, 2014. Musings by Ismail Fayed on the role of belly dance in Egyptian society, past and present.
• Dancing Where "Dancer" is a Four-Letter Word. January 28, 2015. Interview with Argentinian dancer Magda about her experience working in Egypt.
• Two Egyptian Belly-Dancers Sentenced to Prison Over "Debauchery" in Music Videos. September 3, 2015. The Egyptian Shakira and Bardis sentenced to six months in prison.
• Remembering Tahia Karioka: A Little Bit of Belly Dancing and a Lot of Acting. April 10, 2017. Looks at Tahia's career as an actress during the Golden Era of Egyptian cinema.
• Study Reveals Zar Rituals Still Heavily Performed in Upper Egypt. June 12, 2018.
• Foreign Belly Dancers? Egyptians Shake Their Heads (and Hips). July 8, 2018. The New York Times takes a cursory look at the belly dance scene in Egypt.
• Leaked Video of Russian Belly Dancer "Jawhara" With an Egyptian Man Goes Viral! December 2, 2019. About the sex tape of Ekaterina Andreeva, stage name Johara.
• Can't Contain Her Hips? Fifi Abdou Dances Her Grief Away Two Weeks After Her Sisters' Death! December 10, 2019. About the criticism Fifi has received via Instagram.

News from Israel

• Boycotting Israel, One Shimmy at a Time. Egyptian dancers refusing to participate in a dance festival based in Israel.

News from Syria

• American Belly Dancers Undulate in Middle East. Features a dancer named Tamara working in Syria. March 9, 1984.

News from Turkey

• Turkish Ambassador Claims Belly Dancing. Brief article stating Turkish ambassador claimed belly dancing originated in Turkey.
• Male Belly-Dancers Dazzle Istanbul. Brief article profiling a male dancer in Istanbul named Evrim and talks about people's reactions to him.
• Turkey's Had a Bellyful of Stereotypes. Turkey's tourism minister places limits on public performances of belly dancing.

News from Iraq

• Belly Dancer Loses Freedom in Post-Saddam Iraq. Discusses how the war in Iraq has impacted one Baghdad dancer's income.
• On Dangerous Footing In Iraq. The Iraqi National Folklore Group struggles to continue its existence.

News from Sudan

• Sudan Bars Women From Dancing With Men. Sudan claims that its new constitution seeks to liberate women from repression.

News from Brazil

• Effectiveness of Dance in Patients with Fibromyalgia (abstract), published September 2012
• Effectiveness of Dance in Patients with Fibromyalgia (full text), published September 2012
• Belly Dance Reduced Pain in Fibromyalgia Patients (Healio web site), published November 6, 2012

News from Finland

• Funky Finn Gets Down with Brown. The President of Finland, who has taken belly dance classes, busts a move with James Brown.

News from North America

• Dance of Abundance and Peace: Alia Thabit. Lovely profile of a Vermont dancer, Alia Thabit.
• Burn Calories with Belly Dancing? Dr. Andrew Weil recommends belly dance as a helpful form of exercise.
• I Started to Belly Dance, and I Was Happy Again. Hania Porucznik talks about how belly dance changed her life.
• Dancing For Health. From Columbia University's Health Education Program web site. Explores the health benefits of dancing.
• Another Day, Another Pointless Treadmill? A Wall Street Journal writer chronicles his wife's attempts to establish an exercise routine.
• Belly Dance Class: What Readers Think. The Wall Street Journal writer follows up with feedback from readers.
• Gut Reaction. The Rocky Mountain News does a story about belly dancing centered around an upcoming show. Beware of the dubious "history lesson" at the end!
• Morocco - Of Will and Kismet. Profile of the dancer Morocco which appeared in Al Ahram.
• Belly Dancing: A Woman's Workout. Appears on Yahoo News. A dancer named Teresa describes how rewarding belly dance has been as a form of exercise for her.
• Upswing in Hip-Swiveling Revives Belly Dancing. Profiles dancers in Oak Park, Illinois.
• Making the Gyms Go Belly Up. Commentary by Sandra Tsing Loh regarding belly dance.
• Belly-Dance Studio Turning Out Movers and Shakers. News story announcing the opening of Jordana bint Zweena's dance studio in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• Inner Goddesses, Come Out and Dance. New York Times article about belly dance instruction in nursing homes.
• Movin' and Shakin': Charlotte Bellies Up to An Ancient Art. News story about the belly dance scene in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• Belly-Dancing: A Good Exercise for Weight Loss? Comments by Dr. Edward Laskowski at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
• Spotlight: Do Hips Hold Sway Over Link to Spirit? About Daleela Morad's book I Know Who I Am When I Belly Dance.
• Belly Dancing: Sway Anything. On Weight Watchers web site.
• Ohio Lawmaker Says He Was Punched at Restaurant. Why? For blocking another man's view of the belly dancer!
• Prenatal Belly Dancing (The Doctors). A video clip.
• Is It Possible to Have a Fetish for Belly Dancing? Advice by a columnist.
• What Is Endangered Dance? Important food for thought for ethnic-style dancers everywhere to consider.
• Belly Dance Fitness: Women Embrace Their Sexuality, Get In Shape, Have Fun Doing It. Interviews with some dancers in the Chicago area.
• Did Richard Nixon Appear on Same Television Episode as a Belly Dancer? A slow news day at the Washington Post.
• Belly Dancing Student: "I Just Love It". Feature piece in Quad Cities Times regarding local belly dancing scene.
• 1,000 Ways to Die. In 2010, an episode of this tv show claimed that a belly dancer died by having her scarf get tangled up in a ceiling fan, strangling her.
• Chicago's Secret Society of Death-Obsessed Journalists and the Belly Dancer Who Exposed Them. Omene, the dancer who received an urn containing human remains as a tip.
• Forgotten Scandal: Omene, the Suicide Club, and Celebrity Culture in 19th Century America. Profile of Omene, a belly dancer who achieved celebrity status in the 1890's.
• Nine Reasons Every Woman Should Take Up Belly Dancing. From the Huffington Post.
• Top 10 Video Game Belly Dancers. How belly dance characters are portrayed in video games.

News from China

• Now, China Shakes to Belly Dancing. Introduction to China's belly dancing scene.

General Middle Eastern Cultural Perspective

• What Would Mohammed Do? Perspective on Islam and attitudes toward women and sexuality.

News from Europe

• Prospective Tory candidate Norsheen Bhatti earns £260 an hour as a Belly Dancer. Profile of a working dancer who aspires to become a member of Parliament.
• No Navel Gazing - Just Good Food. Review of a restaurant in London called The Pasha.
• The Cambridge Science Graduate who Gave up Lab Work for a Bachelor in Belly-Dancing. Profile of a woman who did a career change from scientific research to belly dancing.
• Silvio Berlusconi Gave Me €7,000, Says 17-Year-Old Belly Dancer. The news media erroneously says a young Moroccan woman is a dancer when in fact she's in a very different profession.
• Pay-Out for Bum-Sucked Dancer. Liposuction gone very wrong...
• Belly Dancer Stung with Tax Bill. What happens when a U.K. dancer receives poor advice from a financial advisor.

News from South Korea

• Belly Dancer "Faked Her Degree." A dancer was fired from a university teaching job when it was discovered she had faked her academic credentials.
• Korea's First Belly Dancer Indicted Over Forged Academic Degree. A dancer has been indicted for faking her academic credentials.

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.

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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