Grandmother’s Secrets (a review)
Title: Grandmother’s Secrets: the Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dance Author: Rosina Fawzi Al-Rawi The intriguing title Grandmothers Secrets captured my curiosity before I ever turned the first page. It conjured visions of the wise things a little girl might learn from her grandmother and the mysterious ways in which these secrets would [...]
A Trade Like Any Other (book review)
No belly dance library can be complete without a copy of A Trade Like Any Other by Karin van Niewkerk. Written as a scholarly view of female dancers and singers in Egypt, this answers many questions and elicits many more. THe conclusions are drawn from historical sources and observations, but mainly from the dancers themselves. [...]
The Told Me I Couldn’t (a review)
Author Tamalyn Dallal opens her tale with all the naivete of youth. Only when we are untouched by fear and disappointment of age could we venture so trustingly into the wild unknown of the developing third world. Dallal sweeps us up in her enthusiasm and dreams of becoming an international start. First stop- Columbia! With [...]
Taaj fi Qalbi in Frederick, MD by Andaleeb
Workshop participants were treated to an exquisite learning experience in a totally Egyptian workshop with Taaj fi Qalbi, sponsored by Sitamun in Frederick, MD on Saturday, October 25, 2003. Taaj did a beautiful job in taking hte complexities of the Egyptian style of performance and breaking it down for each and every participant to hear [...]
Monique Monet’s Revolutionary Dance
Monique Monet’s Revolutionary Dance is a fresh commentary on the widely varied origins and evolution of belly dance. Beginning with Inanna and temple dancers, the story winds its way through associations with childbirth rituals to the influence of patriarchy and finally ends with modern day affects of the media. Monet challenges the “authorities” in dance, [...]
Miraj, Master of Fusion
Miraj’s fusion choreography workshop on March 27, 2004 in Virginia Beach, VA was the first time in a long time that I didn’t leave the dance area to shop, watch from the sidelines, or socialize. Miraj’s choreography kept me interested the entire time. This may not seem like a big deal, but I am generally [...]
The Inside Scoop on the Hakim Concert in Washington D.C. (2004)
If you didn’t know Hakim was coming to Washington D.C. October 2, 2004, you wouldn’t know. It wasn’t announced on any web pages, ticket outlets, or anywhere that normal people find concert information. It required insider information or luck. Perhaps that is why there were less than 200 people to see this international superstar. Doors [...]
Hakim’s Washington D.C Concert Rates a “C” (2004)
I was very excited to be selected as one of the opening dancers for Hakim’s show in Washington DC on October 3, 2004. From the moment I found out about the concert, it was like nothing I’d ever experienced. There was no information about the concert anywhere. It was one of those things you just [...]
Tribal Bible (review)
Book Title: Tribal Bible ISBN 0-9728486-0-6 301 pages Copyright 2003 Price $40 Webster’s dictionary defines “bible“ as “any book regarded as authoritative or official.” Thus, The Tribal Bible is aptly named. It contains everything that an enthusiast of American Tribal (ATS) style belly dance would ever want. It appropriately starts at the beginning, telling the [...]
Ballet for Belly Dancers (DVD review)
When I heard that there was going to be a Ballet for Belly Dancers instructional DVD, I wasn’t excited. One of my pet peeves is bad fusion. I just didn’t know how a dance form with such different posture, alignment, purpose and culture could be successfully blended with belly dance. Boy, was I in for [...]
