* Middle Eastern Belly Dancing * Stories for Dancers *
* Methods and Techniques * Dance Quotations *
* Books for Kids *

* Authentic Costume * Costuming * Tassel Making *
* Textiles *

* Egypt * Turkey & the Ottomans * Morocco *
* Gulf States * Africa *
* Tuareg * Berber * Bedouin *
* Contemporary Middle East * The Harem *
* Arabic Poetry * Books for Kids *

* Techniques & Methods * Creative Process *

* Orientalism * Ottomans * Arabic History *
* Moorish Spain *

* Strengthening * Pilates * Stretching * Healing *
* General Health *

* Arabic Music * Arabic Singers * Ear Training *
* Drumming *

* Makeup Technique * Stage Makeup * Cosmetics *

* Orientalists * Design Images * Ancient Egypt * Erte *

Serpent of the Nile - Women and Dance in the Arab World Wendy Buonaventura

A really excellent book that should be in the library of every Mid-Eastern dancer. Wonderful illustrations, paintings, photos, and a wealth of cultural and dance-specific information.

Belly Dancing: The Serpent and the Sphinx Wendy Buonaventura

This one is out of print, but I've heard its wonderful... You can try the book search...

Looking for Little Egypt Donna Carlton

This is an excellent book on the history of our dance, particularly since it came to the United States in the late 1800s. Well researched and some wonderful old pictures.

The Belly Dance Book : Rediscovering the Oldest Dance Tazz Richards

Great information for those who would love to begin their journey into Middle Eastern dance. It is a great resource of history & research of the dance as a whole. Chapters by Morocco, myself and many other well known dancers. More about this book at the publisher's site.

Review by Joyce Millard from St Louis, MO: Zaida's book is GOOD! I could identify with much of what Zaida expressed. I would defintely buy this book again. This is not an elaborate "how to learn to belly dance" book (I learned belly dance 30 years ago-Greek/Turkish, Egpytian and Moroccan styles) it is more of a how to live with Joy and dance in your life.

A Trade Like Any Other - Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt, also Paperback Karin van Nieuwkerk

An excellent book on the cultural ideas and experiences that surround women entertainers in the middle east. Looks at the historical and current realities and traditions.

 Grandmother's Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing Rosina-Fawzia B. Al-Rawi

Book Description: Come, sit next to me, says Grandmother. Take this chalk in your hand. Now draw a dot and concentrate all your energy into this one dot. It is the beginning and the end, the navel of the world. So Fawzia Al-Rawi describes her grandmother's first lesson about the ancient craft of Oriental dance. Grandmother's Secrets always circles back to this grandmother and this young girl, echoing the circular movements of the dance itself. Al-Rawi has written a strikingly graceful and original book that blends personal memoir with the history and theory of the dance known in the West as belly dancing. (Aziza's Note: not all of the 'history' is accurate.) It is the story of a young Arab girl as she is initiated into womanhood. It is a history of the dance from the earliest times through the days of the Pharoahs, the Roman Empire, to the Arab world of the last three centuries. It is a personal investigation into the effects of the dance's movements on individual parts of the body and the whole psyche. It is a guide to the actual techniques of the dance for those who are inspired to put down the book and move. Al-Rawi conveys in this book not only the history and technique of grieving and mourning dances, pregnancy and birth dances, but the spirit of these age-old rituals, and their possibilities for healing and empowering women today. Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi grew up in Iraq and Lebanon and was educated at the Universities of Cairo and Vienna. She is an expert in Arabic studies and ethnology, and the author of Golden Sky, Red Earth: Women's Lives in Palestine. She lives in Jerusalem and Vienna, where she teaches belly dancing.

The Serena Technique of Belly Dancing ...also link 2, link 3, link 4 Serena and Alan Wilson

Excellent technique book with lots of description and nice clear pictures. This one is out of print, but occasionally used copies can still be found by the book search.

The Compleat Belly Dancer Julie Russo Mishkin and Marta Schill

A terrific how-to book - simple, clear, with lots of illustrations. This one is out of print, but occasionally used copies can still be found by the book search.

From Publishers Weekly: After being dumped by her loser boyfriend, Soffee, a "sober, nerdy, rock 'n' rolling, coffee-drinking, school-teaching, erotica-reading, kitsch-loving Lebanese American" moves back home to Richmond, Va., to wallow in self-pity. There, she comes across a flier advertising the usual classes in yoga, vegetarian cooking, ballroom dancing and... belly dancing. Her girlfriends think she's lost her mind, but Soffee knows she's found the perfect distraction. Not only does belly dancing have nothing to do with her ex, it's a fine way to reconnect with her Lebanese roots. Plus, "it is a relief to be part of a subculture where younger and thinner do not automatically equal better." Soffee learns to roll her hips, shimmy and make her stomach poof out; spends wild amounts of money on the tackiest costumes imaginable; and most satisfying discovers the ultimate cool of "belly dancer bonding."

Dallal's wonderful sense of humor and rather swashbuckling sense of adventure convinced a mainstream (non-bellydance) publisher to sign her for a series of nine books.

Synopsis: After discovering that her dancing can buy tickets all over the world, Tamalyn Dallal sets out to explore. She heads for Colombia South America, taking along four costumes, a sword, and twenty dollars. While learning to hold her own among controlling bosses and bribe-seeking officials, she sets a surprising agenda -trekking into guerrilla strongholds, taking her cold remedy in the hut of a Guambiano Indian, and venturing down muddy jungle rivers in a handmade canoe.

Belly Laughs: Adventures with Celebrities and Other Unusual Characters by Rod Long

Funny and unusual true stories of belly dancer's encounters with celebrities and other real people in some very odd circumstances...

Aziza's Note: I have 2 very short encounters in here...

Dance Crazy: Star Turns from Ballet to Belly Dancing Natalie Jane Prior

A kid's book aimed at pre-teens, I think, with brief stories centered on different forms of dance. Includes chapters on ballet, jazz, and belly dancing, among others. The belly dance section is well written and includes lots of interesting and mostly correct information.

Dance, Sex and Gender - Signs of Identity, Dominance, Defiance, and Desire Judith Lunne Hanna

This book is not specific to Mid-Eastern dancing (although we are mentioned), but it is excellent reading for teachers and anyone interested in refining their ability to communicate from the stage. It deals with the symbolic and literal communications made by the dancer, their cultural context and subtext. Great Book!

Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery Eric Franklin

Booknews: Shows how to use imaging techniques to improve posture and alignment and release tension, offering exercises illustrated with black and white drawings and photos. Discusses the origins and uses of imagery, explains the biomechanical and anatomical principles behind complex imagery, and presents anatomical imagery exercises for specific regions of the body, for breathing, and for sculpting and improving alignment in various positions. For dancers, teachers, performance artists, and movement specialists.

The Six Questions: Acting Technique for Dance Performance  Daniel Nagrin

I haven't seen this book yet, but I use Lots of acting technique in my dancing. The six questions format is an excellent tool for finding and presenting a more complete and emotional performance.

The Art of Teaching Dance Technique Joan Schlaich, Betty Dupont

Haven't seen this one yet either... but it looks interesting...

Dance Technique and Injury Prevention Justin Howse, Shirley Hancock

And another one I haven't seen yet...

Dance Lovers Quotations Helen Exley (Editor)

A small format hardback full of delicious dance quotations. Every other page is a print of various famous dance artworks from hieroglyphics to Degas.