Oriental dance aka “belly dance” or “Raqs Sharki” in Arabic, is considered one of the oldest dance forms on Earth, but no one knows for sure where it came from. Over the last few decades, archaeological, societal, and cultural discoveries,…
Resistance is Futile: How to Assimilate Dance Stylization
When we begin our dance journey, we spend a lot of time building a particular dance technique, usually the technique of our teachers or the general style of the genre we like the most. Once that technique is “hard set”…
Top Classic Turkish Oriental Dancers … in 40 seconds
Watch the video below and learn who the top classic turkish oriental dancers are… in 40 seconds. Ozel Turkbas Saliha Tekneci Inci Birol Nimet Alp Ayse Nana Negris Mogol Nejla Ates Learn more about Turkish Orientale dance and Turkish Romani…
Fabulous Folkloric
Raqs Sharqi was born in Egypt, but did you know there are other styles of Egyptian dance, beyond the hustle and bustle of Cairo. Let’s take a journey down the Nile, into the desert, to the Mediterranean, and into Upper…
Must Have Oriental Dance History Books
You dance geeks have been asking for my top belly dance history book recommendations. Well, your wait is over. Here are my favorite history reads! Be sure to click on the titles to be transported to Amazon where you can…
My biggest dance inspiration, out of all the dancers has to be Fifi Abdou. Her beledi dance style is so natural, moves just seem to flow off of her. She is bouncy and energetic, yet her movements are so subtle…
Belly Dancers of Egypt’s Golden Era
The term “Golden Era” is often used to refer to a period of Egyptian cinema in the mid-20th century. During that time, many actress/dancers became popular, not only in Egypt and the Middle East, but around the world. Many of…