|
This page is in a process of transition. I have moved to Austin, TX and so am no longer a part of the Triangle, NC dance community. However, much of the information on this page is applicable anywhere and so I am going to make this a general information guide targetted towards new dancers. Unfortunately, school is keeping me fairly busy and I haven't made the changes yet. Please bear with me and have patience. I promise I'll do it before the school year ends. :) |
|Workshops and Festivals|Internet Vendors|Articles about Dance|Magazines and Books|Tours |Fun Stuff|
Under construction
August 3-9, 2002 in New York, NY
Although it's not local for Triangle dancers, Morocco's weeklongs receive such glowing reviews that I doubt you'll regret the trip. These are an entire weeklong intensive dance practice including three choreographies, folk techinque, Turkish Oriental Dance with Artemis Mourat and Expression technique with Layali. You will also perform in a NY club.
October 14-20, 2002 in New Jersey
Rakksah is one of the major dance events in the US. Rakkasah East will have a weeklong set of classes followed by a weekend-long festival of dance performance and vending. The above link will take you to the main Rakkasah page which includes information for Rakkasah East, Rakkasah West (in CA at the end of March), and Rakkasah Summer Caravan (in July in Oakland, CA)
Thanks to the Internet, shopping through ordering is very easy and it is possible to find great pieces. There are too many vendors to list them all, so I am only going to list vendors I have had good experiences with and vendors who are commonly recommended.
The following are the vendors that I have actually ordered from and I can testify that they are all absolutely wonderful to deal with.
This is a good place for inexpensive jewelry, costuming materials, henna, and props although there is a limited selection for actual costuming.
Meleea offers handmade costumes for dancers of all sizes. She is a good site for beautiful, inexpensive costuming. The skirt and sleeves that I am wearing in the picture are from Meleea. They have obviously been colored from black-and-white through PhotoShop, but the color is a very accurate representation of the actual red.
This is a good site for inexpensive jewelry.
This is another inexpensive site for beautiful costuming. Although you cannot see it well, the top that I am wearing in the picture is from ShimmyShimmy.
My favorite place for chainmail jewelry! Sunshyne creates truly unique and fabulous designs that make great dance jewelry. She also has pretty chainmail tops.
The following are vendors that I know of through reputation, but have not actually ordered from. Thanks go to Belly Revelations for several of the suggestions.
Artemis Imports has a fantastic selection of costumes, music, and props.
B.D. Patterns offers a wide-range of patterns for costumes, including cabaret wear and beledi dresses.
Chandras is another one-stop-shopping source for costumes, music, and just about any other dance needs!
Angel fans will recognize Cordelia's bra and belt here. This site has very beautiful jewelry, but do not be fooled by the name. The pieces are high quality and you do pay for that!
This site has very inventive, very beautiful jewelry. If I had more money, this would definitely be in the vendors-that-I-have-personal-experiencer with list!
Dahlal Internationale has an amazing selection of videos and music as well as costumes.
Desert Dancer Shopping offers tribal style skirts, tops, and jewelry in addition to zills and drums.
Ganesha Bazaar offers unique costuming pieces, including tye-dye and batik wear, that are fitting for tribal or cabaret. In addition, they offer veils and dancer-oriented gift items.
L Rose Designs offers silk and velvet costuming items such as veils, dance bras, skirts, choli tops, and dance briefs.
Saroyan Zills has a reputation for being among the best zills a dancer can own. I own a pair of Saroyans that I love. They offer a wide-range of sizes. They also sell tambourines, videos, coins, and scimitars.
Those who do not think Saroyans are the best zills, say Turquoise are. They also manufacture a wide-range of sizes and styles as well as selling CDs and costuming items.The final big name in zills. Their site is the least friendly because they sell non-dance related cymbals and drums, but the zills are here.
Information about Middle-eastern dance--be it debke, raqs sharqi, raqs shaabi, or any of the other forms--is very difficult to find. There is a lotof misinformation out there, and even well-respected dancers can be wrong about the dance. The following is a list of sites that have articles about the history and culture of the dance in both the Middle-East and America. These provide a starting point for finding out information, but not an end.
Andrea's page contains several articles about history and culture of Middle-Eastern dance, including a must-read analysis of how so much misinformation about the dance is still spread.
Anthea's site has a number of articles on history, teaching, dancing, and performing.
Although you will not find articles here, you will be able to purchase Aisha's field recordings and videos from Egypt and North Africa as well as her excellent instructional video for raqs shaabi.
This site contains articles collated from the collective wisdom of the Med-Dance listserv. There is a lot of interesting and useful information here.
She is a scholar who specializes in Turkish Rom dancing, among other ethnic forms. Here you can find articles for sale, including her "The Illusive Veil," one of the few really comprehensive manuscripts about veilwork's history. This is an excerpt from the manuscript; the section probably most immediately relevant for dancers.
Jasmin was my very first teacher, back when I lived near Chicago. Her site has many quick little articles about all facets of the dance.
Page of the dance legend, Morocco. Her page contains some of the best articles on the history behind the dance.
She specializes in Persian classical dance and music--not surprisingly her page contains articles on Persian dance.The Art of Middle-Eastern Dance by Shira
This page is a must-see for anyone interested in the dance. In addition to articles, she also has clip-art, book reviews, national and international teaching listings, and much more.
This is a forum for discussion and event listings but also has an online magazizine.
Caravan Magazine is an east-coast based magazine, containing tips and articles.
This is an online magazine. It has a wide-range of topics, including costumes, event reviews, histories of the dance, and personal reflections.
A well-respected magazine, Habibi contains reviews, event listings, and articles.
Follow the link to find sample articles.
A Trade Like Any Other: Female Dancers and Singers in Egypt by Karin Van Nieuwkerk.
This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the cultural aspects of the dance. The work focuses on the meaning of the dance to the professional dancers on Mohammed Ali Street. These are mostly lower-class women who make their living dancing at weddings and festivals, not the glitzier Cairo nightclubs.
The Belly Dance Book: Rediscovering the Oldest Dance edited by Tazz Richards.
A miscellany of articles, discussing various aspects of Middle-Eastern Dance.
Costuming From the Hip and From Turban to Toe Ring by Dawn Devine Brown
These two are books on costuming with patterns and construction instructions for bras, belts, coats, thobes, and more.
Gender on the Market: Moroccan Women and the Revoicing of Tradition by Deborah Kapchan
Although this is primarily a book about gender in Morocco, there is a very long section on shikhatt
Looking for Little Egypt by Donna Carlton.
This book explores how Middle-Eastern dance was brought to the US in the Chicago World Fair. I have not read it, but it is highly recommended.
Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World by Wendy Buonaventura
This is a classic and one of the earlier works on the history of Middle-Eastern dance. However, I would feel remiss if I didn't warn people that the history should be taken with several grains of salt. The research itself seemed very thorough, but the analysis not as much.
Wombs and Alien Spirits: Women, Men, and the Zar Cult in Northern Sudan by Janice Boddy
This is a must-read for anyone interested in zar. I cannot praise this book enough. Janice writes a rich exploration of zar and its significance to the lives of those she worked with. This is an anthropological text so there is some discipline-specific terminology, but her prose keeps the meaning accessible to anyone.
The following are tours to the Middle-East organized for dancers. I have not gone on any of them and so cannot vouch for them in any way.
May 31 to June 16, 2002
Go with Shahzadee and Tayyar Akdeniz on a dancer oriented tour of Turkey. You can find the intinerary and more details at the above link.
Tour Egypt and the Ahlan wa Sahlan Festival
June 16 through June 28 or June 16 through July 6
Scheherezade Imports is leading a tour through Egypt that will include the famed Ahlan wa Sahlan dance festival. Check the link for more information.
July 9 to July 22, 2002 Join Morocco on a tour through dance shows galore, museums, costumers, mosques and markets and more in Turkey. Follow the link for more information.
Dancing Goddess Workshop, Hafla, and Sightseeing Trip to Morocco.
September 14-24, 2002 This almost all-inclusive tour will include most of Morocco's incredible sights, a dance workshop, and an exciting hafla that will be held at an authentic Middle Eastern restaurant! Contact Li'a or follow the link for more information.
These links have nothing to do with North Carolina, but they are dance-related sites that are just plain neat. So have fun!
An archive of dancer pictures and historic advertisements. Many of the women are real dancers; some are just dressed like it.
A collection of events that may not get real Olympic awards, but probably should.
This is an interesting site showing that you CAN teach some Middle-eastern dance online. She has animated GIFs showing break-down and finished product of some basic dance moves. Not for the slow-of-modem however.
I'm in the middle of a move right now and so updates are coming along a lot more slowly than normal. Please have patience, bear with me, and feel free to send me a reminder if you don't see your listing or event updated after a week.
