I am currently updating the book and its design and finding ways to enable you to buy it in a format that is most convenient for you. If you want to be kept updated then please head over to the Oriental Dance update page and pop in your contact details. I’ll let you know when each format is released.

Belly Dancing on the Amazon Kindle

The good news is that the newly revised edition of the book is now available on the Amazon Kindle – just in time for Christmas!

The book contains chapters on: the History and Origins, Styles, Costumes, Music, and Props of Belly Dance, as well as the role of Men in the dance.

Click here if you would like your own copy of “Oriental Dance: Discovering the Art of Belly Dancing“ for Kindle.

(and if you don’t have a Kindle yet, they’re FANTASTIC! A lightweight tablet-style ebook reader that can carry around 1500 books. Get someone to buy one for you for Christmas – or treat yourself. You can find out more about the Amazon Kindle here. Then make sure your first book is Oriental Dance: Discovering the Art of Belly Dancing )

Unfortunately, many dancers don’t realise the significance of some of the dance moves they learn and so take them away and add them to their performances.

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

When you get together with your girlfriends for an evening, it’s an unwritten rule that what passes between you stays between you. There are many things you would say to your closest friends that you would never expect to be blabbed to other people.

It’s like the “old” saying “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas“!

Women dancing together in Egyptian (or Turkish, or Lebanese) homes are exactly the same. Some of the moves you dance in private are the equivalent of talking about your s*x life to a friend.

Too often we blunder into other people’s cultures and take what we want for our own use, whether we understand the significance or not (and this isn’t just limited to dancing).

Try to be respectful in your dancing and remember that this is a significant aspect of ancient cultures. By all means, dance the way YOU feel, interpret the music in YOUR own way, but be grounded by good technique and a responsible attitude.

Did you know that the name Belly Dance is actually a western term, which came from the French term Danse du Ventre (“dance of the stomach”).  This was a name coined only around a century ago.

Belly Dance has so many names:  Raks Sharki – “dance of the East” and Oriental Dance, are just 2 of them. Each style of Belly Dance – traditional and modern – has a different title.

There are so many different variations, off-shoots and evolutions of Belly Dancing and, like any other form of dance the style continues to adapt and develop in different directions.

With all the different styles it can get a little confusing, but there are certain techniques that are universal to all.

To discover some of the many different styles of Belly Dance do a search on the blog for Style Saturday (the search box is just above the “Follow me on Twitter” button on the right)and you’ll find everything from Egyptian Cabaret to Guedra, American Tribal to Ghawazee.