The Worldwide Dance Network

Table of Contents

Regional Resources

In general, regional pages tend to focus on artists and events in a specific geographic area. They're particularly great if you're planning to live in or visit a certain area and you'd like to know what local belly dance resources are available to enjoy while you're there.

Europe

• Meissoun's Site. Features dancers, events, and vendors in Switzerland.
• Belly Dance Scotland. Classes, events, shopping.
• Orientalsk Dans. Although a small amount of this site has been translated into German and English, the best material is available only in Norwegian. Includes online instructions and patterns for making many costume items, a photo gallery of Norwegian dancers, an events calendar for Norway, and more.
• Wiggle. Belly dance events in the United Kingdom, with focus on Yorkshire and Lancashire area. Look under "About The Dance" in the top left corner for assorted articles.
• Seven Veils: A UK Belly Dance Web Site. Lists teachers and performers in the UK. Also includes instructions on making costume bras and circle skirts.
• 1001and1.de Focus on Germany. The site is primarily in German, with part of its content translated to English.
• Karen Pilkington. Includes a list of belly dance teachers in the United Kingdom.

Africa

• Wendy. Lists dancers throughout South Africa.

Pacific Rim

• Aziza. By Aziza. Focus on events, teachers, and belly dance venues in the Sydney, Australia area.
• Belly Dance Discovery. Singapore.
• Blue Waters of the Nile. Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
• Jewel Bellydance. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
• Turbans, Tassels, & Tattoos. By Annabella. Identifies Tribal-style teachers in Australia. Also a discussion board and some articles.

Japan

• Adarah. The site's primary purpose is to promote Adarah's activities, but it also includes information on Middle Eastern dance teachers, events, and restaurants in the Tokyo area.
• Amira & Amani. Osaka, Japan.

Canada

• The Oasis, Middle Eastern Dance Guild. Calendar of events and list of instructors in London, Ontario.
• Edmonton's Belly Dance Guide. Classes, performances, special events, and vendors in the Edmonton area. Also a great links page.
• Regina Association of Middle Eastern Dance. Events and classes in the Regina, Saskatchewan area.
• Toronto Scene. A corner of Mayada's web site identifies where to go to watch belly dancing in Toronto, and where to buy belly dancing supplies.

United States

California

There were so many home pages dedicated to the California dance scene that I broke it out as a separate category. I'll do the same for other states in the future if I get enough sites for them to make it worthwhile.

• Desert Dance Festival. Everything you want to know about this annual event sponsored by Dunia in San Jose, California.
• SAMEDA - San Diego Area Middle Eastern Dance Association. Events, teachers, classifieds for the San Diego, California area.
• LA Raqs. Events, teachers, shopping, dancers, and resources in the Los Angeles area.

Parts Of The U.S. Other Than California

• Belly Dance Florida. Includes teachers, vendors, events, and places.
• Belly Dance In New Mexico. Lists teachers, vendors, and a calendar of events. Also instructions on how to make tassels.
• Belly Dance with Nisaa. Teachers and vendors in the area of St. Louis, Missouri.
• Hasani's Online Hotline. Lists events throughout the Pacific Northwest.
• Maryland Middle Eastern Performing Arts. Events and dancers in the state of Maryland.
• Middle Eastern Dance In New England. Focus on the general New England area.
• Midwest Belly Dance Happenings. Teachers and events throughout the Midwestern U.S.: Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and more.
• NCBellyDance.Org. Includes a swap page, list of teachers and performers, places to see belly dance, and events.
• Stacia Cook-McCoy. Events in the Ohio River valley area (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee).
• Southwestern Virginia Middle Eastern Dance Association. Lists events and dancers in southwestern Virginia.
• Utah Raks. Lists events, teachers, performers, vendors, and musicians in Utah.
• Washington, DC Area. Covers the dance scene in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Dance Organizations

• Bellydancing UW. Student organization at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
• Ethnic Arts Network. Resources for performers and other artists.
• Middle Eastern Dance Association of New Zealand. Teachers and events.
• Guild of Oriental Dance. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Étoile Des Sables. Paris, France.
• Jewells of the Desert. Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Dance Publications

• Chronicles. Published by Isis and the Star Dancers in the U.S.
• Jareeda. Published by Mezdulene in Oregon in the U.S.
• The Palace. Australian magazine published by Amera's Palace.
• Root Magazine. This publication focuses on ethnic dance at large, not just belly dance but also samba, tango, flamenco, and others.
• Zaghareet! Published in the U.S. by Sharina.

Events

Europe

• Orienta. Featuring Orienta, the dance festival in Frankfurt am Main.

Pacific Rim

• Sydney Middle Eastern Dance Festival. Featuring the festival held in Sydney, Australia.

United States

• Bellyjam The web site for Lion Of Babylon, sponsor of the Bellyjam festival in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Voice Of Arabia radio program.
• Desert Dance Festival. Everything you want to know about this annual event sponsored by Dunia in San Jose, California.
• Golden Veil Productions. Sponsors a variety of Middle Eastern dance seminars and shows in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Hasani's Hafla. Schedule for the next hafla and instructions on how to sign up to dance.
• Oasis Dance Camp. All the details on the family of dance camps: location, price, workshop instructors, how to register, etc.
• Wiggles Of The West. Annual belly dancing competition sponsored by Two Old Bags in Reno, Nevada. Includes a comedy category! Also features vendors and workshops.

Directories of Dancers

These sites contain directories listing belly dance teachers and performers. Some also include vendors and musicians.

• Find Teachers & Performers. (Here on my own web site).
• BellyDancersOnline. Online network of dancers and dance resources. Lists dancers, instructors, vendors, musicians, and services.
• Dancers & Teachers Directory. From Zaghareet! Magazine's Web Site.

These directories are no longer being updated, but are included in case they help someone track down a long-lost friend:

• Belly Dance Contacts Around The World. From the Belly Dance Home Page.
• Dancers' Directories. From The Middle Eastern Dance Resource Guide.

Link-Focused Web Sites

If my own list of web links is not enough to satisfy your insatiable appetite for surfing sites on the Web relevant to belly dancing, then here are some sites whose primary focus is offering links to a large number of web pages on belly dancing!

• Bellydance Links! Large number of links related to belly dancing, Middle Eastern names, and more. Also an article explaining that a belly dancer's sword is counted as a weapon under Texas law.
• Dans.pagina.nl. Lots of links on dance of all kinds, not just Middle Eastern dance.
• Egypt Search. This is a search engine dedicated to sites that have something to do with Egypt.
• Henry's Hotlist. It lists web sites related to all kinds of dance. This link goes straight to the Oriental Dance section.
• Panta Rei. A large number of links, organized by category.
• Sapphire Swan Dance Directory. This online directory features hotlinks to hundreds of sites about dance of all types, including about a dozen links for belly dancing.

Potpourri

The links in this category point to the web sites of other people whose web sites are not related to belly dancing, but they invited me to swap links with them. Will any of them appeal to you? I don't know, but if you'd like to do a little web surfing, maybe you'll find something you like!

• Diet Riot! A weight loss program for people who want a healthy balanced diet they can live with long term.
• Best Ballroom Shoes. Sells shoes for ballroom dance.