Shira's Reading List For Dancers

Back when I was in school, our language arts teachers gave us reading lists. These were lists of books that they suggested as being suitable to our age groups, reading levels, etc. Now, as a dancer, I've put together my own reading list. These books talk about the history of the dance, give insights into Middle Eastern culture, and otherwise provide inspiration for the dancer. Although I've read some of these, most of them are still waiting for me to get to them! I thought you might want to know what's in my backlog, just in case some of these books would interest you, too.

I will periodically update this reading list, adding new books as they come to my attention and modifying entries for existing books as appropriate. For example, once I've read a book and written a review, I'll change the entry here on the reading list to let you know that a review is available. So please check back every 3-4 months to see what is new, or use the form at the bottom of the page to request e-mail notification whenever I modify this page.

BookIndicates that a book review is available on this site.

U.S.CanadaU.K.Click on the flag icons to purchase the book from the Amazon site most convenient for you. If you don't live in the same country as a particular Amazon site, you can still order from it. For example, I live in the U.S. but I have ordered books from Amazon in the U.K. that weren't available in the U.S.

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Table Of Contents

 

Belly Dancing Bellydancing Dance Bellydance

History Of The Dance

The books in this category offer research on the history of Oriental dance. ("Oriental dance" is the correct name for "belly dancing" that is used in the languages of the Middle East.)

A Trade Like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers In Egypt

By Karin Van Nieuwkerk. Explores the question of why entertaining is considered a low-class profession for women in Egypt. Describes the history of women singing and dancing as professional entertainers in Egypt from the nineteenth century into the present.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • CanadaOrder from Amazon.ca in Canada.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Looking For Little Egypt

By Donna Carlton. Looks for the facts behind the legend of Little Egypt, the entertainer who brought "belly dancing" to the attention of the American people at the Chicago World's Fair in the 1890's.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • CanadaOrder from Amazon.ca in Canada.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Sacred Woman, Sacred Dance

By Iris J. Stewart. Explores the use of women's dance as tool for spiritual growth and expression, both historically and also for women today.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • CanadaOrder from Amazon.ca in Canada.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

The Tribal Bible

By Kajira Djoumahna. Explores the question of, "What the heck IS American Tribal Style Bellydance, Anyway?" Includes a chapter on how this variation of belly dancing originated.

Dance Crazy: Star Turns From Ballet To Belly Dancing

By Natalie Jane Prior. A children's book that provides an overview of dance. It's mostly about ballet, but the five pages it devotes to belly dancing are excellent. The historical and cultural information it offers about belly dancing is much more accurate than the rubbish put forth by many "professional" belly dancers.

The Belly Dance Book

Edited by Tazz Richards. An anthology of articles about belly dancing written by a variety of contributors. The section on history is excellent. Also sections on costumes, make-up, and other topics.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • CanadaOrder from Amazon.ca in Canada.

Serpent Of The Nile: Women And Dance In The Arab World

by Wendy Buonaventura. Traces the history of belly dancing from modern times up through today.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • CanadaOrder from Amazon.ca in Canada.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Ancient Egyptian Dances

  • by Irena Lexova. Careful research into the dance forms of ancient Egypt through study of historical illustrations and texts.
  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • CanadaOrder from Amazon.ca in Canada.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

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Belly Dancing Bellydancing Dance Bellydance

Middle Eastern Culture

The books in this category offer information about Middle Eastern culture. When learning Middle Eastern dance, it's very helpful to understand the cultural context of the countries where it originated.

Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village

By Elizabeth Warnock Fernea. This is an account of Fernea's two-year stay in a tiny rural village in Iraq, where she assumed the dress and sheltered life of a harem woman.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Beyond the Veil : Male-Female Dynamics in a Modern Muslim Society

By Fatima Mernissi. Philosophical discussions on the roles of women, men, and the heterosexual relationship in Moroccan Islamic society based on Islamic texts hundreds of years old.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder a copy from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

The Forgotten Queens of Islam

By Fatima Mernissi, translated by Mary Jo Lakeland. An analysis of female power within Islam.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

The Veil and the Male Elite : A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam

By Fatima Mernissi, translated by Mary Jo Lakeland. Examines whether Islam is opposed to women's rights by focusing on the early years of Islam and Mohammed's intention of creating an egalitarian society without slaves or sexual discrimination.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

The Middle East: A Brief History Of The Last 2,000 Years

By Bernard Lewis. Covers the history of the Middle East from the dawn of Christianity to modern times.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Harem : The World Behind the Veil

By Alev Lytle Croutier. Drawing on a host of intimate first-hand accounts and memoirs, Harem explores life in the world's harems, from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak

By Elizabeth W. Fernea. Anthology giving insights into what women in Muslim countries really think.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Dreams of Trespass : Tales of a Harem Girlhood

By Fatima Mernissi. Autobiographical account of a woman who was born in Morocco in 1940 and grew up to become a modern-day feminist.

  • BookRead my review of Dreams Of Trespass.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Layla And Majnun

By c. Famous 12th-century Persian romance widely recognized as a classic of world literature. The original was rendered as poetry. Rendered into prose by the translator.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Drawing Of A Fantasy Gypsy Dancer

The Rom: Walking In The Paths Of The Gypsies

By Roger Moreau. The author's account of his efforts to research the history of the Rroma, especially those aspects that are still not completely understood by modern-day Gypsiologists.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Bury Me Standing

By Isabel Fonseca. A portrait of the Rroma (Gypsies) of Eastern Europe based on the author's interviews with them. Traces their history from their exodus from India to their difficult present.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Return To Table Of Contents

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Middle Eastern Music Reference

Sheet Music & Lyrics Translations

 These books offer instrument instruction, sheet music, and lyrics translations for popular Middle Eastern songs.

Gems of the Middle East, Volumes 1, 2, and 3: A Rhythmical Analysis

By Mary Ellen Donald. This series of 3 books, which are sold individually, could be thought of as sheet music for percussionists, including dumbek, riqq, and sagat (finger cymbals).

The Gems Songbook

By Mimi Spencer. Sheet music, transliterated lyrics, and English-language translations of lyrics for 11 well-known songs from the Middle East.

Mastering Finger Cymbals

By Mary Ellen Donald. Explains how to play finger cymbals, with detailed information on various Middle Eastern rhythms.

Belly Dancing Bellydancing Dance Bellydance

Advice, How-To's

These books offer practical how-to information that can be valuable to dancers of all levels, from beginner to professional.

Grandmother's Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing

By Rosina-Fawzia B. Al-Rawi, translated by Monique Arav. Combines the memoirs of an Arab grandmother with instructions on how to use Oriental dance moves for personal growth, spiritual expression, and insight. Also a light dose of the history of women's dance in both the Middle East and the West.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Intermediate Belly Dancing

By Vicki Corona. Provides a brief culture lesson on Saudi Arabia, describes how to do about 18 intermediate-level moves, offers a few finger cymbal rhythms, provides a structure for combining movements into a complete dance, and introduces what a dancer should know when beginning to perform for an audience.

Belly Dancing For Health And Relaxation.

By Tina Hobin. Attempts to use photos and text to teach belly dance.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Mastering Finger Cymbals

By Mary Ellen Donald. A highly skilled percussionist explains in plain language how to master a variety of Middle Eastern rhythms on the finger cymbals.

Costuming From The Hip

By Dawn Devine Brown. Describes how to make a belly dancing costume. Covers the basics for beginning dancers, but also introduces many creative variations that are sure to appeal to more experienced dancers.

The Tribal Bible

By Kajira Djoumahna. Explores the question of, "What the heck IS American Tribal Style Bellydance, Anyway?" Describes what distinguishes Tribal from other styles of belly dancing, costuming, movement vocabulary, authenticity/legitimacy issues, performance ethics, and other topics.

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Belly Dancing Bellydancing Dance Bellydance

Ancient Voices

The books in this category provide information about ancient civilizations. Even though they don't necessarily talk about the role of dance in those civilizations, they may stimulate your creativity and provide ideas for theatrical portrayals. Many dancers have felt that learning this dance form has provided a connection back to our ancient ancestors, and want to delve more deeply into learning about ancient cultures.

The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols And Sacred Objects

By Barbara G. Walker. A detailed listing of familiar symbols accompanied by a description of their origins.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

The Woman's Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets

By Barbara G. Walker. Organized alphabetically by topic, this book reveals the secrets of ancient mythology. Provides profiles on ancient goddesses, describes the religions of pre-Islamic Arabia and pre-Christian Europe.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S. Not available from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Inanna: Queen Of Heaven And Earth

By Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer. A translation of ancient Sumerian writings featuring the goddess Inanna that retains the poetic quality of the original text.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

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Fiction

This category features fictional selections related to Middle Eastern dance artists or culture. Some are educational, others just plain fun.

Forever And A Baby

By Margot Early. A romance novel. The central character is a midwife whose extended family has many ties to the Middle East.

Valide: A Novel Of The Harem

By Barbara Chase-Riboud. Historical fiction based on the life of a Creole girl who was enslaved in the Topkapi harem in the late 18th century.

  • BookRead my review.
  • U.S.Order from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • CanadaOrder from Amazon.ca in Canada.
  • U.K.Order from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

The Kadin

By Bertrice Small. A romance novel. The central character is a Scottish girl who became one of the wives of an Ottoman sultan during the 16th century.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S. Not available from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Belly Dancing Bellydancing Dance Bellydance

Other Titles

This category features books that don't cleanly fit in any of my other categories above, but are worth mentioning because they may be of interest to people who enjoy Middle Eastern dance!

They Told Me I Couldn't; A Young Woman's Multicultural Adventures in Colombia

By Tamalyn Dallal. Hired to spend several weeks dancing at an Arabic restaurant in Bogota, Dallal managed to also do some traveling and sight-seeing around Colombia. This book is a travelogue describing a young American woman's exploration of a foreign country.

  • BookRead my review.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S. Not available from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

Orientalism In Art

By Christine Peltre. Overview of Orientalism, with many illustrations.

  • BuyOrder from Amazon.com in the U.S.
  • BuyOrder from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

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Books: Middle Eastern Culture

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