Hi! I'm Chris, known in the Society for Creative Anachronism as Katja. I'm better known there as a cook and a decent amateur authority on food of the Middle Ages... but I've also been trying to learn Middle Eastern dance for the last five years. I am very much a student of this lovely form of dance. I've never had any formal lessons, so this is all tips and hints I've picked up from SCA classes, dance instruction tapes, internet research, and friends who teach. Much of it is still rather modern bellydancing, understandably, but I am slowly focusing on and seeking out information about period dancing. Researchers note: Please know that I don't have a lot of documentation yet on Middle Eastern or Oriental dancing during the SCA's period of study. Many of the movements described in the papers & links below are folkloric (200-300 years old) or modern Egyptian. In the apparent absence of an actual Medieval manual on this form of dance (where's Arbeau when you need him??) I look at depictions of the dance in period artwork (such as Turkish & Persian court scenes) and descriptions of dance in literature and poetry. I will post my research, but in the meantime please do not consider these notes authoritative...yet! <smile> My Middle Eastern Dance Class Notes My class on Simple Group Middle Eastern Dance Combinations Hip Drop Dance (a simple choreography) Middle Eastern Dance 101 (focusing on the hips and moving) Notes from Pennsic War XXIX Classes I attended Notes from Pennsic War XXX Classes I attended Notes from Pennsic War XXXI Classes I attended Notes from other AEthelmearc classes I've taken Notes from Gulf Wars X classes I attended Notes from modern bellydance DVDs/videos I own Oriental Dance Class Notes Lakshmi's Links Lakshmi's class on Classical Indian Dance Lakshmi's class on Hindu Temple Dance Lakshmi's Choli, Stories, and Dance Instruction |
| Katja's Middle Eastern Dance Webpage |
| Photos of me as Katja See my links to online merchants who sell dance garb and/or jewelry See my links for research on Middle Eastern garb, specifically Turkic/Khazar clothing Back to Chris' webpage... |
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| visitors since August 2001 |
| Online Dance Instructions! Aziza's Online Dance Lessons http://www.zilltech.com/OnLineLessons.html Basic Egyptian Movements http://www.bellydanceuk.co.uk/ (click on 'Techniques & Terminology' to left) Middle Eastern Dance Movements http://www.middleeasterndance.homestead.com /Movements.html BellyDance Lessons Online http://www.aleena.com/miramar/ (click on 'Online Dance Lessons' on left) Dancing with A Veil http://www.naharisv.com/dance.html The Veil and Oriental Dance http://www.shira.net/veilhistory.htm Ideas for Taqasim & Creating Combinations http://www.kawakib.com/page-30.html Isolations http://www.raqs.co.nz/moves.html ************************************** Middle Eastern Music Rhythm Classes with Osama El-Gohary http://www.zilltech.com/OsamaRhythm.html Rhythms of Oriental Music http://venusbellydance.com/rhythms.htm Jas's Middle Eastern Rhythms FAQ (for dumbec, doumbec, doumbek, arabic tabla, darabuka, tombak, zarb ...) http://www.khafif.com/rhy/rhythm.html#history Zill Tips http://www.bdancer.com/med-guide/suppl/zill.html ********************************** Articles, Interesting Websites, and General Dance Links Belly Dance Homepage (Oriental Dance links) http://www.bdancer.com/ The Art of Middle Eastern Dance (shira.net) http://www.shira.net/ Tribal Dance Web Ring http://www.geocities.com/tribaldancering/ Narah's Tribal Bellydance Page http://www.narahbintdurr.com/index.asp Dawn Devine Brown http://www.davina.org Near and Middle Eastern Sites Worth Seeing http://www.draknet.com/lilinah (site is sometimes down, but WORTH trying) Aisha Ali http://www.aisha-ali.com/ Aziza Said http://www.belly-dance.com/ Belly Dance Web http://www.bellydanceweb.com/ Middle East Dance Webring http://www.bdancer.com/med-ring/ Asim's Middle Eastern Dance History Links http://asim.cedant.com/history.html Dina's Bellydance Links http://www.costumegoddess.com/links.htm Caravan Survey of Turkic Dances http://www.helene-eriksen.de/ Ghawazee Middle Eastern Dance Troupe http://www.ghawazee.org/links.html Morocco's Meanderings http://www.casbahdance.org/ Khafif http://www.khafif.com/khafif.html Ethereal Keep Links http://staff.haas.berkeley.edu/tmiller/med_ cost.htm Yasmina's Joy of Belly Dancing http://www.joyofbellydancing.com/bdhistory2 .html BellyDance in Manchester (Britain's largest bellydance site) http://www.zehara.co.uk/index.htm Orienta (German Bellydance Site) http://www.orienta.de/Start/Englishpages/ WelcomeOrienta.htm Arabesque Dance http://arab-esque.org/ Zanbaka's Links http://www.zanbaka.com/links.htm Elizabeth Artemis Mourat http://www.mozuna.com/artemis.htm Dance No-No's http://www.jalilahsahar.com/dancenonos.html (Site Excerpt) There is little difference in the public's mind between that of Raks Sharqi and stripping. But for the presence of heavy costuming, the audience may perceive these movements as lewd, solicitous, and just plain offensive, if, that is, they are executed improperly and with carelessness. One of the risks with being an American "Raks Sharqi" dancer is that we must always struggle to push ourselves beyond the borders of America in terms of authenticity, etc. with our art. The B.S. In Belly Dance http://www.jasminjahal.com/articles/98_09.html (Site Excerpt) Yes, Habibi, there really is a lot of "B.S." in the world of Belly Dance - that is to say, "B" as in Baladi and "S" as in Saidi! Javarah's Bellydance FAQs http://www.javarah.com/ Being a successful bellydance teacher http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles20/ aerobicbdancemichelle.htm Silk Road Dance Company http://www.silkroaddance.com/ The Inner Courtyard http://www.witch.drak.net/lilinah/courtyard.html Fringe Elements http://www.fringeelements.com/index2.html *********************************** Terminology Arabic Glossary for Dancers http://jasminjahal.com/articles/art_arab_ glossary.html Common Arabic Words and Dance Terms http://www.raqs.co.nz/me/common.html Dancer History Archives - Oriental Belly Dance http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3belly.htm Venus BellyDance Anatomical Terms http://venusbellydance.com/anaterms.htm Venus BellyDance-Related Terms http://venusbellydance.com/dictionary.htm Venus Bellydance Movement Vocabulary http://venusbellydance.com/vocabulary.htm ******************************* Recommended Books & Resources Good Books as References (on Middle Eastern Dance) http://jasminjahal.com/articles/art_good_books.html Books on: Central Asian Tribes, History & Trade http://www.tribalmax.com/amazonlinks.html (See the middle of the page for Middle Eastern Dance History & Belly Dancing Costume Books) Aziza Sa'id's Mideastern Bellydance Booklist http://www.zilltech.com/BookStoreHistory.html http://www.zilltech.com/BookStore.html Moroccan Dance Bibliography http://www.arab-esque.org/library/moroccobiblio.html Materials from The Middle East & Europe http://www.saradistribution.com/mecollection.htm Central Asia & Western Asia · A Dance Bibliography http://www.arab-esque.org/library/cwabiblio.html Middle Eastern Dance Resources search database http://eres.geneseo.edu/farrellk/web/ ******************************* Newsletters & Discussion Lists DANCE-L Folk & Traditional Dance Mailing list http://www-hfml.sci.kun.nl/lijnis/Danslist.html Stefan's Florilegium: Middle Eastern Dance Messages http://www.florilegium.org/files/DANCE/ME-dance-msg.html al-musta'rib (Medieval Arab World) newsletter http://users.lazerlink.com/~dwarph/al-musta'rib.html Bhuz Magazine http://www.bhuz.com/ Habibi Magazine http://www.habibimagazine.com/ Discover BellyDance Magazine http://www.discoverbellydance.com/ Gilded Serpent http://www.gildedserpent.com/index.html |
| Middle Eastern Dance History Brief History of Middle Eastern Dance http://www.khaalida.com/history.htm (Site Excerpt) "When anyone hears that a belly dancer is going to preform in most cases, the first thing that comes to mind is all the cliches about sexuality and sensuality for the benefit of male provacation. The dancer was originally anything but that. Origins of Oriental Dance http://www.bdancer.com/history/ Part 1: What is Belly Dance? Part 2a: Greece/Macedonia/Bible/India Part 2b: Ancient/Medieval Egypt & Ghawazee Part 2c: Turkey/Ottoman/Persia/Spain/Gypsies Part 2d: Islamic Persian Prohibitions/ Zar Part 3: Costuming The World's Oldest Dance - A History of Bellydance http://www.dancers-archive.com/med-dance/belly-dance-history.txt Folk Dance History http://www.webspan.net/~hgpklm/Pages /dancehistory_body.html About Middle Eastern Dance: Its History, Cultural Context, Styles http://www.shira.net/about.htm Mind your Ps & Qs in Medieval Ajerbaijan http://www.azeri.org/Azeri/az_latin/manuscripts /etiquette/english/etiquette_english.html About Arabic Dance - Dance in the pre-Islamic Past http://www.wiggle.org.uk/about.htm (Site Excerpt) There is also much evidence of dance in ancient Syria, Turkey and other countries. Some aspects of this dance was simply a form of entertainment, but it was also related to the worship of various fertility goddesses, such as Hathor in Egypt, Aphrodite in Greece and Ishtar in Babylon. Ancient writers record these dances as being based on movements of the hips, circling, swaying and shaking of the body. Exactly What Is Middle Eastern Dance? http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/lod/vol5/ middle_eastern.html (Site Excerpt) Many people equate Middle Eastern Dance with Belly Dance. They completely forget or are ignorant of the fact that Belly Dance is a post-period term that was applied by Western Europeans to only one type or style of Middle Eastern Dance. Secular Middle Eastern Music during the Middle Ages http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/ Music/Music2.html (Site excerpt) Music was important to the people of the Middle East. It was popular with common people in folk songs and dances which were part of their traditional culture. Court music and dance were popular with the rich and musicians were supported by the royalty. Islam did control some types of musical entertainment. (Note: This page contains some period illustrations of male and some female garb including female musicians in what looks like ghawazi coats). Folk Dancing, Court Entertainment, and Sufi Religious Dancing http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618 /Music/Dance.html This page contains some Persian and Turkish illustrations form our period of history of dancers in mid-dance. The History of Why Women Have Danced Through the Ages http://jasminjahal.com/articles/juliearticle.html Male Belly Dance in Turkey http://jasminjahal.com/articles/02_02_male_ belly_d.html ***************************** Dance Styles of Different Countries A Primer on Middle Eastern Dance Styles http://www.bdancer.com/styles.html (Site Excerpt) Beginners are often confused about the many dance styles in Middle Eastern dance. Our dance comes from many countries, so there is great variety. The wide range of choices is one of the charms. There are general characteristics in each style, however, which differentiate them. Naming The Dance http://www.amaradances.com/article_4.html (Site Excerpt) In the Middle East, there are several genres and styles of dance. Today, the professional solo female dance is called in Arabic Raks al-Sharki (Dance of the East/Orient) and, or Raks al-Arabi (Arabic Dance). Chiftetelli http://venusbellydance.com/chiftitelli.htm (Site Excerpt) The chiftitelli is the slow, sensuous segment of the oriental dance, performed to the Turkish/Greek rhythm also called chiftitelli. It is the most readily recognizable rhythm for the beginning dancer. Baladi or Beledi? http://www.venusbellydance.com/beledi.htm (Site Excerpt) The word baladi, as translated from Arabic, means "of the country". It implies story telling and folklore or the expression of a people about their culture and their everyday life. The term, raks baladi or baladi dance, refers to the folkloric style of Egyptian group or solo dance. This encompasses the fellahin, bambootia and saidi dances, using fellahy, baladi and saidi rhythms. Turkish Folkloric Dance http://interactive.m2.org/Dans/geyvan.html All About Belly Dance -Turkey http://www.zehara.co.uk/bdfactsturkey.htm (Site Excerpt) Turkish dances developed on two different planes, and in two cultural settings: that of Istanbul the capital of the Ottoman empire, a few other large cities, and that of the village. Turkish Dances http://www.rembetiko.gr/essay/rebetik6.htm Kemence International Dance Ensemble Folk Dances http://photon.bu.edu/kemence/dances.html (Site Excerpt) Turkish folk dances, while remarkably diverse in character and origin, may nevertheless be classified into six broad categories, according to their geographic boundaries, which may overlap. They are: Halay, Horon, Hora (Karsilama), Bar, Zeybek, and Kasik. These represent different dance styles found in the country's numerous ethnic provinces. The Exquisite Art of Persian Classical Dance http://home.earthlink.net/~rcfriend/ Persian Dance http://jasminjahal.com/articles/01_11_persian _dance.html (Site Excerpt) Whenever I have seen good Persian dance, I have often wondered about the history behind it and how its performance style and costuming developed. Clearly, it is quite different from the standard belly dance. The beauty and femininity of Persian dance is not often a topic in dance seminars. Persian Dance and It's Forgotten History http://www.artira.com/nimakiann/history/ history.htm Robyn's World of Persian Dance http://home.earthlink.net/~rcfriend/ Guedra Dance of Morocco http://jasminjahal.com/articles/01_12_guedra.html Guedra: The FAQ http://www.bdancer.com/GuedraFAQ.html (Site Excerpt) The Guedra is the Tuareg Blessing dance. The Zar Revisited http://www.bdancer.com/zarrevis.html (Site Excerpt) Despite the fact that the Zar, which is the trance ceremony of North Africa and the Middle East is technically prohibited by Islam, it continues to be an essential part of these cultures. Greek Dancing Through the Centuries http://www.annaswebart.com/culture/ dancehistory/introduction.html (Site Excerpt) Dance has played an important role in the life of Greeks all through their history. In the ancient Greek societies, dance was held in high regard. In fact, in his writings, Plato expresses his belief in the virtue of dancing, by saying that a man who can not dance is uneducated and unrefined. Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi (Whirling Dervish Dance Site) http://www.mevlana.net/ (Site excerpt) The "dance" of the Whirling Dervishes is called Sema. Sema is a part of the inspiration of Mevlana as well as part of the Turkish custom, history, beliefs and culture. Sema represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to "Perfect." Religious Dancing of the Sufi Muslims http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618 /Music/Dance2.html (Site Excerpt) There is a special section on Women's sufi dancing, period illustrations of male and female Sufi dancers, and an explanation of how modern "belly dancing" grew out of the dancing tradition). Uzbek Dance http://home.earthlink.net/~gulistan/uzbek.html (Site excerpt) "Hearts respond to the strings! Hands respond to the drums! At the first sound of strings and drums, two sleeves were raised. Like whirling snow, so graceful, revolving in the opulent dance!" Uzbek Dance and Culture Society- About the Dance: History & Styles http://www.uzbekdance.org/about/index.asp (Site Excerpt) The dance traditions of present-day Uzbekistan have been enriched by numerous cultures over the centuries because the country's central location on the Silk Road, the ancient trade routes which linked China with the Mediterranenan. Armenian Dance http://www.dance.demon.co.uk/AGC/Articles /ArmenianDance.html |