Instruction
Book List for Belly Dancers
Below is a reading list for belly dancers that I’ve compiled based on books I’ve enjoyed and reviews from my colleagues. I will be working my way through the books I have not read, adding more when I hear of them, and reviewing them when I finish. If you have a book you’d like to recommend, please add it as a comment!
Psychology of Dance by Jim Taylor & Ceci Taylor - Techniques & exercises to help dancers overcome mental obstacles. This one I finished and found to be really helpful in helping to set goals and manage insecurities and stage fright.
Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World by Wendy Buonaventura history of female solo dancing in the Middle East. This was a great book that every belly dancer should read with lots of illustrations, too.
The Voice of Egypt by Virginia Danielson Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century- I’m reading this now.
Egyptian Music Appreciation by George Dimitri Sawa Comes with music CDs
Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron- A 12-week program to help remove blocks that impeed on your creativity
“A Trade Like Any Other:” Female Singers & Dancers in Egypt by Karin van Nieuwkerk
Blood Memory by Martha Graham – An autobiography about Martha Graham’s life as famous contemporary dancer
The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz - An epic trilogy of colonial Egypt
Wombs and Alien Spirits: Women, Men, and the Zar Cult in Northern Sudan by Janice Patricia Boddy - Book about the “zar” cult in northern Sudan
Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society by Lila Abu-Lughod – Bedouin behavior, male and female roles
For more info about the author, Mellilah, please visit www.mellilah.com
Instructional & Performance VHS and DVDs for Belly Dancers
There are many wonderful dvds/videos that will help support what you’re learning in class. However, there are also a lot of videos that contain poor quality dancing, unsafe movement, and/or erroneous information. Hopefully, as you grow as a dancer, you’ll learn to recognize great dancing and great teaching of dance. Below are some recommendations on how to practice with videos/DVDs and names of videos/DVDs I recommend to be the very best.
Learning from Performance Videos:
-Pay attention to entrances/exits, technique, isolations, use of space/stage, musical interpretation (knowledge of rhythms/accents and transitions), stage presence, and style (Egyptian, American, etc…)
-Listen to the music/instruments- how does the dancer move/interpret the different instruments?
-Pretend you are a judge and this is a competition. Use the above criteria to score the dancer. What did he/she do well? What could he/she do better?
-Personal stylization- Are there arm/hand, turns, or other movements that seem unique to this particular dancer?
-Choose something from this dancer that you can encorporate into your practice sessions.
Learning from Instructional Videos:
-DVDs are the best as you don’t waste time forwarding and rewinding
-Encorporate parts of your favorite DVDs into your practice sessions; start with a couple of easier things and graduate to the more advanced concepts
-Try not to emulate the dancer’s personal style, charisma, and/or facial expressions. Be yourself and add your personality, even during practice sessions. It will take time, but eventually you will develop into your own dancer.
How do I choose quality DVDs/VHS?
-Do some online research and learn about the dancer’s credentials first.
-Does the dancer teach only subjects in which he/she has a lot of experience and/or background in doing?
-Use what you know. Does this dancer appear to have good technique?
-Video production is sometimes an indicator of poor/high quality instruction but not always. Remember that anyone can pay to have a video produced.
-Stay away from YouTube instructional videos! Unless it’s a trailer, if it’s free, it’s probably not worth anything. This is the number one place for errouneous information in regards to dance instruction.
-Learning to belly dance cannot be acheived from any “one” DVD/video. Anyone that claims you’re going to be a pro at Saidi, sword, cabaret, etc… by watching their video, is most like presenting erroneous material. Belly dancing takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Study DVDs, take lots of private lessons and workshops, practice, watch dancers perform live, and do your research.
-Ask for recommendations from the teachers you respect
DVDs/Videos with a “thumbs up” / reviews:
(Check back for updates – More coming soon!)
Sahra Saeeda -I recommend any performance or instructional videos/DVDs by Sahra Saeeda for her authentic Egyptian style and excellent historical and practical knowledge of Egyptian style dancing.
Hadia I recommend Hadia’s “Oriental Belly Dance System” for technique and knowledge of warming up, stretching, and body mechanics that all dancers should know. Hadia also has a series of choreography DVDs that will help reinforce good technique.
Ranya Renee’s “Belly Dance Egyptian Style- The Baladi” – Ranya has definitely done her research, and this DVD contains two discs for the price of one. She teaches you the parts of a traditional baladi progression, introducing you to the instruments and rhythms you will hear. She breaks down belly dance moves appropriate for each section and provides improvisational drills. (For excellent references to which muscles are being used for moves I’d see Hadia’s DVDs for this.) All and all, Ranya’s is a remarkable DVD! Although some of the moves may be difficult for beginning dancers, it’s definitely appropriate for all, beginning through professional.
“The Legends of Belly Dance (1947- 1976)” – Performance footage; an excellent collection of the most prominent belly dancers of the past. A DVD every dancer should own.
“Leila presents Bint al Belad”- A performance DVD with Leila of Cairo and her band. Contains post modern Egyptian style dancing.
For more info about the author, Mellilah, please visit www.mellilah.com
Sahra Saeeda intensive workshop
WEEEE! I bought my ticket and paid for my course!!! I’m taking 20 hours of instruction with Sahar Saeeda! For those who don’t know anything about her, you can visit her online at http://www.sahrasaeeda.com/
She will be coming to Seattle, too, sponsored by MEAI. Check www.middleeastarts.org for more info
Comments: Sahra was an exceptional teacher, as I had expected based on her reputation! I bought her performance DVD #3 and can’t stop watching it. Pick one up! http://www.sahrasaeeda.com/layaliyasmine/Videos.html
I wish I had learned zills a long time ago!
I really, really wish I had learned the zills when I began dancing!! Unfortunately, when I learned to dance, most of my teachers didn’t use zills (finger cymbals) in their classes. Because it wasn’t used in class and I never took the initiative to teach myself, I danced for years without them, and now my zills are not up to par with my dancing. It’s taking a lot of discipline to make myself use them, but I know it will pay off in the end.
I think it’s never too early to begin learning zills and really want my students to learn early on. However, I’ve decided that I will begin teaching zills in my Level 2 classes due to the nature of my Level 1 classes and the various objectives people have for signing up for the class.
Where do you buy zills? Saroya is the best place for purchasing zills. If you click on “Students & Advanced Dancers” you’ll see cymbals that are mellow toned and lightweight for students at around $15 a set. (You can read about the history of zills here, too.) 
For more info about the author, visit www.mellilah.com
