Library

The scope of the materials here focuses mostly on the lineage and legacy of American belly dance.  I also have also limited the video listings to documentaries, such as interviews and biographies, rather than dance instructional or performance DVDs.  This list, of course, only includes books and videos that I have actually read or viewed.  If you feel that something is missing from this list or that you have a resource that other dancers would enjoy, please let me know!  Send me an e-mail: asharah [at] asharah [dot] com

–

Belly Dance History and Analysis

Books:

• A Trade Like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt by Karin van Nieuwkerk
• Bellydance: A Guide to Middle Eastern Dance, Its Music, Its Culture and Costume by Keti Sharif
• Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism, And Harem Fantasy (Bibliotheca Iranica. Performing Arts Series) ed. Anthony Shay and Barbara Sellers-Young
• The Belly Dance Book: Rediscovering the Oldest Dance by Tazz Richards
• The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson (Mentions Sol Bloom and “Little Egypt”)
• Images of Enchantment: Visual and Performing Arts of the Middle East by Sherifa Zuhur
• Imagining Arab Womanhood: The Cultural Mythology of Veils, Harems, and Belly Dancers in the U.S. by Amira Jarmakani
• Looking for Little Egypt by Donna Carlton
• Middle Eastern Dance (World of Dance) by Penni al Zayer
• Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World by Wendy Buonaventura
• The Tribal Bible by Kajira Djoumahna
• Tribal Talk by Carolena Nericcio and FatChanceBellyDance
• You Asked Aunt Rocky: Answers and Advice About Raqs Sharqi and Raqs Shaabi by Morocco

Articles Online:

• “An Afternoon with Suhaila” interview by Kajira Djoumahna
• “Belly Dancing: Arab-Face, Orientalist Feminism, and U.S. Empire“ by Sunaina Maira
• “The First Ever Tribal Festival and Celebration” by Kajira Djoumahna
• “From Many Tribes: The Origins of Bal Anat” by Jamila Salimpour
• “A History of American Tribal Style Bellydance” by Rina Rall
• Interview with Carolena Nericcio (1996) by Kajira Djoumahna
• Interview with Kajira Djoumahna by Barbara Sellers-Young, PhD
• “Not Your Mother’s Belly Dance” by Kajira Djoumahna
• Speech given to the International Conference on Middle Eastern Dance (1997) by Jamila Salimpour
• “With a Little Help From My Friends” interview with Rachel Brice by Kajira Djoumahna

Documentary Videos (DVD)

• American Belly Dance Legends (2010)
• American Bellydancer (2005)
  For interviews with Suhaila Salimpour, Morocco, Ansuya, and others.
• BDTV: Belly Dance Television, Vol. 1 (2004)
  “Rising Stars” feature on Urban Tribal Dance Company
• BDTV: Belly Dance Television, Vol. 2 (2005)
  “Spotlight” feature on Carolena Nericcio with supplemental interviews with Paulette Rees-Denis, Jill Parker, and Kajira Djoumahna.
  “Feature Story” on Sheherezade, Suhaila Salimpour’s full-length stage production
• The Bellydancers of Cairo (2006)
• FatChanceBellyDance Presents San Francisco Beledi: Inside the Making of a Show (2003?)
  Interviews with Carolena Nericcio, Masha Archer, and FCBD company members.
• Underbelly: The Year in the Life of a Dancer (2008)
  Princess Farhana and lots of other dancers explore belly dance, burlesque, and being a solo female performer.
• Urban Ghawazee documentary (2003?)  Out of print.
  A look at pre-BDSS tribal fusion, featuring FCBD, Urban Tribal Dance Company, Frederique, Azure, Kajira Djoumahna, and Tribal Feat.

• “Aida al Adawi” from American Belly Dance Legends (2010)
• Bal Anat documentary by John Carney (1972)
• Interview: “Conversation with Suhaila” (2011)
  - Part 1
  - Part 2
  - Part 3
  - Part 4
• Interview with Carolena Nericcio at the Ethnic Dance Festival (2012)
• “Interview with Suhaila Salimpour: The Conversation Continues” (2012)
• “Jamila Salimpour” from American Belly Dance Legends (2010)
• Latcho Drom (1998) Viewable on YouTube in parts.
  Or order a Korean production on DVD.
• Sabriye Tekbilek’s documentary about working in the Middle East as a belly dancer (2011)
  - Part 1
  - Part 2
• Suhaila Salimpour interviews the producers of Tribal Fest (2012)
  - How it all Started.
  - Not but Truth
  - Focus and Theme
  - Instruction
  - Long Range Vision

Middle East History and Culture

Books

• A Brief History of the Middle East by Christopher Catherwood
• A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani
• A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin
• Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People by Jack G. Shaheen

DVDs

• 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs (2000)
• Empires: Islam – Empire of Faith (2005)
• National Geographic presents: Inside Mecca (2009)
• Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt (2007)

Artist’s and Dancer’s Tools

• Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland
• The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron
• The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp
• Do The Work by Steven Pressfield
• The Intimate Act of Choreography by Lynne Ann Blom and L. Tarin Chaplin
• Psychology of Dance by Jim Taylor and Ceci Taylor
• Sanford Meisner on Acting by Sanford Meisner, Dennis Longwell, and Sydney Pollack
• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

Business and Creative Thinking

• The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America’s Leading Design Firm by Tom Kelley, Jonathan Littman, Tom Peters, and Tom Peters
• Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love by Jonathan Fields
• Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur by Pamela Slim
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire by Michelle Goodman
• Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie
• Rules of the Red Rubber Ball: Find and Sustain Your Life’s Work by Kevin Carroll

Inspiration 

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Demian by Hermann Hesse
• The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
• Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Science (Some of it dance-related)

• The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee
• The God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into Our Genes by Dean H. Hamer
• Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life by Steven Johnson
• This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin