Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World - Hardcover

Buonaventura, Wendy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0863566723 ISBN 13: 9780863566721

Publisher: Saqi Books, 1989

Synopsis

Focusing on the 19th and early 20th centuries, the author shows how Arabic dance came to be influenced by Western ideas about art and entertainment. But the influence was two-way. In the heyday of "Orientalism", Arabic dance exerted a powerful influence on the Western imagination - on such writers as Flaubert, such artists as David Roberts and Jean-Leon Gerome, and such imitators as Colette and Mata Hari. Their fascination was often based on common fantasies about the women of the Middle East. Yet, as the book's illustrations show, this obsession also produced wonderfully evocative images. At the turn of the century, the genre also had an impact on fashion, theatre and popular entertainment.

About this title

Review:

'A delight to browse through and just as interesting to read...sumptuously illustrated.' Time Out 'A lively and lavishly illustrated excursion into the history of the solo woman's dance.' The New York Times Book Review

About the Author:

Dancer and writer Wendy Buonaventura has pioneered the development of Arabic dance as a theatre art in the West and her work has been featured at festivals throughout Europe and in the United States. Her last book, on the history of Arab women's dance, Serpent of the Nile, was chosen as The Observer Book of the Year.

About this edition

• Publisher: Saqi Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0863566723
• ISBN 13: 9780863566721
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208