Belly Dance Around the World: New Communities, Performance and Identity - Softcover

Caitlin E. McDonald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786473703 ISBN 13: 9780786473700

Publisher: McFarland & Co, 2013

Synopsis

Dancer/scholars from around the world have contributed essays on belly dance to this book. They all carefully consider the transformation of an improvised folk form from North Africa and the Middle East into a popular global dance practice. The essays explore the differences between the solo improvisational forms of North Africa and the Middle East, often referred to as raqs sharki, which are part of family celebrations, and the numerous globalised versions of this dance form, belly dance, derived from the movement vocabulary of North Africa and the Middle East but with a variety of performance styles distinct from its site of origin. Local versions of belly dance have grown and changed along with the role that dance plays in the community. The global evolution of belly dance is an inspiring example of the interplay of imagination, the internet and the social forces of local communities.

About this title

About the Author:

<strong>Caitlin E. McDonald</strong> holds a Ph.D. in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter and works for TSL Education, publishers of the <em>Times Higher Educational Supplement</em> and <em>Teach Educate Share</em>. She lives in London. <br><br><strong>Barbara Sellers-Young</strong> is Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and a professor in the Dance Department at York University, Toronto, Canada.

About this edition

• Publisher: McFarland & Co
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0786473703
• ISBN 13: 9780786473700
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224
• Editor: Sellers-Young Barbara, Caitlin E. McDonald