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Serpent of the Nile
A celebration of the female dancers of the Arab world and their impact on the West, this book explains the origins of this ancient art, which has survived in the face of commercialism, religious disapproval and changing times.
Dark Venus
How the Dance of the Seven Veils led to 'the libel case of the century'. Maud Allan's rebellious life is set against an examination of the changing lives of women during a crucial period in the history of feminism.
Beauty and the East
This fascinating story of body care and the creation of sensual ambiance focuses on customs practiced in the Middle East, Africa and India and takes a humorous look at the often converse attitudes toward the body prevailing in the West.
I Put a Spell on You
This history of dancing is rich with fascinating anecdotes, like the New Jersey girl arrested for dancing the Turkey Trot on her lunch hour, and astonishing facts, the first geisha were men, as well as tender portrayals of dancers whose stage antics have earned them lasting fame.
Something In The Way She Moves
A sensual, evocative history of women and dance; "brilliantly researched and utterly absorbing." --Venue (UK)
I Killed Scheherazade
For centuries the heroine of "The Arabian Nights," Scheherazade, defined the Arab woman--until Joumana Haddad, an Arab woman herself, had had enough. Haddad angrily challenges prevalent notions of identity and womanhood in the Middle East in this intrepid exploration. While she finds the West's dominant portrayal of Arab women appalling, she finds the image projected by many Middle Eastern women to be infuriating as well. She discusses her intellectual development and the liberating effect of literature on her life, and in the process she transcends religious and cultural perspectives. Ultimately she argues that every woman has not only the right but the duty to ignore social, political, and sexual expectations and be true to herself. Fiery and candid, this is a provocative exploration of what it means to be an Arab woman today that will enlighten and inform a new international feminism. For Haddad, Scheherazade is dead, and the time has come for Arab women to tell their own stories.
Grandmother's Secrets
"Come, sit by me," says Grandmother. "Take this chalk in your hand. Now draw a dot and concentrate all your energy into this one dot. It is the beginning and the end, the navel of the world." So Fawzia Al-Rawi describes her grandmother's first lesson about the ancient craft of Oriental dance. Grandmother's Secretsalways circles back to this grandmother and this young girl, echoing the circular movements of the dance itself. Al-Rawi has written a strikingly graceful and original book that blends personal memoir with the history and theory of the dance known in the West as "belly dancing." It is the story of a young Arab girl as she is initiated into womanhood. It is a history of the dance fro...
A Vision for My Father
A REMARKABLE JOURNEY INTO THE HEART AND MIND OF ACCLAIMED PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN GRAPHIC DESIGNER -- Rajie Cook is the son of Palestinian immigrants Najeeb and Jaleela Cook who came to the US in search of peace and opportunity for themselves and their family. This memoir is a tribute to them, but evolves into a narrative of how their son made his mark on the international stage of graphic design. For Rajie, art is an organic expression of what moves him, his art activism is his gift to the world. Sight, what we see and what we think we see, is a major theme in this narrative. On one level, Rajie gives sight back to his father who was blinded in the early 1930’s by the ravages of cataract. Na...
Belly Dance Around the World
In these essays, dancers and scholars from around the world carefully consider the transformation of an improvised folk form from North Africa and the Middle East into a popular global dance practice. They 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 globalized 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. All royalties are being donated to Women for Women International, an organization dedicated to supporting women survivors of war through economic, health, and social education programs. The contributors are proud to provide continuing sponsorship to such a worthwhile and necessary cause.
Palestinian Costume
THE TRADITIONAL COSTUMES OF THE Palestinian villagers and Bedouin are of exceptional beauty and diversity, especially the festive costumes of the women with their lavish silk embroidery and patchwork and their dramatic headdresses encrusted with coins. This book surveys male and female fashions from the early nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth, and describes the main regional styles of costume, their materials and ornamentation, against the background of Palestinian life and culture. The emphasis throughout the book is on the social and symbolic significance of costume, and the final chapters analyze in detail the language of costume in the context of the wedding. The book is based on extensive field research the author has conducted at intervals since 1967 among Palestinians in Israel, the Occupied Territories, and Jordan. The illustrations include studio photographs of magnificent garments in the British Museum and other collections, archive photographs from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and recent photographs of costumes still made and worn.
