Check out the awesome Harlem Shake…Library Edition! A big thanks to Eric Arvai for filming, Mylani for organizing and everyone who participated!

These are the sounds of the instruments used during live bellydance performances. Some of the Instruments include a Dumbek (drum), the Tar (large frame drum), finger cymbals, Kanoun (sort of like a harp), Kawala […]

There are tons of different styles and forms of bellydance, but some of the styles that I’ve been mentioning in earlier posts tend to be more popular with many. The infograph below shows the most popular bellydance styles of the East and West and also shows the most popular forms of each style on the outer […]

We were asked to design 4 logos to represent ourselves. some of mine are repeated, because i wasnt sure which colors/designs i liked best. so i figure i wait to hear some feedback from others before i chose the final logo.

Ginger Gowan is a local bellydancer for Suhaila Salimpour’s Dance Company. She has been dancing at Suhaila’s studio since 2004 and gives us a little look at how she feels about bellydancing in her interview below. Below Ginger shows how to perform some basic bellydance moves. sometimes seeing it is easier to understand than trying […]

Fat Chance Bellydance director, Carolena Nericcio is the creator of the modern bellydance style called American Tribal Style (ATS). After dancing with the Classic Dance Troupe of San Francisco for several years, in 1987 carolena began teaching people bellydance so that she could have dance partners. Being young and tattooed, she attracted people living alternative lifestyles […]

There are a ton of well-known belly dancers out there; some that you would recognize and many that you probably wouldn’t, if you weren’t part of the scene. A Famous dancer everyone might know is Shakira. Shakira incorporates a ton of different dance styles, including a salsa, but mostly she uses different styles and techniques from […]

As you read this, check out the picts of belly dancers from all over the world. Belly dance is so beautiful to watch; yet it is a form of dance that has been persecuted and repressed by many for thousands of years. Even in the Middle East and parts of North Africa, Islamic regimes deny […]

There are a ton of different Western Belly dance styles including Gypsy, Goddess/spiritual, fusion and even fitness Belly Dance. But the two main styles practices here are Classic/Modern American Belly Dance and Tribal. Classic American Belly Dance This style is sometimes called cabaret or nightclub style. It was inspired from the Middle Eastern movie industry and nightclub […]

So, Belly Dance comes in all sorts of styles from a ton of different places. People refer to it by different names in different regions and also, some of the styles are characterized by different techniques or moves, even different costume-styles. Each dancer has their own unique twist on whatever style they choose. Although somewhat similar, […]

Belly Dancing is among the oldest forms of dance and has been around for centuries. It’s origins can be traced to the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa. European countries usually refer to the dance as the oriental dance, Middle Easterners and Egyptians prefer Raqs Sharqi, while most of us here in America know it as […]

Imagine you are walking through the streets of a fair or festival when all at once, the sounds of Arabic music and pounding drums begin to fill your ears. You hear rhythmic jingling, as if someone began clinking coins together, off in the distance. As you move in closer to the music, your view shifts […]