For those who want to thoroughly indulge in belly dance here is related belly dance 'stuff' to fill your life with. Enjoy!
see below and on the pages on the left details of: MUSIC. .HIPS SCARVES. .ZILLS. .JEWELLERY. .MAKE-UP. .East Coast Tribal. .Resources for further reading. Making your own costume!
Belly Dance Music: In my very broadminded world I think that if music makes you move and it feels right for you then it's the right music, but, if you want recommendations as to what I and a number of my dance mates move to then here is our list of traditional and not so traditional musical offerings that really get us going.
We have CD's available at classes for our students to purchase with practice material on and can give recommendations as to which of the suggestions below might suit your personal tastes. I've recently discovered that you can listen to belly dance radio stations on the internet.... no, seriously! Check out the links below for some stations that range their music from the fantastic to the weird...
Make-Up:
Firstly let me say that to take part in classes you don't have to wear make-up but for performing or at a hafla you may want to experiment a bit. There are two schools of thought on make-up and belly dancing. One says just use your usual style with a bit extra thrown in for good measure; the other says go exotic - if you feel like dressing it up..... plenty of kohl, mascara, stained lips, rouge and why not include fake eyelashes or a bindi as part of the whole 'go for it' ethos? Just look at our logo to see how wonderful the eyes are when framed with lots of make-up. I have friends who use their eyes almost as much as their veils and for them false eyelashes and heavily outlined eyes are indispensable. For Tribal, especially East Coast, the mood can get quite gothic and I've been known to add bindis, false tattoos (not a pain girl personally so it's got to be fake) and a whole range of heavily applied stuff which doesn't suit the more ethereal styles of belly dance. Like anything, it's really a case of 'do what suits you' as there should never be prescriptive rules in this dance..... it's as individual as you are and totally your choice.
Zills - finger cymbals
Zills (Sagat) or finger cymbals got their name from the Sanskrit word 'zillah' the literal meaning of which goes something like this.... 'she whose approach can be heard from afar due to the jingling of her ornaments' which always makes me smile, especially as we have a student called Zillah. Okay, little things amuse me!
When I first came across belly dancing I had the feeling that these were another tool of the trade and a noisy one at that and that I could do without them but now I see it a little differently. I heard them played badly and seen how this can affect a performance and I've been privileged to see a great performer use them to announce her arrival, stir feelings of anticipation, use them to accent areas of music and to become an integral and indispensable part of her routine. Like all simple instruments it's easy to pick them up and make a noise but as with any other instrument, there's good noise and there's not so good noise. The good news is that it's simple to learn the basics of good zill playing and once you've got the basics under your belt experimentation brings all sorts of delights to you and your audience. If you're looking for zills try ethnic and sari shops or the trusty old internet. I have six sets - yes, six! - as they're great fun to mess around with. Zills are worn on the middle finger and thumb and basically make two distinctive sounds, a clack and a ringing sound and can be played fast or slow depending on the mood you are setting and the style of dance music you're using - Chiftitelli, Beladi or more recently I've seen them included in a rather 'out there' East Coast Tribal demo that defied description musically but was enthralling.
Resources for further reading
When you become interested in a subject you may find yourself wanting to totally immerse or just get a wider, more in-depth understanding of it and I hope belly dancing will be just like that for you. I have used a range of materials over the years to find out more about this dance form, here are just a few ideas to start you off. The most interesting resource is the internet where you can find huge amounts of information about the origins etc. of belly dance. As these tend to be sites created by enthusiasts rather than an authoritative body you should always do comparative readings as everyone has their own slant on things and some may just be wrong - it's true of many things after all. However, it's the most incredible resource and I highly recommend it to everyone. There are also a number of books which some of our students have told us they've enjoyed reading which you might like to check out. Belly Dancing Basics by Laura Cooper and Bellydance by Keti Sharif are quite different styles of book. The former endeavours to show some basic dance elements and give a basic grounding in and understanding of creating a routine and some of the early concerns of belly dance; The latter caters for those who are more into the techy side of belly dance like which instruments should instigate responses from which part of the body or brief descriptions of social history behind belly dance. Personally I think that both are just fine if you want more belly dance information and don't want to stare at the computer screen hour after hour.
If you have any questions about belly dancing why not drop us a line and we'll try to help. I know you'll get as addicted to this great dance as we've all become and I look forward to welcoming you into our group of gyrating ladies.
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