Customer Reviews

Middle Eastern Dance Video Sourcebook 2001

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Wow! I would never have believed that a book like this existed! I love to belly dance and find that dancing to videos is the best exercise. I have always been on the search for good videos and now I don't know where to begin! I am thrilled to know that there are so many videos out there to choose from. Plus the booklet itself is so pretty. I get inspired to keep dancing from just looking at the pictures. Plus some of the tapes are not just instructional or for workouts but also performance.

Thank you Donna! I now know where to go for great dance videos.

This book is a unique resource for finding the right title among the wealth of danse orientale videos. There is simply no other single source for this many videos, listed objectively. -jj-

This is the most complete guide to Middle Eastern Dance Videos that I've ever seen. I've been referring to it and ordering videos from it for about ten years.
Donna Carlton, its editor, updates it annually, so I've never had a problem getting the videos I order from it.
The front and back covers, inside front cover, and first 18 pages consist of ads. Many other ads are sprinkled throughout the booklet, although it is divided into five main sections:
Instructional Videos
Performance Videos
Costuming/Catalog/Miscellaneous Videos
Addresses (approximately 90, including most of the biggest names in "the belly dance community" Index (inside back cover)
There are many illustrations, but only in black and white, and mostly of photocopy quality. Many belly dance products - especially those in print, are plain and uncolorful, which is a shame, considering how colorful the fine art of belly dancing is! I believe this is due to "the belly dance community's" aversion or reluctance to market, and occasional denial of, the belly dance's intense sexuality. Failing to capitalize on this most marketable of aspects, entire troupes of belly dancers spend weeks raising funds approximately equivalent to those one sexy dancer can make in one night or sometimes even in an hour! As a result, I have yet to see a belly dance magazine in more than a half dozen colors, whereas even the raunchiest pornography is rarely published in other than life-like color. I wouldn't recommend "The Middle Eastern Dance Video Sourcebook" as coffee table books or collector's items, but if you seriously want to buy belly dance videos for instruction and/or entertainment, this booklet serves as the best, most comprehensive guide I've ever seen in the twenty years that I've avided collected belly dance videos!