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Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World
 
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Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World [Paperback]

Wendy Buonaventura (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A study of the history of the Middle Eastern solo woman's dance.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

'A delight to browse through and just as interesting to read...sumptuously illustrated.' Time Out 'A lively and lavishly illustrated excursion into the history of the solo woman's dance.' --The New York Times Book Review
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Interlink Pub Group; 2 Upd Rev edition (June 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1566567912
  • ISBN-13: 978-1566567916
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.8 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #54,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #56 in  Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions
    #1 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Folk

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More About the Author

Wendy Buonaventura
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
62 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational, but Flawed, July 26, 2001
By Teresa Noelle Roberts (Mansfield, MA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World (Paperback)
Wendy Buonaventura obviously loves raks baladi ("country" or folkloric belly dance) with a passion. As sometimes happens with authors passionate about a subject, she unfortunately treats her opinions as facts upon occasion. As a dancer, I love the glorious Orientalist pictures, early 20th-century photos and fascinatingly slanted accounts from Western travellers, and I love her feelings for the dance. It's a beautiful book to peruse, and you can get some marvelous ideas for theatrical costuming from it. But like the Orientalists she reviews, Buonaventura presents an exotic and monolithic Middle East, where Egypt represents this entire diverse region and where nothing changes over time. She also perpetuates the popular myth that this is a *women's* dance, whereas in truth both sexes dance at private functions, and in both Egypt and Turkey, men historically performed as well. (Western tourists just weren't interested!) Read this for its lovely artwork and, if you're a dancer, for a feel-good spiritual connection with earlier dancers--but if you're interested in the subject of dance history, do some further research. And if you are involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism, PLEASE don't use this book for costume documentation. Egyptian clothing pre-1600 was very, very different.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable and informative, June 21, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World (Paperback)
I bought this book on the recommendation of my belly dance instructor, who's had a copy for years and says it's a "wonderful resource." I agree wholeheartedly: the author has amassed all sorts of information about the background of Middle Eastern dance, and the historical illustrations (many of which are from private collections) are superb: Dinet's paintings of Ouled Nail dancers made my head spin with costume ideas.
But this volume isn't just for dancers: while dance holds the book together, the author has also created a fascinating study of the uneasy relationship between East and West. The influence has been mutual: Westerners have become obsessed with the seductive East, while Hollywood has had no small influence on Middle Eastern concepts of entertainment.
She also discusses the ambivalent position of the professional dancer in both societies. While Middle Eastern women seem more comfortable with their bodies than Western women, both cultures have historically been conflicted (for religious regions) about the body and sensuality in general. Middle Eastern women may dance in the privacy of their homes for their own entertainment, but a woman who earns her living dancing is viewed with equal suspicion in both cultures.
The illustrations range from the gorgeous (Gerome's beladi dancer entertaining Turkish mercenaries) to the dutiful (stiff studio photographs of early dancers) to the unintentionally hilarious (Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn are a hoot), and the printer renders them well. My only quibble: in the paperbound edition, the binding is so tight that some of the two-page spreads are hard to see as a whole (cf. the Plate Dance!). But in general this is a terrific book, and I'm glad it's back in print.
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40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars great pictures but..., August 29, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Serpent of the Nile: Women and Dance in the Arab World (Paperback)
The quality and quantity of pictures in this book is wonderful and there is also some good information but unfortunately all the information is not very accurate and there are even many things that are not true. As a book this is nice to watch but as this book has become "a bible of belly dance" when other more accurate documents have been hard to find I can't rate this higher because readers tend to believe everything that is written here.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful but limited history
I would like to second everything in Teresa Robert's review. This is a beautiful, wonderful book. But as an actual history of "oriental" dance it lacks nuance and complexity,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Allison

5.0 out of 5 stars serpent of the Nile
This book was supposed to be hard to get ahold of.
But I ordered it and it came in a timely manner,
in good shape.
Thanks!
Published 8 months ago by Pauline N. Costianes

4.0 out of 5 stars For the Bellydance Afficionado
Lots of colour pictures ... past & present ...including old paintings, quotes & accounts of the people who actually watched belly dancing... Read more
Published on November 17, 2002 by SERENE

4.0 out of 5 stars For the Pictures, if Nothing Else
I can't speak to the accuracy of Wendy Buonaventura's history of belly dancing, though I found no evidence of the most controversial complaint, that she fails to note the role of... Read more
Published on July 4, 2002 by Mick McAllister

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful pictures!
A great book to keep for your library. It's going to be tempting to take some of the pages out of this book and frame them! Interesting content, also.
Published on January 25, 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Great !!!
Wendy Buonaventura takes you to a journey from the early manifestations of belly dancing to today. She shows a very good knowledge of this ancient art, and it could be a very... Read more
Published on May 1, 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Best picture book on Middle-Eastern Dance
While orgnization is lacking, there are great sources quoted and information on a very interesting subject.

This is a wonderful resource for costume ideas. Read more

Published on January 19, 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully informative, beautiful pictures, well researched
This book is well written, and well documented throughout. The history is written to lead you through the the years with a clear perspective of the people of differant regions at... Read more
Published on January 22, 1998

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