Delineating Professional Belly Dance

DEBORAH NEWBERG is an oriental dancer (aka belly dancer, Raks Sharqi dancer, or Middle Eastern dancer), choreographer, director of the Saltanah Dancers, and a belly dance instructor at Santa Fe Community College and DanceSpace. She discusses the question of what makes a professional through the lens of belly dance, and […]

January 22, 2018  |  Read Article

Finding Freedom in Palestine through Dance

An Interview with Shyrine Ziadeh BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT Shyrine Ziadeh is the founder and director of the Ramallah Ballet Center, a ballet school in Ramallah, Palestine. Her story of how she built a ballet school from scratch is a powerful reminder of how dance can impact a community. ~~ Tell […]

July 3, 2017  |  Read Article

Dance as Discourse in Palestine

An Interview with Samar King BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT Samar King is an American Palestinian and the artistic director Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre, a dance company based out of both Palestine and New York City. She shares her perceptions on living and creating dance in the midst of a politically disenfranchised […]

June 19, 2017  |  Read Article

On Belly Dance and Cultural Appropriation

Editor’s note: Luna is an American belly dancer working in Cairo, Egypt. Her blog Kisses from Kairo is full of her musings and reactions to her life pursuing belly dance in the Middle East. She has generously allowed Stance on Dance to reprint two of her essays. Enjoy! BY LUNA […]

March 10, 2016  |  Read Article

The Belly Dancer’s Body

Editor’s note: Luna is an American belly dancer working in Cairo, Egypt. Her blog Kisses from Kairo is full of her musings and reactions to her life pursuing belly dance in the Middle East. She has generously allowed Stance on Dance to reprint two of her essays. Enjoy! BY LUNA […]

March 7, 2016  |  Read Article