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Grandmothers Secret
 
 
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Grandmothers Secret [Paperback]

Rosina Rawi (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 19.00
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Product Description

From Library Journal

After recounting her own childhood and coming of age in the Arab world, Al-Rawi reviews the history of women's dancing and reflects on the individual movements used in this ancient art form. In a section titled "Variations and Rituals," she describes nine different dances (e.g., the Wedding Dance, the Birth Dance) and sets them in context. Photographs evoke the mood of each dance, suggesting a general impression rather than step-by-step instruction. The narrative, however, supplies enough detail that the interested reader may wish to try a dance. Throughout, Al-Rawi relates movement to ideas and art to philosophy so that, in her words, "belly dancing becomes a source of inspiration, a means of collecting and strengthening oneself, and a clear and dynamic way of discovering...and understanding oneself." An interesting glimpse into a culture, an art form, and a means for women's healing and self-expression; suitable for most circulating collections, especially those whose readers are interested in Arab culture, dance, and women's studies.ACarolyn M. Mulac, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

Come, sit next to me, says Grandmother. Take this chalk in your hand. Now draw a dot and concentrate all your energy into this one dot. It is the beginning and the end, the navel of the world. So Fawzia Al-Rawi describes her grandmother's first lesson about the ancient craft of Oriental dance. Grandmother's Secrets always circles back to this grandmother and this young girl, echoing the circular movements of the dance itself. Al-Rawi has written a strikingly graceful and original book that blends personal memoir with the history and theory of the dance known in the West as belly dancing. It is the story of a young Arab girl as she is initiated into womanhood. It is a history of the dance from the earliest times through the days of the Pharoahs, the Roman Empire, to the Arab world of the last three centuries. It is a personal investigation into the effects of the dance's movements on individual parts of the body and the whole psyche. It is a guide to the actual techniques of the dance for those who are inspired to put down the book and move. Al-Rawi conveys in this book not only the history and technique of grieving and mourning dances, pregnancy and birth dances, but the spirit of these age-old rituals, and their possibilities for healing and empowering women today. Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi grew up in Iraq and Lebanon and was educated at the Universities of Cairo and Vienna. She is an expert in Arabic studies and ethnology, and the author of Golden Sky, Red Earth: Women's Lives in Palestine. She lives in Jerusalem and Vienna, where she teaches belly dancing. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
"When I look back on my childhood, four characters catch my inner eye: my grandmother, my grandfather, and the two pillars of my childhood: Adiba and Amina." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews
5 star:
 (13)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Like Listening to Your Friend Tell a Family Story, May 1 2003
This review is from: Grandmothers Secret (Paperback)
This book, simply put, is charming. Though I would not recommend it to those not devoutly interested in Belly Dance, I recommend it for everyone who is!

It's a sweet coming-of-age story of an Iraqi girl and her relationship with her grandmother. This part of the book is charming. The second part of the book no longer focuses on the author and her family, but on specific dance moves and their cultural meanings - fascinating.

Very interesting short read if you like the history of belly dance.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Small but very significant book for all, Dec 30 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: Grandmothers Secret (Paperback)
I loved the book and would definitely have it on a list for belly dancers to read. Belly Dance is a healing art and that fact should always be close to the heart and be the basis when dancing and honouring the cultures of its origins.
The West, America in particular, has taken belly dance and everything for that matter, due to its cultural programming, makes everything unecessarily competitive. Competition lowers the class of the dance form actually, is quite pathetic to observe, but is the nature of the beast I guess. I see that competitiveness as a lack of self esteem, insecurity about one's Beauty, and low self worth, actually bred and programmed into western society- sad indeed. We have the luxury to think and be different, so why not be different and not buy into the programming?
True Power is not about domination- surprise!

Dance as an art, a healing art for that matter is much more significant than what I have seen in western culture, where I was born and raised.
I loved the book, every word is wonderful because I feel dance is a healing art, not a competition. It is of course a book about the healing power of belly dance!
Fawzia uses wisdoms she gained from the elegance of the old world and its many traditions, and also acknowledges today's world with its harsh realities and yet promising future if we all drop the need for greed, false power. Enough money can still be made as we get in touch with the real hungers for more understanding and love.
Her references to us being sisters in dance was like listening to a respected sister telling me stories, sharing her wisdom. What a treasure!
Whoever feels negatively about this small, but significant book is limiting themselves and those around them immensely of a very special gift.
If you do not like the book, give it (or resell) to someone else who will gain the valuable message and use it to evolve a bit more.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great, Feb 20 2011
This review is from: Grandmother's Secrets - Ancient Rituals/healing Of Belly Dancing (Hardcover)
Love this. The review of dances. If you are interested in Belly Dance and the women of the middle east then this book is it!
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