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.
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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.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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"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
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
"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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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format: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!
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.
By soulsurfer
Format: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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4.1 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful book about belly dance
I got this book because I have been belly dancing for over 10 years and wanted to learn more about the history and background behind the dance. This book did not disapoint! Read more
Published on April 29 2004 by Anya
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book not only for Dancers...........
As one who has been making dance costumes for years and now (at 50) starting to learn the American Tribal Style of dance, I must say.....I found this book exceptional ... Read more
Published on April 10 2004 by J. Zacharias
5.0 out of 5 stars
A joyous and transformative experience
For me it was, anyway. This writer provides a glimpse into a culture I can never fully relate to, but more important than that she shows me the things I CAN relate to and cherish... Read more
Published on Jun 26 2003
3.0 out of 5 stars
So-So
Hummmmm...I liked having this book on my bookshelf more than I liked reading it.
It's less a book about belly dancing than it is a meandering journal of a woman's... Read more
It's less a book about belly dancing than it is a meandering journal of a woman's... Read more
Published on May 7 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT HISTORY
THIS IS A GOOD BOOK TO LEARN THE MEANING BEHIND AUTHENTIC DANCES, AND HOW TO DO THEM. THIS BOOK GIVES A LOT OF CULTURE NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND WHY BELLYDANCING IS WHAT IT IS.
Published on April 15 2003 by "tallnsweet01"
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed
I am really disappointed with this book as it is not at all what I thought it would be. Instead of a view which the title conjured up (that of things bellydance related passed... Read more
Published on Mar 5 2003 by Audra
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unclosing the Essence: dancing from inside out
This book is a mile stone among belly dance books. It uncloses the essence of belly dancing to us Westerners who are learning the dance in a very non-oriental way: in dance studios... Read more
Published on Mar 3 2003 by "rlsusanne"
3.0 out of 5 stars
I felt this book helped me be in touch with my body more
I was child abused many years ago, and therefore split off
from myself quite profoundly. Years of therapy have helped me
heal and get back to me and my feelings. Read more
from myself quite profoundly. Years of therapy have helped me
heal and get back to me and my feelings. Read more
Published on Feb 1 2003 by Linda J. Schiller-hanna
4.0 out of 5 stars
Belly dance enhances life
Belly dance has long been misunderstood by those who see it more as an erotic thrill than the respectable art form it really is. Read more
Published on Jun 3 2002 by "endorapaw"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful look into another world
This to me is not a book to read if you want to learn how to belly dance. It is fond recollection of the author's childhood and how dance is passed down through the generations... Read more
Published on Feb 5 2002 by Lori Hinkle
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