Good book, lousy printing | Bellydance: A Guide to Middle Eastern Dance, Its Music, Its Culture and Costume...

An excellent resource | Bellydance: A Guide to Middle Eastern Dance, Its Music, Its Culture and Costume | Keti Sharif

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	• Bellydance: A Guide to Middle Eastern Dance, Its Music, Its Culture and Costume Keti Sharif Allen & Unwin, 2005 - 96 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

good overview of bellydancing

This was a beautiful-looking book, though smaller in size than I had anticipated (not coffee-table sized but a smallish square paperback). It's pretty cursory in its review of culture and costume. Lots of details on things like instruments and drum patterns (in fact, a bit too much detail). I was expecting more clear delineations between the different styles of dress per culture, so I was a bit disappointed in that area. And I have to echo what another reviewer said, that the print is a little hard to read because of the choices in font and background colors in places.

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Good book, lousy printing

This book is full of great information on the origins of belly dance, dance styles, moves and costuming however....it's virtually impossible to read the wealth of material contained on it's pages thanks to the use of dark and pastel colored photographs and patterns as a background for the print!! (Print which also wildly varies in color and sometimes all but disappears in the background altogether.) It's a real shame that the editors didn't take that problem in consideration at the time of publication because they have made an otherwise wonderful little book very difficult to enjoy.

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An excellent resource

This book is an excellent resource. The notes about the music are great. The photos are beautiful. There are explanations of the origins of the dance, the culture, costuming, music, zills, and performing. Make sure you read this in a well-lit room, as the text is layered over the photos.

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enjoyable coffee table book

It's by no means a text on belly dancing. But GREAT photos and little tidbits here and there on facts. I did learn some new things (I had a great bellydance teacher and learned a lot from her, but even so I find that this book also taught me something new...so that says something). By the way, it's a small book. FYI.

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Shame on the Publisher

Kudos to the author. Well researched information in a small space. The publishers should be ashamed of themselves. They might have offered a few good quality photos of the dancers in their lovely costumes. If you are looking for visual here, forget it. The photos are quite interesting but each is printed in a kind of poor quality sepia or indigo tone with the text on top! Very bad. I used to work for a well known publishing company and know how cheap they can be. You have to work hard to read the text, not to mention look at the very terrible quality of what appears to be interesting photos. The information is worth it though. There is not much research on the art of belly dance. I have to say though this book is a bit of a tease

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For those wanting to shake and shimmy their way to a firmer body, this comprehensive guide to belly dancing offers instructions on how to make the most of the hot belly-dancing-as-fitness trend. In addition to guiding the dancer to a trimmer waist, this how-to book helps put women in touch with their sensuality through the alluring moves of this ancient dance. Specific guidelines for pregnant women who wish to stay strong throughout the nine months and regain their prebaby belly are included. The history and culture of the art is also explored with a celebration of the pulsating music and shimmering costumes that make belly dancing a joy to watch. In Cairo there is a saying: "Every girl is born a dancer." With this guide, all women can be divas of the dance.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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