Using this site as a student
This site is provided as an educational resource to help belly
dancers everywhere to improve their dancing as well as to improve
communication about this dance form. The information in this site
is the result of my own studies and research and is continuously
added to as I expand my own knowledge of belly dance. I try to
represent all sides of the dance equally, although, I am not an
expert on every single style and subject but, I do my best to
provide accurate information on what I do know. Please read the
disclaimer before you use this site. I recommend using this site
as a supplemental learning tool in addition to live instruction.
Names of moves on this site are names that I learned from my
instructors and may differ from what you have learned or will learn
elsewhere, so please don't get too caught up on the correct name
of something. There are also moves and combinations that are
not listed on this site or at least are not listed yet, so do not think
of this as the definitive source on bellydance moves and/or terms
as it is not. Take your own notes in class if you can and use this
site as a study guide to help you practice or look at a new
description of movements you know. This can be a great tool to
help you practice on your own at home and can be used in
conjunction with videos as well.
Using this site as a professional
This site is intended to help dancers to avoid many mistakes and
pitfalls that previous dancers have already endured. Information
found on the site is intended to help you become as professional
as you can be with hopefully little to no bumps in the road.
Legal information such as contracts and waivers are offered here
as a guide but you should always check on laws in your own
area to make sure whatever your signing or having people sign is
legal and can be binding. I am not a lawyer and can not guarantee
that there are no loopholes in these contracts or that they will
protect you. If you really want to be protected it is best to check
with a local lawyer and have them draw up contracts for you. As
far as information presented on becoming a professional most of it
is my opinion and observation from other dancers as well as my
own first hand experience. There are many ways to handle
business situations and what I think is best may not be best for
you or may not apply to your situations. Use what's here as a
guide to find what is right for you. On insurance issues I
recommend you do your own research into finding what's right for
you since legalities on insurance differ a great deal from state to
state and country to country.. What I offer here is again only
meant as a guide to help you along. You may also find this site
helpful for planning your classes and offering informational handouts
for students to use when studying and practicing at home.
Reproducing Information and/or Images From This Site
Copying from this site is strictly prohibited. If you wish to use
something from this site please contact me and ask for
permission. I will generally grant it as long as it meets these two
guidelines:
1. The information may not be used for profit in any way.
This means you may not sell the information in any way.
2. The information used must always clearly state that it is
from http://www.middleeasterndance.net.
If you plan to meet both guidelines I will probably grant your
request but you must e-mail and request use. If you are not given
written permission to use it then you may not use the information
from this site. I recommend saving e-mails that grant permission
or printing them and saving them in a file folder. If you are
requesting to use images from the art gallery, you should contact
the artist directly. All images in the art gallery are the property of
the artist who created them and may not be reproduced without
expressed consent from the artist themselves. You must ask
permission to use their images.
In addition if you have already referenced the site under the old web
address's at homestead.com please note that the address has
changed and should be updated.
Linking To This Site
I am generally willing to exchange links with anyone who has a
related site (I don't link with off topic sites at all!). I do not generally
allow advertisements related to bellydance either but if you wish to
advertise you may contact me. In cases where I grant approval of
the ad you will be required to pay an advertising fee to the site and
your add still will only be allowed to be displayed on the links page.
I do ask that if you wish to be listed you show the same courtesy
of listing my site as well. If you wish to link with my site the title of
the site is Middle Eastern Dance. The URL is
http://www.middleeasterndance.net I prefer people
not link directly to a certain part of the site but give the general
link to the main page. You may list whatever blurb you want with
it. I would appreciate if those who know my name not list it with
my site, as that is private information if you feel you must list it
please do not include my last name.
Reviews
If you have your own Video/DVD, book, CD, Movie which you would
like reviewed you can send a copy to me and I will review it when I
get a chance or you can wait and hope that your product is the
next one I buy and review. If you wish to send a copy to me please
e-mail me and I will send you the address. Please note that
whatever materials you send will not be returned to you. Usually a
review will be posted in approximately two weeks from the time it is
received but it may take longer especially if it was sent around a
holiday.
How do I know that the information provided in this site is credible?
I research everything I put on my site extensively. I also revisit the
subject matter at later times and revise it if I find my knowledge of
the subject has changed. I have been bellydancing since 1995 and
have been gathering my own resources for studying history, culture,
etc... since before that time. I studied at the Cassandra School in
Minneapolis, MN and was fortunate to have studied not only under
Cassandra but also under many of the other wonderful teachers at
the school. I also took lessons with Margo Abdo O'dell when she
was teaching at the Cassandra school and I have taken
workshops with other various instructors. I have an extensive and
growing collection of books, cd's, performance videos, instructional
videos, and publications on bellydance, Arab culture, middle
eastern music, and more. I frequently go through my resources to
find new information that was missed before. I also gather new
sources when I can. I have both performance and instructional
experience but am not performing or teaching anymore not only
because of time constraints between personal life and professional
but also because I converted to Islam and now only feel comfortable
performing for women only. I still am active as a dancer within my
own home though. All of the sources found in the review section
are a partial listing of where my knowledge has come from. I have
also traveled to Egypt both for family reasons as well as research
and continue to return as often as I can. On my trips I have the
opportunity to further my understanding of the culture, the
language, and the dance.
If you think that qualifies me as having sufficient experience than
the information is credible. If you think that my experience is
insufficient than you are welcome to dismiss it as a bunch of
chicken scratch or take it with a grain of salt. My purpose is not to
impose my opinion but to allow resources and encouragement to
further develop yourself as a dancer in every regard so that all of us
can show the world how wonderful this dance is and converse
intelligently about it as well. I don't claim to know it all or have all
the answers but I certainly hope to be able to share what I know
with the communality in hopes that my own research and efforts
will inspire and encourage further works by those who follow.
