Use Of This Site
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 to http://www.middleeasterndance.net.
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 from the US and Egypt. 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 and lived in Egypt both for family reasons as well as research and continue to return as often as I can. On my trips I have had 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 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 community in hopes that my own research and efforts will inspire and encourage further works by those who follow. Some articles also include citations and/or resources which you could look into for further research to determine if the information presented on this site is indeed credible or not.
