I receive many requests for suggested readings, films, music, etc.  This list contains resources that are related to the catalog of keynote lectures I give around the world.  I’ve listed all of my resources but please note some may require a university-based pass code for access in library databases.  It will be updated frequently.  Please note that some of the materials do not align in viewpoints or theoretical approach. This is intentional, and I hope to encourage your intellectual hunger for locating your own perspectives within them. Please drop a line if you find something interesting that can be posted to this resource page.  Enjoy!

Suggested/Categorized Reading List

Compiled by Donna Mejia

 

History of Arabic Dance and Perspectives on Transcultural Fusion

Transnational Fusion is an evolving genre reflecting common denominators between North African, Arab, Persian and Turkish secular dance traditions. These classical dance traditions reflect the aesthetic of dances and movements dating back over 3,000 years, and has credible connections to practices of Neolithic and Bronze Age matriarchal traditions. The dance is presently transforming through interactions with new technology in world music, cultural dialogue between the East and West, and intense international interest in American hip hop and electronic music. The resulting movement values a nominal use of space, percussive hip work, lyrical arm and torso work, and emphasizes musical interpretation over movement bravado. As participants in this global dance phenomenon, we must acknowledge the form was developed in the U.S.A. by referencing (and sometimes pillaging) the influences and movement vocabulary outside of the country… thus it is steeped in much controversy and political conflict. At some point, all dancers must reconcile some of these discrepancies for themselves. Here are some worthy readings to help you make informed decisions. In addition to these texts, many worthy articles can be found on academic library bases such as “J Store”. Please note that some titles are from academic sources (thus receiving peer review and industry critique for methodology) and others are from recreational enthusiasts. All materials should be received with a discerning mind… never on blind faith.

• Aboujaoude, Elias. Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality. New York, NY. W.W. Norton & Company. 2011.
• About Carolena Nericcio‖ Fat Chance Belly Dance Style. Accessed Tuesday, March 28, 2023.
  https://fcbd.com/about/
• Ahmed, Leila. Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven, CT and London, England. Yale University Press. 1992
• Alonso, Andoni and Pedro J. Oiarzabal, ed. Diasporas in the New Media Age: Identity, Politics and Community. Reno, NV. University of Nevada Press. 2010.
• AlZayer, Penni. World of Dance: Middle Eastern Dance. Philadelphia, PA. Chelsea House Publishers. 2004
• Amazing Belly Dancers Tribe.net.<http://tribes.tribe.net/amazingbellydancers/photos/fd7393ac-d9c6- 4d11-8878-35e662734d61>. Accessed 2/23/2012.
• Anderson, Walter Truett. The Truth About Truth: De-confusing and Re- constructing the Postmodern World. New York, NY. Penguin Group, USA. 1995.
• Aral, Sinan. ―Identifying Social Influence: A Comment on Opinion Leadership and Social Contagion in New Product Diffusion‖. Marketing Science c/o Articles in Advance. DOI10.1287,lsc/1100/0596. 2010. pp. 1-7.
• Aral, Sinan and Walker, Dylan, ―Creating Social Contagion Through Viral Product Design: A Randomized Trial of Peer Influence in Networks‖. November 30, 2010. Management Science. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1564856
• Attar, Samar. The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment: Ibn Tufayl‘s Influence on Modern Western Thought. New York, NY. Lexington Books. 2007
• Badran, Margot (Ed.) and Cooke, Miriam (Ed.). Opening the Gates: A Century of Arab Femenist Writing. London, UK. Virago Press. 1990
• Bamyeh, Mohammed A. (Ed). Intellectuals and Civil Society in the Middle East: Liberalism, Modernity and Political Discourse. London. I.B.Taurus. 2012
• Bano, Samia. Muslim Women and Shari‘ah Councils: Transcending the Boundaries of Community and Law. New York, NY. Palgrave MacMillan. 2012
• Bernard Yeazell, Ruth. Harems of the Mind: Passages of Western Art and Literature. New Haven, CT and London, England. Yale University Press. 2000
• Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Abingdon: Routledge. 2004. p. 55.
• “Birth of Modern Raqs Sharqi, Baladi and Ghawazee (Late 1800s to 1930s) and Belly Dance”.
  Worlddanceheritage.org. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020.
  https://worlddanceheritage.org/birth-raqs-sharqi/
• Boddy, Janice. Wombs and Alien Spirits: Women, Men, and the Zar Cult in Northern Sudan. Madison, WI. The University of Wisconsin Press. 1989
• Boone, Joseph Allen. The Homoerotics of Orientalism. New York, NY. Columbia University Press. 2014
• Bosse, Joanna. ―Salsa Dance and the Transformation of Style: An Ethnographic Study of Movement and Meaning in a Cross-Cultural Context‖. Dance Research Journal. Summer, Vol. 40. 2008. pp. 45—63.
• Bradatan, Cristina, Adrian Popan and Rachel Melton. ―Transnationality as a Fluid Social Identity‖. Social Identities, Vol. 16, No. 2, March 2010. pp. 169— 178.
• Brinkerhoff, Jennifer M. Digital Diasporas: Identity and Transnational Engagement. New York, NY. Cambridge University Press. 2009.
• Breeden, Robert L. (Ed.) Nomads of the World. Washington D.C. National Geographic Society. 1971
• Buonaventura, Wendy. Serpent of the Nile. Northampton, MA. Interlink Books. 1994/2010 p. 149
• Butler, Paul. ―Visualizing Friendships.‖ Facebook Infrastructure Engineering Discussion Page.
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• International Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN 2693-2547 (Print), 2693-2555 (Online) 48 | The Collective Workshopping of Our Emerging Global Citizenship in TcFD: Donna Mejia
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• Burgh, Theodore. ―Who‘s the Man?‖ Sex and Gender in Iron Age Musical Performance‖ Near Eastern
• Archaeology, Vol. 67, No. 3 (September) 2004. pp. 128-136.
• Jorgen Carling (2008) The human dynamics of migrant transnationalism, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 31:8, 1452-1477, DOI: 10.1080/01419870701719097 pp. 1452—1477.
  Chakravorty, P. (2000). From Interculturalism to Historicism: Reflections on Classical Indian Dance. Dance Research Journal, 32(2), 108–119. https://doi.org/10.2307/1477983
• Chang, Jeff. Can‘t Stop Won‘t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. Picador Macmillan. New York, NY. 2005
• Christ, Carol P. ―Reading Marija Gimbutas‖ NWSA Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring) 2000. pp. 169-173.
• CNN. ―Are Mobile Solutions Overhyped?‖. <http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/07/are-mobile-solutions- overhyped/>. Accessed 2/7/12
• CNN. ―With ‗Real-Time‘ apps, Facebook is Always Watching‖. <http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-
  23/tech/tech_social-media_facebook-real- time_1_facebook-friends-netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-zuckerberg-s- law?_s=PM:TECH> Accessed 9/23/11.
• Coe, Michael. Mexico. Thames and Hudson. New York, NY. 1994.
• Coniglio, Mark. ―Towards Y3K: Dance‘s Digital Divide‖. Self-published.
• <http://troikaranch.org/pubs/Dances_Digital_Divide.pdf&gt;. Accessed 10/15/12.
• Cornwell, Joanne. That Hair Thing: And the Sisterlocks Approach. Sisterlocks. San Diego, CA. Self-
  published.1997.
• Croutier, Alev Lytle. Harem: The World Behind the Veil. New York, NY. Abbeville Press.1989
• Culler, Jonathan. ―The Semiotics of Tourism‖. Framing the Sign: Criticisms and Its Institutions. Norman, OK. University of Oklahoma Press. 1990.
• Deaver, Sherri. ―Concealment vs. Display: The Modern Saudi Woman‖. Dance Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Spring – Summer, 1978). pp. 14-18.
• De Calvadas Valverde, Isabel. ―Dance and Technology Interfaces: A Theoretical Framework‖. Second Conference on Computational Semiotics for Games and New Media. University of Augsburg. September. 2002.
• http://www.cosignconference.org/downloads/papers/proceedings_cosign_2002.pd f#page=100. 2/25/12.
• DiAngelo, R. White Fragility. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, Vol 3 (3). pp 54-70. 2011
• Djoumahna, Kajira. The Tribal Bible: Exploring the Phenomenon That is American Tribal Style Bellydance. Self-published by Author. 2003
• Doubleday, Veronica. ―The Frame Drum in the Middle East: Women, Musical Instruments and Power‖ Ethnomusicology, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Winter) 1999. pp. 101-134.
• During, Jean. ―The Symbolic Universe of Music in Islamic Societies‖ Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 6: The Middle East. Danielson, V. ed. Routledge: August 2001. pp. 177–189.
• Eller, Cynthia. Living in the Lap of the Goddess: The Feminist Spirituality Movement in America. Boston, MA. Beacon Press. 1993
• Eller, Cynthia. The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won‘t Give Women a Future. Boston, MA. Beacon Press, 2000.
• Erll, Astrid and Ann Rigney. ―Literature and the Production of Cultural Memory‖. European ournal of English Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2. August. 2006. pp. 111—115.
• Fisher, Alexander. ―History of Scholarship: Narratives of Middle Eastern Music History‖ Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 6: The Middle East. Danielson, V. ed. Routledge: August 2001. pp.15—18.
• Fonseca, Isabel. Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey. New York. NY. Alfred A. Knopf Press. 1995
• Franklin, M.I. ―Digital Dilemmas: Transnational Politics in the Twenty-First Century‖. The Brown Journal of World Affairs. Vol. 16, Issue 2 (Spring/Summer). 2010. pp. 67—85.
• Fraser, Kathleen W. Before They Were Belly Dancers: European Accounts of Female Entertainers in Egypt, 1760-1870. Jefferson, NC. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 2015
• Frenkel, Michal. The Multinational Corporation as a Third Space: Rethinking International Management Discourse on Knowledge Transfer through Homi Bhabha. Academy of Management Review. 2008, Vol. 33. No. 4, 924 – 942.
• Fuse Magazine. <http://www.fusetribalmag.com/Fuse_store.html&gt;. 8/29/11.
• Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York, NY. 2011
• Giles, Jim. ―The Real You: Say Goodbye to Online Anonymity‖. New Scientist Online, issue #2836.
  <//www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228361.800-the-real- you-say-goodbye-to-online-anonymity.html>. Accessed 11/3/11.
• Gimbutas, Marija. The Language of the Goddess. New York, NY. Thames and Hudson, 1989.
• Grehan, Helena. Performance, Ethics and Spectatorship in a Global Age. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire. Palgrave MacMillan. 2009.
• Vol. 04 – Issue: 07/July_2023 ©Institute for Promoting Research & Policy Development DOI: 10.56734/ijahss.v4n7a549 | http://www.ijahss.net
• Goel, S., Watts, D. J., Goldstein, D. G. 2012. The Structure of Online Diffusion Networks. ACM X, X, Article X. (February 2012), 16 pages. Microeconomics and Social Systems, Yahoo! Research, 111 West 40th Street,New York, NY 10018. DOI 10.1145/0000000.0000000 <http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/0000000.0000000&gt;. Accessed 3/2/12.
• Graham, Mark. How Islam Created the Modern World. Beltsville, MD. Amana Publications. 2006.
• Guilded Serpent (Ed). The Belly Dance Reader (volumes 1 and 2). Fairfax, CA. Self-Published by GuildedSerpent.com. 2012
• Hamera, Judith. Dancing Communities: Performance, Difference and Connection in the Global City. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire. Palgrave MacMillan. 2007.
• Hamera, Judith Lynne. Dance, Sex and Gender: Signs of Identity, Dominance, Defiance, and Desire. Chicago, IL. University of Chicago Press. 1988
• Harro-Loit, Halliki and Ene Koresaar. ―Revising Time in Cultural Research‖. Trames, 14 (64/59), 4. 2010. pp. 303—306.
• Hill, Jane H. ―Language, Race, and White Public Space‖. American Anthroplogist, New Series, Vol. 100, No. 3 (Sept., 1998). pp. 680-689.
• Hoff-Sommers, Christina. Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women. New York. NY. Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1994.
• Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1991
• Hussein, Abdirahman A. Edward Said: Criticism and Society. London England and New York, NY. Verso. 2002
• Ibsen al Faruqi, Lois. ―Dance as an Expression of Islamic Culture‖. Dance
  Research Journal, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Spring – Summer, 1978). pp. 6-13.
• Internet World Stats. <http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm&gt;. Accessed yearly since (8/16/2011)
• Irigary, Luce. Sharing the World. London, U.K. Continuum International Publishing Group. 2008.
• Iyer, Deepa. Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection. Washington D.C. Thick Press. 2022
• Joyce, Rosemary. Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives: Sex, Gender, and Archaeology. New York, NY. Thames and Hudson Inc, 2008
• Karayanni, Stavros Stavrou. Dancing Fear & Desire: Race, Sexuality & Imperial Politics in Middle Eastern Dance. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 2004
• Kay, Tamara. ―Legal Transnationalism: The Relationship Between Transnational Social Movement Building and International Law‖. Law and Social Inquiry, vol. 36, Issue 2, Spring. 2011. pp 419—454.
• Khouri, Norma. Honor Lost: Love and Death in Modern-Day Jordan. New York, NY. Atria Books. 2003
• Kraus, Rachel. ―We are not Strippers‘: How Belly Dancers Manage a (Soft) Stigmatized Serious Leisure Activity‖. Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Summer 2010). Pp. 435-455.
• Lambert-Karlovsky, C.C. ―Concerning Gimbutas’ “The Indo-Europeans: Archeological Problems‘”. American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 66, No. 4, Part 1 (Aug.), pp. 887-889. 1964
• Lamont-Hill, Marc. ―Bringing Back Sweet (and Not So Sweet) Memories: The Cultural Politics of Memory, Hip Hop, and Generational Identities‖. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Vol. 22, No. 4, July— August. 2009. pp. 355-377.
• Lane, Edward William. The Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians. London, J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd.; New York, NY. E.P. Dutton & Co. 1923
• Lerner, Jeffrey K.; Shi, Yaohua. Silk Roads: From Local Realities to Global Narratives. Philadelphia, PA. Oxbow Books. 2020
• Levin, Theodore. (Elizabeth Ten Grotenhuis, Ed.) Music and Musicians Along the Silk Road. Program Book. Washington D.C. Smithsonian Folklife Festival. 2002. Archive: https://festival.si.edu/2002/the-silk-road/music-and-musicians-along-the-silk-road/smithsonian
• Leigh-Foster, Susan (ed.). Worlding Dance. Palgrave Macmillan. New York, NY. 2009
  Lexova, Irena. Ancient Egyptian Dances. Mineola, NY. Dover Publications, Inc. 2000
• Marchand, Marianne H. ―The Future of Gender and Development after 9/11: Insights from Postcolonial Feminismand Transnationalsim‖. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 5, 2009. pp. 921—935.
• Marcus, Scott. Music in Egypt: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York, NY. Oxford University Press, 2007.
• McDonald, Caitlin E. (Ed) and Sellers-Young, Barbara. Belly Dance Around the World: New Communities,Performance and Identity. Jefferson, NC. McFarland & Company, Inc. 2013
• McDowell, Bart. Gypsies: Wanderers of the World. Washington D.C. National Geographic Society. 1970
• McFarland-Solomon, Hester. ―Self Creation and the Limitless Void of Dissociation: the ‗As If‘ Personality‖.Journal of Analytical Psychology, Vol. 49. 2004. pp. 635—656. McLuhan, Marshal. ―Visual and Acoustic Space‖ reprinted in Audio Culture: readings in Modern Music. Christoph Cox and Daniel Warner, ed. Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. New York, NY 2009. pp. 67-72.
• International Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN 2693-2547 (Print), 2693-2555 (Online)
• McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack and ―Some Notes for Facilitators.‖ The National SEED Project reprint and downloadable PDF. Copyright by Peggy McIntosh. 1989
• Mejia, Donna (2019) “PAR and Embodiment: Dance, Corporeality, and the Body in Research,” PARtake: The Journal of Performance as Research: Vol. 2 : Iss. 2 , Article 1.
• Mernissi, Fatima. Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society. Bloomington and Indianapois, IN. Indiana University Press. 1983
• Mernissi, Fatema. Sheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems. New York. NY. Washington Square Press, Imprint of Simon and Schuster. 2001
• Mernissi, Fatima. The Veil and The Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women‘s Rights in Islam. New York, NY. Basic Books, Imprint of Perseus Books Group. 1987
• Migration Policy Institute. <http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/MPI- BBCreport-Sept09.pdf>. 8/16/11. Bristol, England. Cinnabar Publishers. 1956
• Morgan, Lawrence. Flute of Sand: Experiences with the Mysterious Ouled Nail.
• MRC Data Year End Report, 2020.
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  1610065667.pdf. Accessed March 28, 2023.
• Müssnich Rotta Gomes de Assunção, Naiara. Orientalism in motion: representations of ―bellydance‖ in paintings and travel literature (19th century). Dança: História e Historiografia. 12:1.2022
• Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York, NY. Routledge. 2002.
• Nakamura, Lisa and Peter A. Chow-White, ed. Race After the Internet. New York, NY. Routledge. 2012.
• Name Change Statement‖ Fat Chance Belly Dance.com. https://fcbd.com/name-change-statement/. Accessed March 28, 2023.
• Neuhaus, Jessamyn (Ed). Mejia, Donna (Author) Picture a Professor: Interrupting Biases about Faculty and Increasing Student Learning. Morgantown, WV. West Virginia University Press. 2022. pp. 237 – 253
• Nomadic Peoples. Report by the Commission on Nomadic Peoples, International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Berghahn Journals. Volume 15. Number 1. 2011
• O‘Beirne, Kate. Women Who Make the World Worse: and How Their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports. New York, NY. Sentinel HC/Penguin Group, 2005.
• O‘Bryhim, Shawn. ―The Sphere-Bearing Antrhopomorphic Figurines of Amathus‖ Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 306 (May)1997. pp. 39-45.
• Osumare, Halifu. ―Global Breakdancing and the Intercultural Body‖. Dance Research Journal, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Winter) pp. 30-45. 2002.
• Paz, Sarit. Drums, Women, and Goddesses: Drumming and Gender in Iron Age II Israel. Fribourg, Switzerland. Academic Press Fribourg, 2007.
• PGM ONE. Earth Island Institute. https://www.pgmone.org. Accessed Sunday, February 1 , 2019.
• Pietrobruno, Sheenagh. Salsa and Its Transnational Moves. Oxford, UK. Lexington Books. 2006.
  Poche, Christian. ―Music in Ancient Arabia from Archaeological and Written Sources‖ Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Volume 6: The Middle East. Danielson, V. ed. Routledge, pub. (August) 2001. pp 357–362.
• Pugliese, Joseph, and Stryker, Susan. ―The Somatechnics of Race and Whiteness‖. Social Semiotics, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2009. pp 1-8.
• Ras Sharqi. https://worlddanceheritage.org/intro-raqs-sharqi/ . Accessed March 25, 2023
  Redmond, Layne. When the Drummers were Women: A Spiritual History of Rhythm. New York, NY. Three Rivers Press/Crown Publishing. 1997.
• Reed, Susan A. ―The Politics and Poetics of Dance‖. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 27. 1998. pp. 503—532.
• Rippin, Andrew. ―Part 1: formative Elements of Classical Islam‖ Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. 3rd edition. New York & London. Routledge, 2005.
• Sabry, Tarik (Ed.) Arab Cultural Studies: Mapping the Field. London, England and New York, NY. I.B. Tauris. 2012
• Sadiqi, Fatima. Moroccan Feminist Discources. New York, NY. Palgrave MacMillan. 2014
• Said, Amir. The Art of Sampling: The Sampling Tradition of Hip Hop/Rap Music and Copyright Law. Superchamp Books. New York, NY. 2015
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• Sami Sabry, Somaya. Arab-American Women‘s Writing and Performance: Orientalism, Race, and the Idea of The Arabian Nights. London, England and New York, NY. I.B. Tauris & CO. 20111
• Sandor, Gabrielle. ―The ‗Other‘ Americans‖. American Demographics. June. 1994. pp. 36-42.
• Saro, Anneli. ―Stereotypes and Cultural Memory: Adaptations of Oskar Luts‘s Spring in Theatre and Film‖. Trames, 12 (62/57) 3. pp. 309—318.
• Scafidi, Susan. Who Owns Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. 2005
• Vol. 04 – Issue: 07/July_2023 ©Institute for Promoting Research & Policy Development DOI: 10.56734/ijahss.v4n7a5
• Schick, Irvin C. The Erotic Margin: Sexuality and Spatiality in Alterist Discourse. New York, NY. Verso. 1999.
• Shaheen, Jack G. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. Northampton, MA. Olive Branch Press, and Imprint of Interlink Publishing Group. 2001
• Shay, Anthony (Ed) and Sellers-Young, Barbara (Ed.). Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism, and Harem Fantasy. Costa Mesa, CA. Mazda Pubishers. 2005
• Sellers-Young, Barbara. Belly Dance, Pilgrimage and Identity. London, UK. Palgrave-McMillan. 2016
  Sekvik, Kjetil and Stenslie, Stig. Stability and Change in the Moder Middle East. London, England and New York, NY. I.B. Tauris. 2011
• Shteynberg, Garriy. ―A Silent Emergence of Culture: The Social Tuning Effect‖. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 99, No. 4. 2010. pp. 683— 689.
• Shusterman, Richard. ―Aesthetics between Nationalism and Internationalism‖ The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. (Vol. 51, No. 2 Aesthetics: Pas and Present. A commemorative Issue Celebrating 50 years of the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism and the American Society for Aesthetics (Spring). 1993. pp. 157-167.
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• Stewart, Iris. Sacred Woman, Sacred Dance: Awakening Spirituality through Movement and Ritual. Rochester, VT. Inner Traditions, 2000.
• Stokes, Martin. ―Music and the Global Order‖ Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 33. 2004. pp. 47–72.
• Thaleb, Amir. The Hidden Language of the Vintge Belly Dance (3rd Edition). Printed in Argentina. Self-Published by Amir Thaleb. No publication year provided
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• Trend, David. ed. Reading Digital Culture. Malden, MA. Blackwell Publishers. 2001.
  Tubb, Jonathan. ―Phonecian Dance‖ Near Eastern Archeology: Dance in the Ancient World. Vol. 66, No. 3 (September) 2003. pp. 122-125.
• Van Dijck, Jose. ―Mediated Memories: Personal Cultural Memory as Object of Cultural Analysis‖. Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, Vol. 18, No. 2, June. 2004. pp. 261—277.
• Van Golder, Tim. ―Monism, Dualism, Pluralism‖. Mind and Language, Vol. 13, No. 1, March. 1998. pp. 76—97.
• Van Niewkerk, Karen. ―A Trade Like Any Other‖: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt. Austin, TX. University of Texas Press. 1995.
• Varga Dinicu, C. Morocco. You Asked Aunt Rocky: Answers & Advice About Raqs Sharqi & Raqs Shaabi. Virginia Beach, VA. RDI Publications, LLC. 2011
• Velez, Glen. The Fantastic World of Frame Drums. VHS. Alfred Publishing Company. (1992)
  Veremis, Thanos M. ―Intergovernmentalism, Transnationalism and the Nation- State‖. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. Vol. 6, No. 4, December. 2006. pp. 559-536.
• Wadud, Amina. Inside the Gender Jihad: Women‘s Reform in Islam. Oxford, England. One World Publications. 2006
• Wang, Qi. ―On the Cultural Constitution of Collective Memory‖. Psychology Press, 16 (3). 2008. pp. 305—317.
• Warnock Fernea, Elizabeth (Ed.) and Quttan Bezirgan, Basima (Ed.) Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak. Austin, TX and London, UK. University of Texas Press. 1977
• Windschitl, Mark. ―Framing Constructivism in Practice as the negotiation of Dilemmas: An Analysis of the Conceptual, Pedagogical, Cultural, and Political Challenges Facing Teachers‖. Review of Educational Research, Vol. 72, No. 2 (Summer). 2002. Pp. 131—175.
• Winthrop-Young, Geoffrey. ―Memories of the Nile: Egyptian Traumas and Communication Technologies in Jan Assmann‘s Theory of Cultural Memory‖. Burokratische Leidenschaften: Kultur-und Mediengeschichte im Archive (English translation funded by University of British Columbia). Berlin: Kadmos, 2004. pp. 103—132.
• Zenker, Olaf. ―Autochthony, Ethnicity, Indigeneity and Nationalism: Time- Honouring and State-Oriented Modes of Rooting Individual-Territory-Group Triads in a Globalizing World‖. Critique of Anthropology. Vol. 31 (1) 2011. pp. 63—81.
• Zuhur, Sherifa (Ed). Images of Enchantment: Visual and Performing Arts of the Middle East. Cairo, Egypt and New York, NY. The American University in Cairo Press. 1998
• Zuhur, Sherifa (Ed). Colors of Enchantment: Theater, Dance, Music, and the Visual Arts of the Middle East. Cairo, Egypt and New York, NY. The American University in Cairo Press. 2001

Learning about Patriarchy, Orientalism and Imperialist Agency in the West

“Belly dance” is a form deeply influenced by commercialism, imperialism and the highly motivated agendas of the male gaze. Unwittingly, dancers may script themselves to be agents in the complicit perpetuation of their own manipulation. The readings below can assist dancers in reclaiming sovereignty in the genre, and chose how their own dancing bodies communicate meaning to others.

 

• Androgyny: The Opposites Within by June Singer
• Dancing Across Borders: America’s Fascination with Exotic Dance Forms by Anthony Shay
• Dear White America: A Letter to the New Minority by Tim Wise
• In Search of the Lost Feminine: Decoding the Myths That Radically Reshaped Civilization by Craig S. Barnes
• Opening the Gates: A Century of Arab Feminist Writing edited by Margot Badran and Miriam Cooke
• Orientalism by Edward Said
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
• Researching Dance: Evolving Modes of Inquiry edited by Sondra Horton Fraleigh and Penelope Hanstein
• The Centerfold Syndrome: How Men Can Overcome Objectification and Achieve Intimacy with Women by Gary Brooks
• The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler
• The Good Tourist: An Ethical Traveler’s Guide by Lucy Popescu
• The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege in America by Robert Jensen
• Women and Gender in Islam by Leila Ahmed
• Women between Submission and Freedom: An Interpretation of Social and Political Misogyny by Huda Sharawi

 

Learning About Hidden Bias, Privilege, Historical Trauma, Equity, Social Justice and Allyship

Much of the developing body of literature about biases has been generated within a binary of African Americaness and European Americaness, but anyone can learn from these conversation starters.  Learning to build stamina for discomfort and persevering towards understanding is a responsibility all of us share in light of our global citizenship.

• “Intellectual humility: the importance of knowing you might be wrong (Why it’s so hard to see our own ignorance, and what to do about it) by Brian Resnick (2019 Vox.com article)
• (Article)  Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
• (Article) A Note on Call-Out Culture by Asam Ahmad
• (Article) Calling In: Strategies for Cultivating Humility and Critical Thinking in Antiracism Education by Robin DiAngelo and Özlem Sensoy
• (Article) No, We Won’t Calm Down-Tone Policing is Just Another Way to Protect Privilege by Robot Hugs/Everyday Feminism
• (Article) Nothing to add: A Challenge to White Silence in Racial Discussions by Robin DiAngelo
• (Article) So You Call Yourself an Ally:  10 Things All ‘Allies’ Need to Know
• (Article) White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• (Article) White Privilege:  Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy MacIntosh
• Acting White?: Rethinking Race in “Post-Racial” America by Devon W. Carbado and Mitu Gulati
• An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States by Kyle T. Mays
• Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence by Anita Hill
• BIFF: Quick Responses to High Conflict People by Bill Eddy
• Black AF History: the Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot
• Blind Spot:  The Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald
• Breaking Cycles of Repetition:  A Global Dialogue on Historical Trauma and Memory by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizel
• Breaking the Age Code by Becca Levy
• Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity by Robert Jensen
• Collective Visioning: How Groups Can Work Together for a Just and Sustainable Future by Linda Stout
• Courageous Conversations About Race:  A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools by Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis W. Wallace Linton
• Dear White America:  Letter to a New Minority by Tim Wise
• Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Tuhiwal Smith
• Difficult Conversations:  How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone
• Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict by Donna Hicks Ph.D and Desmond Tutu
•  Diplomacy in a Globalizing World: Theories and Practices by Pauline Kerr
• Diversity Conversations: Finding Common Ground by Eric M.
• Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne
• Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (and Everything Else) by Olufemi O. Taiwo
• Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown
• Engaging Social Justice: Critical Studies of 21st Century Social
• Exploring Leadership: For College Students Who Want to Make a Difference. Facilitation and activity guide by Wendy Wagner
• Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism by Derrick Bell
• Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together by Adam Kahane
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
• How to Argue with a Racist: History, Science, Race and Reality by Adam Rutherford
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• How We Ended Racism by Justin Michael Williams and Shelly Tygielski
• I Never Thought of It That Way by Monica Guzman
• In it for the Long Haul: Overcoming Burnout and Passion Fatigue as Social Justice Change Agents by Kathy Obear
• Interculturalism: the New Era of Cohesion and Diversity by Ted Cantle
• It’s Your World, So Change It by Tom Head
• Learning as a Way of Leading: Lessons from the Struggle for Social Justice by Stephen Preskill and Stephen D. Brookfield
• Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others by David Livingston Smith
• Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color by Nina G. Jablonski
• Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change by Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon
• My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
• Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom by Matthew R. Kay
• Promoting Diversity and Social Justice: Educating People From Privileged Groups by Diane J. Goodman
• Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal by Bettina L. Love
• Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue
• Racism Without Racists: Color-blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva
• Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Social justice. Opposing Viewpoints Series edited by David Haugen et al
• Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You (Remixed) by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
• Student Engagement in Higher Education : theoretical perspectives and practical approaches for diverse populations / edited by Stephen John Quaye, Shaun R. Harper
• Taking the War Out of Our Words by Sharon Strand Ellison
• Teaching Critical Thinking by Bell Hooks
• Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity by Ronald Yacovone
• Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone
• The Art of Effective Facilitation: Reflections From Social Justice Educators edited by Lisa M. Landreman
• The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker
• The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar Tisby
• The Ethics of Remembering and the Consequences of Forgetting:  Essays on Trauma, History and Memory by Michael O’Loughlin and Claude Barbre
• The Great Divide: Unequal Societies and What We Can Do About Them by Joseph E. Stiglitz
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• The Heart of Whiteness:  Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege by Robert Jensen
• The New Jim Crow:  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
• The New Multilateralism: Diplomacy, International Organizations, and Global Governance by James P. Muldoon Fr.
• The Quaking of America: an Embodied Guide to Navigating our Nation’s Upheaval and Racial Reckoning by Resmaa Menakem
• The Racial Contract by Charles Mills
• The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing by Anneliese A. Singh, PhD, LPC
• The Racism of People Who Love You by Samira Mehta
• The Reorder of things: The University and its pedagogies of minority differences by roderick A. Ferguson
• The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
• The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War by Jeff Sharlet
• Turn the Tide: Rise Above Toxic, Difficult Situations in the Workplace by Kathy Obear
• Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation by Linda Villarosa
• Understanding Critical Race Research Methods and Methodologies edited by Jessica T. CeCuir-Gumby, Thandeka K. Chapman and Paul Schutz
• Understanding Transgender Diversity: A Sensible Explanation of Sexual and Gender Identities by Claire Ruth Winter
• We Heal Together by Michelle Cassandra Johnson
• What if ?: Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue by Steve L. Robbins
• When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele
• Whistling Vivaldi:  How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do by Claude Steele
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson
• White Like Me:  Reflections on Race by a Privileged Son by Tim Wise
• White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria:  And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
• Why Won’t You Apologize?: Healing Big Betrayals and Everyday Hurts by Harriet Lerner
• Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril by Margaret Heffernan
• Winners Take All: the Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas
• Working Side by Side: Creating Alternative Breaks as Catalysts for Global Learning, Student Leadership, and Social Change by Shoshana Sumka

Learning About Somatic Intelligence, Embodiment and Alignment

It’s easy to spot a well-trained and practiced dancer. Cultivating subtlety, nuance, precision and polish in one’s dancing can be a fascinating and rewarding journey if a productive training approach is used. The benefits of an intelligent body not only affect dance, but also enhance your general well-being and comfort throughout life. The body IS intelligent: the heart beats, food is digested, cells renew, hair grows, your entire body has turned itself over anew with the generation of new cells every 7 years–all without our conscious monitoring.   In fact, the body cannot lie and is incapable of deception. When it no longer has the resources to fulfill the functions requested of it, unbalance is revealed with undeniable physical symptoms. Rather than suppressing this communication from the body, we can open our awareness to this inherent intelligence. Our body then becomes a companion in life, rather than an inconvenient burden we are subjected to. Inhabiting the body may not always be comfortable, but we will no longer perceive ourselves as victims of the body’s unfolding and maturing. For those who dance, this intelligence has an added dimension with an ever-quickening dialogue. It is fertile ground for endless creative play.

• A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman
• Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve: Self-Help Exercises for Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Autism by Stanley Rosenberg
• Anatomy for Hatha Yoga: a Manual for Students, Teachers, and Practitioners by H. David Coulter
• Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists by Thomas Meyers
• Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais
• Body Movement/Coping with the Environment by Andrea Olsen
• Caught Falling:  The Confluence of Contact Improvisation by Nancy Stark Smith
• Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology by Karen Sue Clippinger
• Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery by Eric Franklin
• Embodied Socia Justice by Rae Johnson
• Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy: A Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice by Haiko Weiss, Greg Johnson and Lorena Monda
• How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett
• Illustrated Atlas of Musculoskeletal Anatomy by Dr. Patrick Barron
• In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness by Peter Levine
• Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman
• Inside the Yoga Suturas: A Comprehensie Sourcebook for the Study and Practice of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras by Reverend Jaganath Carrera
• Journey Into Power: How to Sculpt Your Ideal Body, Free Your True Self, and Transform Your Life With Yoga by Baron Baptiste
• Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect learning
• My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP
• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
• Overcoming Trauma through Yoga: Reclaiming Your body by David Emerson and Elizabeth Hopper
• Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee
• Relax Your Neck, Liberate Your Shoulders by Eric Franklin
• Science of Flexibility by Michael J. Alter
• Sensing, Feeling and Action by Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and Guests
• Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World by Michelle Cassandra Johnson
• Skin: A Natural History by Nina G. Jablonski
• Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox by Manuela Mischke-Reeds
• Somatics: Reawakening the Mind’s Control of Movement, Flexibility, and Health by Thomas Hanna
• Taking Root to Fly by Irene Dowd
• The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van Der Kolk M.D.
• The Breathing Book: Vitality and Good Health Through Essential Breath Work by Donna Farhi
• The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice by T.K.V. Desikachar
• The Mirror of Yoga:  Awakening the Intelligence of Body and Mind by Richard Freeman
• The Yoga Matrix (Audio Lecture Series) by Richard Freeman
• The Yoga Tradition: Its History, Literature, Philosophy and Practice by George Feuerstein and Ken Wilbur
• The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali: A New Translation and Commentary by George Feuerstein
• Touching the Invisible: A Field Guide for Living by Jacqueline Westhead
• Transformer: The Deep Chemistry of Life and Death by Nick Lane
• Trauma-Informed Yoga for Surviors of Sexual Assault by Zahabiyah A. Yamakaki
• Wisdom of the Body Moving: An Introduction to Body-Mind Centering by Linda Hartley
• Women’s Strength Training Anatomy by Frédéric Delavier
• Yoga Mind, Body and Spirit by Donna Farhi

Consiousness, Mindfulness, and Meditation

• A Queer Dharma: Yoga and Meditations for Liberation by Jacoby Ballard
• Activation of Energy: Enlightening Reflections on Spiritual Energy by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
• Consciousness and the Brain by Michael S.A. Groziano
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
• How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett
• Meditation for the Love of It by Sally Kempton
• Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out by Ruth King
• Moving Inward: The Journey to Meditation by Rolf Savik
• Psychic Witch: a Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick and Manifestation by Mat Auryn
• Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation & Awakened Clarity by Tracee Stanley
• The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing ourselves and Transforming our Communities by Rhonda V. Magee
• Yoga of the Subtle Body: a Guide to the Physical and Energetic Anatomy of Yoga by Tias Little

Transnationalism and the Impact of Information Technology in Dance Arts

• Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet by Lisa Nakamura
• Dance in a World of Change: Reflections on Globalization and Cultural Difference edited by Sherry B. Shapiro
• Diasporas in the new Media Age: Identity, Politics and Community edited by Andoni Alonso and Pedro J. Oiarzabal
• Digital Diasporas: Identity and Transnational Engagement by Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff
• Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance & Cultural Studies by Jane Desmond
• Folklore and the Internet: Vernacular Expression in a Digital World edited by Trevor J. Blank
• Performance, Ethics and Spectatorship in a Global Age (Studies in International Peformance) by Helena Grehan
• Practices of Looking:  And Introduction to Visual Culture by Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright
• Sharing the World by Luce Inigary
• The Other History of Intercultural Performance by Coco Fusco
• The Sociology of Globalization by Luke Martell
• The Truth About Truth Edited by Walter Truett Anderson
• Virtually You: The Dangerous Powers of the E-Personality by Elias Aboujaoude
• Worlding Dance edited by Susan Leigh Foster

 

Artistic Inspiration, Composition, Creativity and Related Musical Considerations

• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan magsamen and Ivy Ross
• The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. by Daniel Coyle
  The Intimate Act of Choreography by Lynne Anne Blom
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Creativity:  the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszemtmihalyi
• Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World’s Most Creative People by Robert S. Root-Bernstein and Michele M. Root-Bernstein
• Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel C. Dennett
• Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques by Michael Michalko
• Free Play: The Power of Improvisation in Life and The Arts by Stephen Nachmanovitch
• Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music edited by Christoph Cox and Daniel Warner
• Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip Hop by Joseph G. Schloss
• The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World by Paul H. Ray, Ph.D., and Sherry Ruth Anderson, Ph.D.
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Recommended Reading for Instructors/Performers

• Dance Pedagogy for a Diverse World: Culturally Relevant RTeaching in Theory, Research and Practice by Nyama McCarthy-Brown
• Dancers Talking Dance: Critical Evaluation in the Choreography Class by Larry Lavender
• Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process:  A Method for Getting Useful Feedback on Anything You Make, From Dance to Desserty by Liz Lerman and John Borstel
• Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incoporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation
• Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks
• Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson PsyD
• Dance Injuries: Their Prevention and Care by Daniel D. Arnheim
• Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader edited by Ann Dils and Ann Cooper Albright
• Looking Out: Perspectives on Dance and Criticism in a Multicultural World edited by David Gere
• Researching Dance: Evolving Modes of Inquiry edited by Sondra Horton Fraleigh and Penelope Hanstein
• Cultural Bodies: Ethnography and Theory edited by Helen Thomas and Jamilah Ahmed
• The Handbook of Emotion Regulation edited by James J. Gross
• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
• We Cant’ Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools by Gary R. Howard
• Courageous Conversations About Race by Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton
• The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy: Centering Trauma as Powerful Pedagogy by Elizabeth Dutro

Summaries of Donna Mejia’s Keynote Lectures

Spotlight on Hyper-sexuality: Historical Perspectives, Projections, Gender Expectations, and Our Choices

(© 2009)

Historically, “belly dance” and Near Eastern dance has frequently been categorized as licentious, unrefined, artless—and in cases of extreme misunderstanding—vulgar. Yet despite this regrettable labeling and caricatured imaging, the dance form persists in attracting practitioners from all communities and walks of life. Near Eastern dance movements are the oldest to survive industrialization. For that reason alone the dance deserves careful examination, study and reflection on its continued relevancy and ongoing transformations throughout the ages. In this presentation, Donna Mejia will provide an overview of the historical, social, legal and religious influences that continue to perpetuate discriminatory views of Near Eastern dance as hypersexualized. She then highlights developments in gender studies that challenge our coding of what society presumes to be masculine and feminine, or “inherent” in gender differences. With her usual candor and humor, Donna will address the very controversial issues we have all encountered… at one time or another… in our love for, and dedication to, this genre. As a special treat, Donna’s presentation includes rare film footage and a recommended reading list for further study. Notebooks and pens are highly encouraged!

Integrity in Ethnic/Global Dance Fusion

(© 2008)

Cultural misappropriation has an unfortunate and extensive history in popular dance.   The exploration of ethnic/cultural dance fusion mandates that artists reconcile the values of indigenous dance traditions with agendas of the entertainment world. This presentation explores the inevitable transformation of old and new dance traditions in performance, and seeks to define what responsibility choreographers and performers have as cultural ambassadors in a “cut and paste” environment. Topics include film and discussions on

• Defining traditionalism, cultural context and purism
• Examining perceptual boundaries between cultural fusion and cultural pollution
• Awareness of contextual parameters in theatrical presentation versus community assembly
• Evaluating the effects of popular novelty on vanishing cultures
• Identifying the driving forces that influence political correctness, honor and morality in the presentation of fusion dance forms
• Examining levels of personal compliance/resistance to social systems through art

First Steps:  Understanding the Hidden Privileges in our Practices

When trying to understand cultural appropriation, there are some very elegant and profound questions that serve as insightful first steps.  Learning to situate ourselves within our dance practice inevitably requires we dialog with the attached history of Orientalist projections, caricature, gender norms, and standards of attractiveness.  Or perhaps these issues have been thrust upon you by others?  In this facilitated discussion Donna invites participants to investigate and share thoughts about what hidden values and messages are perpetuated by our dance industry. Hidden biases my surprise you, as we are all afflicted with them.  In addition to learning about the agency we have in artmaking, we will also investigate strategies to interrupt questionable practices and construct new possibilities for ourselves.  Tough questions will lead us to courageous conversations… please come share your thoughts!

Second Steps:  Courageous Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collisions

Ally-ship to fellow humans takes many forms and is never a one-size fits all solution.  Yet each courageous act of fellowship, no matter how large or small, is meaningful.   Please don’t underestimate how your choices disrupt social bias and can tip the scales for a fellow human whom may feel demoralized and disenfranchised.  Interestingly, you may find that you always get back more than you give.   This workshop will explore definitive steps to move beyond “paralyzed empathy;”  becoming effective as a listener, and thoughtful in our support of comrades.  The inevitability of our global citizenship mandates we set a seat at our table for other world-views and voices.  Do you really wish to make a difference?  Please come join a conversation that is already in progress on an international level.  Your contributions and thoughts will make it better for all.

Fact versus Fiction:  Dance, Drums and Women in the Pre-Islamic and Pre-Christian World

(© 2010)

The dance community has long asserted that ‘bellydance’ has historical associations with birth rituals, goddess traditions and sexual rites.  In 2010/2011 Donna Mejia researched these connections at Smith College under the guidance of a prominent ethnomusicologist to confirm what is known versus unknown about our Eastern dance and music history.  Donna will summarize her findings after reaching back into the Neolithic period (4,000-8,000 B.C.E.) to review evidence found in historical texts, architectural reliefs, epigraphs, sixth-century poetry, and archaeological findings.  Donna approaches the topic, and its controversies, through the lenses of cultural-sociological, post-colonial and feminist theories.  She presents a full analysis of present factors inhibiting study, and elucidates the ways in which women, power, and dance have been suppressed, exploited, mythologized, and enshrined in dance history.

Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities:

Looking at the Formation of Identity and Collective Cultural Memory in the Age of the Internet

(© 2011, Winner of the Fulbright Association Selma Jeanne Cohen Endowed Lecture in International Dance Scholarship)

Cultural fusion is as old as contact between peoples, but the subject is now being approached with regard for the Internet as a novel mode of information transmission. The Internet has grown to become supra-national in its scope and influence, eluding government regulation and attempts to control the norms of usage.  The digital commons has become a self-selecting, self-regulating, and transnational community through which Transnational Fusion Dance participants deliberately search out influences beyond their home culture or borders.  As a community, they formulate a fast-moving global exchange of music, dance and expressive artistry that possesses a distinctly pluralistic approach to art-making.  As early pioneers of a new visual and movement culture, Transnational fusion participants are now undertaking efforts to collaboratively workshop a theoretical foundation for their art, and define their own signature values. Collectively, netizens are also questioning how using machines for human exchange may dehumanize and pathologize some of our behaviors. How has Internet Technology transformed and impacted the way humans formulate individual identity, collective cultural values, and the expression of meaningful traditions such as dance? These issues will be examined with surprising and often amusing insights about our digital connectivity and emerging global citizenship.

Dance in Cultural Perception and Expression

Dance is a ubiquitous practice found in all human cultures. This lecture examines the ways in which dance signifies, reinforces, subverts, challenges and transfers the norms, values, stories and ideals of a given culture.  For our purposes, we will define “culture” as a categorical display of customs, attire, language, norms and values signifying membership of a defined and recognizable group.  Hence, we will study cultures grouped by nationality, geographic proximity, ethnicity and self-selected membership (sub-cultures within nationalities).   We will survey critical ethnographic practices, always attending to our assumptions, positionality and agency during evaluation.   This lecture includes introductory exposure (primarily through films and experiential movement) to a range of dance traditions throughout the globe: classical and contemporary, urban and rural, secular and sacredly transcendental, performance-based and therapeutically oriented.  Participants will develop their observations with increasing sophistication and discernment for the complexities, varieties and functions of dance in the human experience.

Deconstructing Gender Norms

Let’s tackle our blind spots caused by scripted gender norms, expectations and social indoctrinations. Our discussion will explore important updates from the field of gender studies, and explore how our flawed assumptions about gender complicate and compound our power-differentials in the workplace and in life. Please bring your sense of humor and adventure for a lively conversation!

Deep Dive into the Art of Disagreement

Difficult/Painful Conversations: This fireside chat with Donna Mejia explores the art of disagreement. How do we disagree with supervisors, peers and family members all with different idiosyncrasies and temperaments? We’ll be looking at tools from the field of diplomacy, mediation, and surprisingly… animal companion training! As usual, please bring your sense of humor and adventure for a lively conversation.