Belly Dance . . . A Dance Ethnology Research Guide  

Where to find related materials in the library

The Libraries

Search for the books that you want:

• at the University of Chapel Hill Library or search their online catalog from here.
• at the Duke University Libary or search their online catalog from here.

Or, if your library does not have the item, make an Interlibary Loan request.

Call numbers

• The Library of Congress (LC) call number for "belly dance" is GV 1798.5 within the area of "dance".
• The Dewey Decimal call number for "belly dancing" is 793.3 within "indoor games and amusements".

Terms to look for

When looking for information on belly dancing in dance dictionaries or encyclopedias (between LC numbers GV 1580 and GV 1799.4) look under any or all of the following terms:

• belly dance
• belly dancing
• danse du ventre (French for "dance of the belly")
• danse orientale (French for "eastern dance")
• middle eastern dance
• oriental dance
• raqs al-baladi (Arabic for "dance from the countryside")
• raqs al-sharq (Arabic for "oriental dance")
• raqs sharqi (Arabic for "eastern dance")
• raqs al-misri (Arabic for "Egyptian dance")

Note:

Similar dance genres, such as the cifte telli, also exist in Turkey and Greece but not in Iran as sometimes thought. Based on the focus of your research and interest, you may want to include this version of the dance form.