Water Lilies of the Dance: The Many Faces of La Danse du Ventre

This book documents the oldest dance form in history, Belly Dance. Its roots were watered at the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates in the shadows of the great Pyramids and on the shores of the Fertile Crescent over 6,000 years ago. Danced by women in the middle east, the Mediterranean and North Africa among themselves and in the homes for generations, danced in temples consecrated to gods and goddesses, danced in joy and celebration.

Today, having spread to America and the West, the dance is undergoing yet another incarnation, shaped by many cultures and influences. This book documents these transformations.