Belly Dance Magazines, Newsletters & Blogs – Belly Dance Information in the Information Age.
Do you subscribe to a belly dance magazine? I must admit, I do! I find it enjoyable to read articles written by dancers in far-flung areas with different perspectives, views and ideals. I learn things, live vicariously through travelogs that document exotic trips, and am frequently amused by the warmth and humor that pours forth from our community. There are dozens of magazines to choose from in print and eMag format, and at the end of this article, I’ve a not-quite exhaustive list of readily available print publications.
But in this era of the internet, there is much-much more information available. Today, social networking has taken the world by storm, and thousands of dancers are logging on to FaceBook, starting Yahoo Groups or are blogging away about their unique experiences. There are monthly newsletters, quarterly magazines, daily email missives available on a myriad of topics. There is truly a mind-boggling array of resources to choose from.
Digital Magazines
Print magazines have not yet been replaced, but rather, have been enhanced by the development of the digital magazine. Unlike a print magazine, they take up no space on the shelf, allow you to access large archives, and because they are limited only by the size of their site, they can publish as many articles and authors as the choose. The web’s oldest and largest digital belly dance magazines is The Gilded Serpent – with 1000’s of articles in their ever growing archives it would take an age to read them all www.gildedserpent.com. Other digital magazines include, The Hip Circle www.thehipcircle.com and iShimmy www.ishimmy.com. Several print publications are beginning to offer digital version of their print magazines at reduced costs and are a greener alternative. One magazine, Fuse, a tribal/fusion themed mag now offers a digital version www.fusetribalmag.com. I recently switched, and I love that I can easily store the issues on my computer saving both money and space.
Social Media & Internet Groups
There are numerous message-board based communities that have belly dance groups. A quick web search will turn up thousands of belly dance themed groups on sights such as Yahoo.com, FaceBook, Linked In, Tribe.com and LiveJournal.com to a name few. If there is a major social community group – there probably is a belly dance presence. Two of the most influential communities exclusively devoted to belly-dance are Bhuz bhuz.com and Belly Dance Forum www.bellydanceforums.net.
Clubs with Newsletters
All over the world dancers come together to form like-minded community groups that produce informal newsletters or professional publications. Many major belly dance magazines have emerged from humble roots. In order to access these newsletters, you often have to join a club or simply subscribe. Two that I personally have participated in are MECDA – www.mecda.org and San Diego based SAMEDA – www.sdsameda.com You should look around for a club near you.
Blogs, Blogs, Blogs
If you’re reading this right now, you’re probably reading my own blog, Costumer’s Notes – www.davina.us Simply use your favorite internet search tool to type in the words that best identify your belly dance style and the word blog, and you will find there are hundreds, if not thousands of blogs everywhere. Two that I’m following include. Belly Dance Diva – bellydancingdiva.com and Dilara’s Hip Mix – www.hipmix.net.
Newsletter Marketing
Practically every pro dancer now has a newsletter. Part of the brave new world of internet marketing, these newsletters vary in quality from well crafted and informational with articles and useful links, to banal listings of classes and events. I must admit, I’ve signed up for dozens of newsletters in an effort to learn more. I particularly enjoy Mahin’s BellyDance Quickies, www.shes-got-hips.com/Quickies.html and her monthly newsletter which always has cute YouTube links. Another great newsletter is the .pdf formatted Hawaii Belly Dancer Monthly Magazine www.hawaiibellydancermagazine.com
Of course, (insert shameless plug) you might be signed up to receive my own, costume-centric belly dance newsletter & digital magazine, Costumer’s Notes. I think it’s got excellent content, but I must say – I’m a big biased! (Psst – The sign-up is on the top right!)
With so many informational options, no one person can read them all. So explore and choose the ones that are best for you.
Good luck and enjoy your hunt,
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Print Magazines Worldwide
United States:
Belly Dance: A Raqs Sharki Magazine – http://www.bellydancemag.com
Chronicles – http://www.isisandthestardancers.com/
Fuse – http://www.fusetribalmag.com
Jareeda – http://www.jareeda.com/
Shimmy, Spirit of Dance – https://www.shimmyspiritofdance.com
Yallah – http://www.yallahmagazine.com/
Zaghareet – http://www.zaghareet.freeservers.com/magazine.html
United Kingdom:
NADA – http://www.nada.uk.com/Magazine.asp
MOSAIC – http://www.mosaicdance.org/magazine.htm
Australia:
Oasis – http://www.bellydanceoasis.com/
Germany:
Tanz Oriental – http://www.tanzoriental.de
Belly Dance Divas: Annual – http://www.belly-divas.com
Japan:
Belly Dance Japan – http://www.bellydancejapan.jp/english/index.html