Coffee Chat, Jan 2024
Have you ever seen the book “Belly Dance: Celebrating the Sacred Feminine?” Written by Los Angeles-based photographer Martha Burns, this limited-edition coffee-table book is stunning!
Martha Burns’ book is featured in this month’s Studio Davina Coffee Chat. It was published in 2009. and I met Martha in 2008 at the Desert Dance Festival in San Jose California. She told me about her upcoming project. She explained her twin passions of photography and belly dance. This book was expensive, but a real labor of love. Martha hoped it would be the start of many more books to follow.
Fast forward to 2023 and I pulled this book off my shelf to have a re-read. It has become a time capsule of an era. I was present for some of these performances by friends, students, colleagues, and my instructors.
I spent a little time poking around the web to see what Martha Elena Burns is up to today. Unfortunately, her Facebook account and the book website are both shut down. After inquiring with several dancers who appear in the book no one has heard from her in over a decade.
Do you find this quick video flip interesting? I’ve included the first 100 pages and some commentary in this month’s Studio Davina Coffee Chat on Patreon. The second half of the book will be available in February’s Coffee Chat.
Wanna join me for a coffee? It’s only $3!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina