“Danse du Ventre 1889”

Bellydance Bundle 2021

This year, I will be presenting my ongoing archival research on Mediterranean dances in the 19th century in a talk I’m calling “Danse du Ventre: Paris 1889.”  I am so pleased to be invited back for another year!  

Last year, I got some amazing reviews and feedback on my talk “Mad About Maud: Salomania & the Birth of Bedlah.”  You can read more about last year’s talk here.  Or if you are more on the go, check out the Yalla Raqs podcast episode #39 to hear all about it. If you enjoy that podcast, check out #7 where I talk to host Tiffany about Zills, History, and Practice. 

NOTE: If you bought the 2020 Bellydance Bundle but haven’t gotten around to enjoying my talk.  I’ve extended access through Dec. 31.  Visit your classes page to pick up the flyer with login directions.

This year the Belly Dance Bundle sale will happen between Oct. 20 – 27

Danse du Ventre: 1889

This yearMy focus for this presentation is on Danse du Ventre in Paris 1889. Paris was the epicenter of European culture throughout the 19th century.  In 1889, Paris staged its fourth world’s fair to celebrate the centennial of their independence.

Tracing Dance History Through Images

This is a lavishly illustrated slide show. I’ll present this history using a host of photographs, paintings, drawings, diagrams, and published illustrations of dancers performing in Paris. These primary images help tell the story of how popular danse du ventre was in Paris. 

Paris Exposition 1889

This talk will begin at l’exposition universelle du 1889.   We will explore where presentations of the famed danse du ventre took place.  Performances of the dances at the theater in the Rue du Caire were the most famous.  Several different cultural groups performed the danse du ventre at venues around the site of the Exposition Universelle du 1889. 

Parisian Night Life

We’ll also explore some of the other Parisian nightspots staging their own performances of the popular danse du ventre.  We will explore the way that these dances were performed, what environments they were presented in, and how they were advertised and documented in the press.

Setting the Stage

Paris in 1889 was a way stop for our artform as it spread from the shores of the Mediterranean to  Europe and beyond.  The 1889 Exposition Universelle set the stage for future dancers, whet the appetite for viewers to see these shows, and served as inspiration for the producers of the next major world’s fair in Chicago just four years later.

Sound intriguing?  Join me for Bellydance Bundle 2021.
Links will be posted as information unfolds – and be sure to sign up for my Monthly newsletter 

Dawn Devine ~ Davina
updated: August 13, 2021