Hey Gang, Updated for 2021: One of my most popular talks has become a class on the Beyond Dance Business Academy.  It begins as a live 90-minute lecture on June 20, 2021.  The recording of this lecture will be part of a permanent class. Dancers in Orientalist Art with Dawn Devine ~ Davina Reserve your seat
Women as Portrayed in Orientalist Painting by Lynne Thornton This impressive book comes in two sizes.  In current print is this small pocket variety that I’ve included in the link.  There is also an out of print version in French, a hard-cover coffee-table book-sized edition that is very expensive on the collectors market.  The pocket-sized edition contains all the same text and in a smaller and more affordable package.  As the title indicates, the focus is on images of women and the various roles and scenes that painters choose.  I consider this book to be an essential read for anyone interested in a more feminist reading of Orientalist paintings. Buy this essential read on Amazon.
Orientalism by Christine Peltre This is the book I would choose to use as my primary textbook if I were currently teaching a full “Orientalism in Art” course.  This is an overview book, that will introduce to the broad topic of Orientalism in art. This book presents a nice balanced approach to a discussion of Orientalist art. This soft-covered but lavishly illustrated book includes a great collection of images to support the text.  If you are only going to have one book in your library devoted to the subject, this would be my recommendation. Pick up your copy on Amazon.
Orientalism: History, Theory and the Arts by John MacKenzie This book is a response to Edward Said’s book “Orientalism.” MacKenzie approaches the subject of Orientalism, but looking at the topic through the lens of Art History. But though it’s an art history book, there are only a few poor-quality black and white images, but lots of valuable analysis of the Orientalist painters.  Be prepared to look up colored images of the artists and works mentioned in the text. Order a copy from Amazon
Orientalism by Edward W. Said This groundbreaking work nearly single-handedly serves as the basis for postcolonial literary studies.  Written in 1978, the book was a close analysis of a carefully curated selection of western writers who traveled through the MENAT region.  Over the intervening 40 years, this book has been critiqued for its narrow scope and polarizing language.  If you choose to take on this title, be prepared for a very academic book geared towards a well-educated reader.  Purchase a copy on Amazon.

Do you ever have that moment when you bite off a little more than you can chew?   Well, due to a variety of things I’ve fallen incredibly behind. I’m a feeling a little like that frog that is jumping from lily pad to lily pad. Or in my case, from project to project?

In March, I launched a series of posts on belly dance history to celebrate women’s history month. I shared this series on my FaceBook wall and it went pretty well.  It ran a little behind, but I finished in early April, only a few days late.  Many people enjoyed this series, but as it neared the end of the series, many people asked me to move it over here so the content is more searchable and shareable.

Sharing the content on this blog sounded like a really great thing!  So without taking something off my plate, I said “SURE!”  Well, the hard truth is that it takes a lot more time to put up a blog post than it does to whip up a social media post.  I did get as far as day 16, but other time-sensitive business projects were more pressing.

Two Blog Series?

So the big issue was that I had made a promise to start a blog series without carefully thinking about the amount of time putting these blog posts would take. It wasn’t until after I jumped right in when I found myself realizing that I had lost my way.  I simply used up all the extra bandwidth in my work schedule.

I also inadvertently interrupted the flow of the posts about the creation of this gold costume. Several people were following this costume design series and were confused by my sudden change in direction!

The Gold Goddess costume was finished in March has been seen at several restaurants in San Francisco and beyond.  I’m looking forward to planning a formal photoshoot to get photographs on Shalimar.

Catch a clip of Sara and her troupe Neshee Dolu at a recent halfa. 

Writing Projects

This history blog was also threatening to derail my work with my co-authors Sara Shrapnell and photographer Alisha Westerfeld on our next release, Pose.  I realized that I had quickly dashed off my Belly Dance History posts on FaceBook. Each post needed either a good edit or even a full rewrite. In addition, the blog images all needed to be formatted and resized. All that “writing/blogging” time was eating away at the time I had already committed to the Pose Book!

The truth is, I can only write and wordsmith for several prime hours a day. The new blog series was threatening to derail our book schedule!  After three posts, I found myself abandoning the new project in order to spend quality time on the book in progress.

Sewing Projects

In the world of self-employment, the key to economic success is to develop multiple streams of income.  For me, that means devoting time every day to progressing my sewing and design projects.  Over the past two months, I’ve worked on three bedlah sets that needed me to put hours in at the sewing table.

Spring is the start of the belly dance season and there are lots of costumes that need adjustments, refurbishments, and redesigns. Before the end of April, I need to finish off two other smaller projects as well.  All-in-all, it’s quite a bit of work on the agenda.  I’m feeling a bit of pressure because I “stole” some time away from sewing at the beginning of the month for the blog.

Meanwhile, over on Social Media

For the month of April, I’m sharing Orientalist images and discussing this cultural phenomenon by sharing paintings, illustrations, and photographs. Each day, I’m picking an artist, subject or theme and sharing it on Facebook. Although these are short little posts, they contain a lot of information about Orientalism and the 19th century.  While the days are quite aligned I’m planning on rolling through with this series into May to get a full 30 posts completed.

Moving Forward – Resting, Regrouping & Refocusing

I really need this time to play catch up on my other outstanding projects and to make a better plan for the upcoming quarter.  It’s time to give the sewing studio a big deep clean, touch base with all of my design customers, and basically, finish up outstanding time-sensitive projects.   When I return in May, I will resume the Golden Goddess Costume Design project first, and then I will press onward with a couple of long history posts until both of these projects are complete!

I hope that you have a great couple of weeks, I’ll be back in May!

Happy Dance & Costuming
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
April 17, 2019

 

 

March is Women’s History Month – Part 3

Hello there!  Today I’m doing something a bit different.  In honor of International Woman’s Day, which falls in Women’s History Month, I’m sharing a bit of belly dance history each day over on my FaceBook page. I’ve decided to put up five posts this month that round up those entries for the week.  This is post #3 in this series. If you haven’t read them all start with the first post and here’s the second post.

Day 13 – Johanna and Turhan, 1960’s – Black and White Glossy Promotional Photo

One of the sources of 20th-century belly dance costume information is black and white glossies. For more than 40 years, from the 40s through to the 80s professional entertainers would supply venues with photographs to use for promotional purposes. These 8″ by 10″ photos might be sent to the press as part of a promotion, placed in signholders outside of the venue, or used as interior decor to share past stars.

Day 14 – Uknown dancer on Arcade Card c. 1918-1925

During the first quarter of the 20th century, before the advent of TV and talkie movies, people living in metropolitan areas would go to coin-operated arcades for entertainment. These penny arcades came in different styles and varieties and might be more child and family oriented. Others were more adult in theme and tone and might be attached to a bar or tavern.

Coin-operated machines would include games, like pinball, flip-show action animation and in the 1920’s you could even see short movie clips. While there were dedicated arcades at pleasure destinations, individual or small groups of coin-operated machines could also be located in other entertainment venues. They were especially popular at early theme parks, especially those at sea-side pleasure Even in today’s movie theaters, small arcades are included, a tradition left over from the silent movie era.

Day 15 – Mata Hari

Well, Facebook didn’t want this post about Mata Hari on their site – apparently, they thought you could see her nipples or that the shadow in the image below didn’t obscure enough of her body. I only see jewels and strategic shadows, but ya know, it’s not their site, so here it is on mine!  Unfortunately, I lost the original text I wrote!  However, I wanted to share that she is probably the best-documented Orientalist dancer due in large part to her reputation as a spy. There are many movies have been made about her, television documentaries, and loads of books, both biographical and fictional.  I have quite a few in my library and recommend this one.

During more public performances, Mata Hari wore “Pinks” or flesh-colored body stockings that created the illusion of nudity. However, she became notorious for dancing in various levels of nudity.  We definitely know she frequently went nude for still photographs.  Compare the two shots below, both taken in 1905.  The left photo is from a public performance at the Musée Guimet.  While in the studio photograph below that became a widely traded post-card, she is partially nude, but with strategic shadows.

Day 16 – La Belle Otéro.

In Paris c. 1900, The Follies-Bergère was one of the most popular places to go for variety entertainment in Paris. The shows included music, singers, comedians, and dancers.

Between 1900-1910, the Spanish born, La Belle Otéro was considered THE star of the show. Though she started off her career as a dancer, she was also known for her acting abilities and her numerous love affairs with wealthy patrons of the art. During her career, she became fabulously wealthy and quite notorious.

I really hope that you are enjoying this series!
Happy Dance and Costuming, 
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
March 25, 2019.