The SCA period dancer in the Middle East: A Bibliography
A loosly-constructed biblography with works used to develop the SCA period raks overview.
Music in the World of Islam: A Socio-Cultural Study by Amnon Shioah
ISBN 0814325890
I'm not fit to cover the musical sections of this book; my music theory is beyond rusty. However, the dance sections are the best of any book I've purchased this year. Fairly easy to find, and Highly Recommend.
"A Trade Like Any Other": Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt by Karin van Nieuwkerk
Completely post-period, this is a great book for understanding dancer's roles in Islamic culture.
Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Inquiry by Bernard Lewis
ISBN 0195053265
His conclusions regarding race in the Middle East seem suspect; at times, he stretches a point to get a hit in. But it's one of a few rare works on slavery in Islam, and it gives one a good understanding of what it was like to be a slave (as so many "professional" dancers were) in the time period.
Choreophobia: Solo Improvised Dance in the Iranian World by Anthony Shay
ISBN 1568590830
Shay spends an entire chapter on the historical roots of Persian dance, but the entire book is worth reading. One example is the discussion on how hand gestures mirror Persian calligraphy; it gives a whole new perspective on how dance is structured and reflects a culture. I disagree with some of his negative conclusions on the practicality of dance history research, but honor his unique insights into the field.
A Pictorial History of Turkish Dancing by Metin And
(No ISBN)
Possibly the single best book for raw dance documentation. Goes into details that other writers fail to capture, including the nature of period Ottoman dance companies. Worth it just for his bibliography alone, though. If you see it, grab it.
Women in Islam: From Medieval to Modern Times by Wiebke Walther
ISBN 1558760539
Very little on dance, but a great "starter book" for understanding the role of women in Islamic culture. Suffers from some vagueness in terms of documenting her ideas.
Oriental Dance: Myth and Reality, the Harem Slaves by Lorraine Zamora Chamas
http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles20/jalilahharamslaves.htm
This is where I first picked up the concept of "qaina", dancer-slaves. Thin on sources, but her heart's in the right place.
History of Syria by Philip K. Hitti
(no ISBN)
I have yet to finish this book properly, but it's already given me a goodly number of potential primary sources on dance items. There's apparently a reference to male dancers in period, but I have yet to run across it. Recommended.
Dancers of the Infidel Emperor by Kirk Templeton
http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles7/kirkemperor.htm
Pseudo-historical tale based on historical records that indicate Emperor Frederick II kept Arabic dancers at his palace, Lucera. Notable mostly for the aspect of period Arabic dancers in European lands.
Chengir's Lecture on Historical Dance by Chengir
(Pennsic class handout)
Excellent work, an overview of his dance research from a Islamic law perspective. If you happen to be at Pennsic next year, and he teaches this class, I give it a high recommendation.
Ihya ul um-id-din (The Book of Worldly Usages) by Ghazzali (translator: Fazl um-Karim)
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/gz/ihya/english/ihya-vol2-C9.htm (Dead Link)
The link provided is to Chap. 9 in his work, which is a defense of music and dance. This work is regularly cited by a number of researches as senimal to the understanding of music (and dance) in a Islamic context, from period times right up to today. A hard read in this translation, for work the work to help warp one's brains around the culture.
Epistle on Singing Girls by al-Jahiz (Edited and translated by A.F.L. Beeston)
A very useful book for understanding the social role of dancers in early period. Highly recommended.
Social Life under the Abbasids by MM Ahsan Longman
ISBN 0582780799
Lovely work, describing many aspects of Abbasid life. Few details on dance , but great for building the core of a Abbasid-era dancer persona; what her life would be like, where she would eat, how much she would pay, etc.
The Contributions of Multi-nationality to Classical Ottoman Music by Bulent Aksoy
http://yunus.cmpe.boun.edu.tr/~hocaoglu/music/articles/aksoy.htm
Although focusing on post-period information, it has a small and intriguing section on the place of the Cengi in Ottoman music and dance. A starting place for those looking to build a Rom("Gypsy") SCA persona with period information.
Muhammad's People : An Anthology of Muslim Civilization by Eric Schroeder
ISBN 0486425029
Not integrated into the latest version of this paper, but a valuable work. It contains a description of male dance, and how rhythms for dancers were laid out. However, it lacks a clear citation of this reference.
"An hour for God and an hour for the heart": Islam, gender and female entertainment in Egypt by Karin van Nieuwkerk
http://research.umbc.edu/eol/MA/index/number3/nieuwkerk/karin_0.htm
Also not integrated, this is the single best work on the relationship between Islam and dance I've found. It's online, it's free, and it's not too long, but packed with details. Strongly recommended.
Music in the World of Islam: A Socio-Cultural Study by Amnon Shioah
ISBN 0814325890
I'm not fit to cover the musical sections of this book; my music theory is beyond rusty. However, the dance sections are the best of any book I've purchased this year. Fairly easy to find, and Highly Recommend.
"A Trade Like Any Other": Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt by Karin van Nieuwkerk
Completely post-period, this is a great book for understanding dancer's roles in Islamic culture.
Race and Slavery in the Middle East: A Historical Inquiry by Bernard Lewis
ISBN 0195053265
His conclusions regarding race in the Middle East seem suspect; at times, he stretches a point to get a hit in. But it's one of a few rare works on slavery in Islam, and it gives one a good understanding of what it was like to be a slave (as so many "professional" dancers were) in the time period.
Choreophobia: Solo Improvised Dance in the Iranian World by Anthony Shay
ISBN 1568590830
Shay spends an entire chapter on the historical roots of Persian dance, but the entire book is worth reading. One example is the discussion on how hand gestures mirror Persian calligraphy; it gives a whole new perspective on how dance is structured and reflects a culture. I disagree with some of his negative conclusions on the practicality of dance history research, but honor his unique insights into the field.
A Pictorial History of Turkish Dancing by Metin And
(No ISBN)
Possibly the single best book for raw dance documentation. Goes into details that other writers fail to capture, including the nature of period Ottoman dance companies. Worth it just for his bibliography alone, though. If you see it, grab it.
Women in Islam: From Medieval to Modern Times by Wiebke Walther
ISBN 1558760539
Very little on dance, but a great "starter book" for understanding the role of women in Islamic culture. Suffers from some vagueness in terms of documenting her ideas.
Oriental Dance: Myth and Reality, the Harem Slaves by Lorraine Zamora Chamas
http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles20/jalilahharamslaves.htm
This is where I first picked up the concept of "qaina", dancer-slaves. Thin on sources, but her heart's in the right place.
History of Syria by Philip K. Hitti
(no ISBN)
I have yet to finish this book properly, but it's already given me a goodly number of potential primary sources on dance items. There's apparently a reference to male dancers in period, but I have yet to run across it. Recommended.
Dancers of the Infidel Emperor by Kirk Templeton
http://www.gildedserpent.com/articles7/kirkemperor.htm
Pseudo-historical tale based on historical records that indicate Emperor Frederick II kept Arabic dancers at his palace, Lucera. Notable mostly for the aspect of period Arabic dancers in European lands.
Chengir's Lecture on Historical Dance by Chengir
(Pennsic class handout)
Excellent work, an overview of his dance research from a Islamic law perspective. If you happen to be at Pennsic next year, and he teaches this class, I give it a high recommendation.
Ihya ul um-id-din (The Book of Worldly Usages) by Ghazzali (translator: Fazl um-Karim)
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/gz/ihya/english/ihya-vol2-C9.htm (Dead Link)
The link provided is to Chap. 9 in his work, which is a defense of music and dance. This work is regularly cited by a number of researches as senimal to the understanding of music (and dance) in a Islamic context, from period times right up to today. A hard read in this translation, for work the work to help warp one's brains around the culture.
Epistle on Singing Girls by al-Jahiz (Edited and translated by A.F.L. Beeston)
A very useful book for understanding the social role of dancers in early period. Highly recommended.
Social Life under the Abbasids by MM Ahsan Longman
ISBN 0582780799
Lovely work, describing many aspects of Abbasid life. Few details on dance , but great for building the core of a Abbasid-era dancer persona; what her life would be like, where she would eat, how much she would pay, etc.
The Contributions of Multi-nationality to Classical Ottoman Music by Bulent Aksoy
http://yunus.cmpe.boun.edu.tr/~hocaoglu/music/articles/aksoy.htm
Although focusing on post-period information, it has a small and intriguing section on the place of the Cengi in Ottoman music and dance. A starting place for those looking to build a Rom("Gypsy") SCA persona with period information.
Muhammad's People : An Anthology of Muslim Civilization by Eric Schroeder
ISBN 0486425029
Not integrated into the latest version of this paper, but a valuable work. It contains a description of male dance, and how rhythms for dancers were laid out. However, it lacks a clear citation of this reference.
"An hour for God and an hour for the heart": Islam, gender and female entertainment in Egypt by Karin van Nieuwkerk
http://research.umbc.edu/eol/MA/index/number3/nieuwkerk/karin_0.htm
Also not integrated, this is the single best work on the relationship between Islam and dance I've found. It's online, it's free, and it's not too long, but packed with details. Strongly recommended.
Asim, the story of the dancers at Frederick's court are not as fictionalized as the Website makes them out to be. He had dancers in his court, the culture of Sicily to this very day still has a strong streak of the Middle East in it (the language, the foods, the architecture, even some of the regional dress styles). My grandmother was from Corleone, one of the Arab strongholds, which was later resettled with Lombards, but my family is definitely a mixed bag as far as that is concerned. I've read a bit about Frederick of Hohenstaufen, and he was definitely a remarkable man.
Also, have you ever read Meg Bogan's "The Women Troubadours"? Apparently one of the dukes of Languedoc kept female Muslim entertainers at his court, too, acquired from Muslim Spain. In the book is a period illustration of a female Muslim dancer/jongleur.
Here's an active link for
Ihya ul um-id-din (The Book of Worldly Usages) by Ghazzali (translator: Fazl um-Karim)
http://www.ghazali.org/ihya/english/ihya-vol2-C9.htm (Live Link)
Chap. 9 in defense of music and dance.