1001 Likes – December 2015

Lynette Harper updates her list of Christmas gifts available online. Reprinted with permission from the Middle Eastern Dance Association newsletter, Sahda, December 2015.

Gift-giving season again, and I’ve been reviewing my annual column of online gift ideas. My absolute favourite is still Shira’s Gifts for the Belly Dancer in Your Life

http://shira.net/advice/lifestyle/gift-ideas.htm   This is a brilliant list, practical and creative and extensive – like the rest of the shira.net website. Shira offers ideas in a range of categories to suit different interests and price levels:

  • Make-it-yourself items, from costume accessories to cookies & pet headdresses (!!!)
  • Gifts of time or expertise, with advice about boundaries as well as ideas
  • Low-cost items, papyrus bookmarks to bumper stickers to purse mirrors
  • Medium price range ($10 to 25) including magazine subscriptions & trinkets
  • If you want to spend more, great ideas for special gifts up to $200 (Who would have thought of a Rifle Case as a clever way to transport a sword in checked luggage!)
  • Thrilling but extravagant !!!

And of course, it’s worth browsing shira.net to see what Shira’s added to the award-winning site already bursting with useful information, thoughtful insights, and reviews and research.

 

20 Holiday gift ideas for belly dancers

More good ideas can be found in this article from Majnuun Music and Dance. Though it was published a while ago the links are still live.   http://www.majnuunmusicanddance.com/20-holiday-gift-ideas-belly-dancers/

 

There are more sites to be found, of course! Pinterest has its “Great Gifts for Bellydancers!” page;

purchasing sites abound (cafepress.ca alone has thousands of belly dance merchandise results: t-shirts, mugs, & more); dance teachers & troupes market their own products; and many of us have our own favourite sources.

 

Books make a great present, and searching online bookstores yields a considerable array of gift ideas. Right now I’m reading an award-winning book by Amira Jarmakani, “Imagining Arab Womanhood: The cultural mythology of veils, harems and belly dancers in the U.S.” My continuing faves are still “Belly dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism, and Harem Fantasy” (available through Amazon.ca), Belly Dance Around the World (Amazon & Chapters.Indigo carry it), and The Belly Dance Reader 2 (Amazon.ca).

 

‘Tis the season for giving, and there are a great many local organizations to support. Many international organizations are fundraising to support Syrian refugees, a very worthy cause. So here’s another idea: Dedicate a donation to a fellow dancer, and let them know with a gift card!

 

Wishing you peace, joy, and lots of dance in the New Year.