Links of interest
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This scan doesn't at all do it justice, I commissioned Maria Parasson to paint this
as an anniversary gift for my wife. You can find out more about her![]()
here.
Here are links to other male dancers, articles I've found on male dancers, and a few of the more important general Belly Dance links. And then there are a few links I've thrown in that have nothing to do with Belly Dance at all!
I have scoured the web looking for articles and websites by, for, and about male Belly Dancers. Most of what I've found is listed here. I have, however, omitted sites that merely mention the fact that there are male dancers, or mention that someone saw a male dancer, or other sites that may mention male dancers in one context or another but have no real content (related to male dancers).
If you see the red "Belly Jewel" (
) by a vendor's link, Zorba has had dealings with and can recommend that particular vendor. Nothing at all against the others though!
If you have a favorite link you'd like to contribute, please contact me. Do note that I generally do not link to Facebook, MySpace, GeoCities, or similar fad/amateur sites; although I'll make an exception for male dancers *IF* the site is publicly accessible without a logon.
Jump to your favorite category with these quick links or scroll down and read it all:
On This Links Page:
General links - Discussion - Zills - Articles about male dance - Male dancers' sites
On Second Links Page:
Mostly Pictures - Female dancers' sites - Vendors - Henna, Bindis, etc.
Non Belly Dance links - Linking To This Site
American Belly Dance Club - Of Central Florida. Zorba is a member!
Doumbeks - An interesting article detailing the various names this drum has in various countries. Site seems offline as of 15 March 2020
Belly Dance Florida - Statewide Florida resources, teachers, dancers, etc. Doesn't seem to be maintained.
Sushanna's Costuming page - Great info for making costumes!
IAMED - The International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance. They claim their videos are the "best in the world". From what I've seen of them, they very well may be - but VERY pricey!
Shira's Belly Dance Page - All roads lead to Shira's site, and with good reason! There is more good information, and tips here than any other place on the 'net. How-to's, techniques, Zills, you name it!
Oriental Dancer dot net - Belly Dance news, articles, discussions, directories, more!
VajraVision Link Heaven - A large and good Belly Dance link site.
The Joy of Belly Dancing - Lots of good articles and tips to be found here!
The Gilded Serpent. - Very nice Belly Dance E-Zine. Zorba even has written some articles!
Mohammad El Bakkar - The Man, The Myth, The Legend. Site has info, and MP3 Downloads of his music
Rakkasah's Web Site - Billed as the largest Belly Dance festival in the world, it probably is. It is huge, and well worth attending! Note that the festival is apparently defunct since founder Shukriya's passing, but the site is still extant.
Carnival of Stars - Combined comic book and Belly Dance festival, put on by the incomparable Pepper Alexandria.
"Radio" Bastet - All vintage Belly Dance music, all of the time. Real audio non-realtime WebCast. Very cool!
Bay Area Belly Dance And Music Association - All new WebSite, very useful!
Lotus Flower - Belly Dance discussion board in the UK. Looks like the last post was in 2013!
Belly Dance Forums dot net - Belly Dance discussion board. Zorba moderates the male dancer's area!
Dance.net - Has discussion groups about many different dance forms. This links directly to their Belly Dance discussion. (seems abandoned as of 30 July 2022)
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Saroyan Mastercrafts - Zills, costume coins, a pair of must have CDs, you'll find 'em all here!
Ensoul Music Designs, neé Mid East Manufacuturing - Click on "Percussion" to find Zills and other goodies.
Turquoise International - Also well known.
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Zildjian Online - Zildjian is the Armenian family who has been making cymbals of all types, including Zills, since 1623. My Zildjian Zills are my favorites!
The Online Finger Cymbal Workshop - From Shira's site.
Hear Middle Eastern Rhythms Online! - Oriented towards drummers, but totally useful for Zills as well.
Articles about Male Belly Dance:
Articles in newspapers and on news sites tend to come and go rapidly. If you know of one not listed here, or one of these has departed cyberspace, please Contact Me.
It's not easy being a male belly dancer - Article about male Belly Dancer Viraj in Edmonton.
Jalil Jalil - Male Belly Dancer - Article about male Belly Dancer in Egypt. - Site unresponsive as of 30 July 2022
Top 10 Male Belly Dancers - Kind of a limited list, but "whatever"...
Istanbul's (Gay) Male Belly Dancers - Apparently the "in thing" right now...
The male belly dancer fighting gender stereotypes - More on male dancers in Beirut.
Male 'Belly Dancer' Uses Baladi To Defy Sexism and Homophobia in Lebanon - Yet another article about the Beirut scene.
Male Belly Dancers Make a Comeback in Istanbul - Male dancers in Istanbul. Behind a paywall, but a 1:33 long video works.
This male belly dancer is demanding just one thing from his audience: respect - An up and coming male Belly Dancer in India!
The Saga Of India's First Male Belly Dancer - Same dancer as the previous article.
Boys who belly dance - Chinese male Belly Dancer Cheng Anqi.
Male belly dancer challenges social bias - In China.
Male Belly Dancer Rachid - Nice article about him!
Male Belly Dancer Convicted of Rape - Apparently raped his student(s). Dirtbag! We have enough problems, especially in the UK, without this crap.
Its Hard Out Here For A Male Belly Dancer - Fairly decent article on the subject. Several pictures borrowed (with permission) from Zorba, although he feels slightly mis-quoted in one place. The pictures have been removed, but the article remains (7/30/22)
For Chinese Man, A Gut Instinct For Belly Dancing - Male Belly Dancer in China. He even teaches veil!
The Genderings of Dance - 'Blog article about male Belly Dancers
Gender, Politics and Power in the Technology of Belly Dance - Same author, another 'Blog article about male Belly Dancers
A Quest for Beauty part I - Gilded Serpent article by Zorba!
A Quest for Beauty part II: Damn the Torpedoes and Full Speed Ahead! - Part II of IV.
A Quest for Beauty part III: A Sense of Humor, It Can Help! - Part III of IV.
A Quest for Beauty Part IV: Beauty Has its Price - Part IV of IV
I am Become Pure, Destroyer of Dreams... - Gilded Serpent article by Zorba about the "Belly Dance Police"!
Whose Dance is This, Anyway? - about male dancers. Followed by a huge gallery of male dancers, including Zorba! From the Gilded Serpent.
Interview - with male Belly Dancer Ozgen. From the Gilded Serpent.
Don't Judge Me By My Tights - Article by a male Ballet dancer that is very apropos for male Belly Dancers.
"Future belly dancers may be male" - Article about Australian Belly Dance competition - and HEY! There are male dancers!
Men Being Encouraged - to join a Belly Dance class by Chiropractors. May require a free registration to read.
Wall Street Journal Article - About male Belly Dancers.
Moosetafa - A humorous look at Male Belly dancers. From Shira's site.
Hip Grandpa - 63 year old male discovers that Belly Dance eases back pain!
Pink Gypsy's Male Belly Dance page - Very informative.
Masculine Belly Dance - This article has been around forever, which I find unfortunate as it is being quoted as "Biblical Gospel" (To use Christian phraseology) all over the 'net. Frankly, I disagree with about 95% of it, but you decide...
Male Dancers - Some varied information, pretty good!
Belly Dancing for Men - Advice from Ankh, a male dancer. Lots of rulebooks. Inaccessible as of 7/30/22
Cross Dressing Male Dancers - Article on Shira's site, discussing historical and modern day incidences of Male Belly Dancers who perform in drag.
Amara's Excellent Articles page - Several of her articles discuss male Belly Dancers in terms of: Is Belly Dance always feminine? Are male Belly Dancers feminized? These rather intellectual treatises explore these questions.
Feminism & Belly Dance - Interesting treatise. Belly Dance from a Feminist's viewpoint. Especially poignant for male dancers is footnote [6]
John Compton talks about the old days - From the Gilded Serpent.
Male Belly Dancers in Istanbul - A world wide phenomenon?
BBC News Article - About Mohammed Khordadian.
Why Should Girls Have All The Fun? - Indian Belly Dancer Telu Sravan Kumar.
Male Dancer's personal websites are a bit more permanent than most articles about them, but these sites too come and go in the ever-shifting webscape. If you know of any not linked to here, please Contact Me.
Note: I absolutely, positively will NOT link to any pages on facebook, or similar sites. Professionals have their own websites. Anyone who wants to be found on the WWW will have their own website. Facebook isn't the WWW. I'll make an exception for "GigSalad" and similar talent agency sites.
Achilles - of Muskego, Wisconsin.
Amir Thaleb - of Argentina (Site in Spanish).
Amrit - In south Florida.
Asi - Male dancer in Israel. Site in Hebrew.
"Attila The Hunk" - I'll leave it to the ladies to determine if he lives up to his name!
Bondok - Of Germany. Folkloric style dancer, including Tanoura (Twirling Dervish). Page in German.
Bagoas - of Maryland. Of all the male dancers I've seen, he is closest to my own style!
Dallas Martin - Young male ATS dancer in Modesto, California. Got his start in High School!
DaVid - Famous male Belly Dancer, first of Norway, then of Sweden, and now in California, USA!
FamousFeline - A male Belly Dancer who blogs "The Pinkcoinbelt Chronicles" - not sure if he's still active or not.
Farouq - Of the Netherlands. Site in Dutch.
Horacio and Beata Cifuentes - Oriental Fantasy Productions in Germany.
Jimmy - of Melbourne, Australia. (site blank as of 7/30/22)
Karim Nagi - Percussionist, (folk-style) Belly Dancer, Composer.
Kamrah - Of Chicago.
Lee Na-Moo - Young male Tribal Fusion dancer in Chicago.
Mohamed El Hosseny - Of Helsinki, Finland.
Mohamed Shahin - one of the very rare native Egyptian male Belly Dancers.
Mustafa - Of Denmark? I like his look.
Numa'ir & Naiya - Husband & Wife Belly Dancers. (site is blank as of 07/30/22)
Direct Link - to Numa'ir's page on the above site. (site is blank as of 07/30/22)
Prince Andrew - of Southern California. I like his look and his costuming!
Rachid - Of the Netherlands.
Ryan Yanguochao - Of China. Bilingual (Chinese/English) website. (site unresponsive as of 07/30/22)
Said-el-amir - Munich, Germany. Bilingual (English/German) site.
Sameh El Dessouki - Of Russia. This links to the "English" portion of the site, which is only partially translated, but interesting!
Sayed El Joker - An Egyptian Dancer who has danced all over Europe. Site is still there, but not particularly functional/useful as of 7/30/22.
Serkan - Of Belgium. I like his costuming, and it is obvious that he, like myself, loves his veils!
Sharif - Male Belly Dancer in Santa Cruz, California! He also has a dance diary, check it out! (site has not been updated in years as Sharif has left Santa Cruz and apparently no longer dances. Domain registration is due to expire 09/2022)
Tarik Sultan - Protegé of the storied Morocco. Probably the foremost male Belly Dancer of our time!
Valizan - And his ATS troupe, Shades of Araby! (site unresponsive as of 07/30/22)
Viraj - Of Edmonton, Canada.
Zadiel - In Berlin. Student of Horacio. Pulls off a very pretty, androgynous look.
Zahir's Oasis - Zahir is/was a male Belly Dancer in the San Francisco area. Site has been in hiatus for many years, but a placeholder remains.
Zorba, "The Veiled Male" - You're already here dude.
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Last checked for broken links: 30 July 2022 ![]()