# Belly Dancing music.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2001, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984 "2001-02-18T11:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/1 "2001-02-18T11:33:14Z")
Anyone know of any good belly dancing music? I especially like the female vocal stuff… but I know so little about the genre that I don’t know where to start. ---
**Author:** ![Carina42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Carina42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carina42)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/2 "2001-02-18T12:39:16Z")
Not female, but **George Abo** is great. I have “The Magic of Bellydancing” on my wake-up CD alarm clock. Yu can get his stuff at most big stores. My sister lives in Israel. I also love middle Eastern music, and just asked her to send me some ideas for fairly traditional music & artists. I’ll let you know! ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/3 "2001-02-18T16:44:46Z")
Natacha Atlas is the only pure M.E. Female singer that I have in my collection. Good, but a little modern for my tastes. Alabina is a really cool flamenco/M.E. fusion. The female singer is Persion and sings in Arabic, but the band is flamenco. Omar Faruk Tekbilek is my all-time favorite artist. His style is Turkish. I recommend the albums “Fire Dance” and “Best of the Sultan’s”. The Sultan’s is a group he used to head, and does very tradional music. Fire Dance is more artistic. Another album I highly recommend is “Passion: Sources” This is music that Peter Gabriel compiled as source material for the soundtrack of “The Last Temptation of Christ”. It has a good variety of styles from North Africa to India. Not quite M.E. but compatible, Vas is a duo that usually comes under the New Age label. The singer is Persian, so there’s a definite M.E. influence. I usually consider them more background music than dance music. Another group that is very compatible is Dead Can Dance. I won’t be surprised if you already have their music - if not, I consider “Toward the Within” their best album. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/4 "2001-02-18T16:48:24Z")
Note: I _much_ prefer Turkish style music to Egyptian; however, most B.D. music is Egyptian, so there’s a lot of music out there I just don’t have, and wouldn’t recommend because _I_ don’t like it, even if you might. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/5 "2001-02-18T19:54:09Z")
the first track of loreena mckennitt’s the mask and mirror usually has me attempting belly dancing… ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2001, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/6 "2001-02-18T21:06:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zyada \* > \*\*Another group that is very compatible is Dead Can Dance. I won’t be surprised if you already have their music \*\* Hehehe… good call! I got into their stuff around '90 and have several albums… god I love it! Thanks for the tips! I’m poking around on Napster to sample the stuff you’ve recommended… when I find what I’m looking for I’ll buy a few CDs 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2001, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/7 "2001-02-19T00:38:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rocking chair \* > \*\*the first track of loreena mckennitt’s the mask and mirror usually has me attempting belly dancing… \*\* Her “Marco Polo” from the Book of Secrets is also VERY good for Belly Dancing. It’s instrumental, but so what? It sound somewhat Byzantine, to me. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2001, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/8 "2001-02-20T07:18:52Z")
Thanks for the ideas… anyone else know of any? I prefer something with more of a beat rather than the slower stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Watermelon\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/22d042/32.png) [@Watermelon\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Watermelon_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2001, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/9 "2001-02-20T09:45:07Z")
Opal, If you send me a mailing address, sometime soon you might receive some albums! I can’t really give much advice because the albums I have access to here (Istanbul, Turkey) do not have international distribution. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2001, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/10 "2001-02-20T09:51:36Z")
Wow, cool!!! You can send anything to: OpalCat PO BOx 3874 Reston VA 22031 Wow, thanks so much! ---
**Author:** ![Carina42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Carina42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carina42)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2001, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/11 "2001-02-20T10:36:39Z")
Hey, Watermelon Man! ::waving hand:: I would be happy to pay or trade for stuff from the US too! Email me~I love collecting music from other countries, and I love Turkish music. I lived in Turkey for 4 years, and could always use more stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/12 "2001-02-20T13:15:11Z")
I’m backing the Loreena Mckennitt supporters. Excellent stuff. ---
**Author:** ![hedra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/779978/32.png) [@hedra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hedra)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2001, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/13 "2001-02-20T14:53:13Z")
I like Turkish and Lebanese stuff, myself. Emad Sayyah (Lebanese). Kinda folkdancy, upbeat. Not loads of singing, but way fun to dance to. Brian Keane with Omar Faruk Tekbilek - Both Beyond the Sky and the soundtrack of Suleyman the Magnificent (excellent stuff!). Gypsey Fire (also with Omar) has some nice classic/traditional stuff on it, like a good version of Siseler. And actually, some of Ofra Haza’s older stuff is some of my favorite female vocalist music (Israeli pop). Some is slow, some is fast. I have something by Jehan, too, but I don’t use it much. Don’t remember why - Trance Dance style, which could be why. Also, Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors do some nice primitive rhythm/voice stuff. I use their albums for class warmups as well as dancing, good rhythms. I join in appreciating ‘Marco Polo’, and not being terribly fond of Egyptian, especially the highly orchestrated stuff. Any east-coasters? Some good seminars (at reasonable rates) coming up this year in Philly. I can send on info, if you want - let me know. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2001, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/14 "2001-02-20T15:05:43Z")
Most of the ethnic dancers I’ve known have used a lot o the music of the [Brothers of the Baladi](http://www.baladi.com/). ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-dancing-music/54984/15 "2001-04-14T00:51:56Z")
Thank you so much Watermelon Man!!! I got the 3 CDs the other day but we’ve been frantically trying to rescue our server from a crash and I haven’t had much time to do anything until now. Thank you so much!!! I’ve already listened to all of them 🙂