Turkish, Persian, Lebanese, Moroccan, Egyptian, Arabian, hell, Indian. I don’t care, as long as I can shake my hips to it.
I do have a preference for music played with real instruments (I don’t like synthesizers in rock/pop music, much less in Oriental music. Blech)
Aside from that restriction, anything goes.
Thea, are you looking for recommendations? I have only some limited experience with belly dancing music, but I’ve never come across any that I didn’t like. I’ve got some Turkish and Moroccan stuff that’s pretty cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any that was titled as being by a specific group. It’s usually called The Best of Moroccan Bellydance, Bellydances from Turkey or something like that. Try a Borders music section, they usually carry that kind of stuff. Also try a search on amazon.com. You may not know exactly what you’re getting, but chances are it’ll be good.
I like Amr Diab, Khaled and Hakim. Tarkan is good, too. I admit those are all pretty pop-ish. You might try looking for Oum Kalthoum- she’s the paradigm for Egyptian music. Do you have AudioGalaxy or something similar? Just search under Middle Eastern or Bellydance.
Whee! Another bellydancer! What type do you do? I’m more or less Egyptian Carbaret style.
Hossam Ramzy
Brian Keane & Omar Faruk Tekbilek
Musicians of the Nile
Sirocco.
Also, you can check this site for more choices.