Belly Dance: Celebrating the Sacred Feminine: Book Review
book reviews, Egyptian Dance August 13th, 2009
Book Review:
By Khadija (Katrina Valenzuela) 9/21/08
Belly Dance – Celebrating the Sacred Feminine
By Martha Elena Burns
Foreword by
Christiane Northrup, MD
Published 2009
If you are searching for the perfect gift for your favorite dancer, photographer or just a special treat for yourself, stop right there! This big, lush book is a delight to the senses, a magical journey of breathtaking beauty that will leave you in tears. The moment I held the book and gazed at the cover, I was mesmerized and transported. Two hundred and twelve pages glorious pages later; I reluctantly came back to reality. The beautiful foreword by well known MD and writer, Christiane Northrup leads us into a touching preface from author/photographer Martha Elena Burns describing her personal experiences with the dance. Exquisite quotes from Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Alice Walker, Jean Shinoda Bolen and Jalaja Bonheim weave their way through photographs filled with motion, spirit and energy. Thick vellum overlays slowly reveal shimmering images, like veils being lifted into the secret, sacred world of the dancer. Not instructional, it is instead nourishment for the dancer’s soul.
If you are a practical dancer who does not give much credence to the Divine Feminine, The Goddess, I guarantee you will feel Her awesome presence here. You may even begin to radiate your own inner Goddess with pride once you realize that as a woman and as a dancer, you are a part of Her great mystery.
From innocent young girl to new mother, to older wise woman, all stages of our lives as women are represented here with dignity, and reverence.
While you will recognize many dancers that you know and love, the artistic scope of ‘Belly Dance; Celebrating the Sacred Feminine’ is much broader and deeper than personalities.
This book is obviously an act of love, ten years in the making, and is not just for dancers. Anyone with a passion for art, beauty, color, design, and spectacular photography will be inspired and uplifted.
This is a book to be savored slowly, kept in a special place and revisited often.
I was allowed to review the galley copy, but the completed, hard cover, gold-foiled version can be ordered now at a prepublication discount through www.BellyDanceBook.Net.
