For those who want to thoroughly indulge in belly dance here is related belly dance 'stuff' to fill your life with. Enjoy!

.MUSIC. .HIPS SCARVES. .ZILLS. .JEWELLERY. .MAKE-UP. .East Coast Tribal. .Resources for further reading. Making your own costume!
Belly Dance Music: In my very broadminded world I think that if music makes you move and it feels right for you then it's the right music, but, if you want recommendations as to what I and a number of my dance mates move to then here is our list of traditional and not so traditional musical offerings that really get us going.
We have CD's available at classes for our students to purchase with practice material on and can give recommendations as to which of the suggestions below might suit your personal tastes. I've recently discovered that you can listen to belly dance radio stations on the internet.... no, seriously! Check out the links below for some stations that range their music from the fantastic to the weird...

HIP SCARVES:
Can anyone survive without a hip scarf for long? Well there are a number of ways of getting your hands on one. As this may be your first scarf I'll try to help you with really basic advice. I tend not to buy velvet scarves as they fray and although they look lovely I use my scarves a lot and feel the other fabrics are more durable. There's nothing worse than getting the colour of your dreams only to see it fray or rip when you tie it tightly round your hip so that it doesn't shake off.

We have a new set of belly dance scarves which have just arrived so we can now offer black, red, mid blue, dark blue and orange scarves in two styles. The lighter weight scarves cost £15.00 and the heavier £19.99 each and are Egyptian performance standard chiffon. Get in touch (07790032460 or swindon_belly_dancer@hotmail.co.uk) to order...

Other than this, the easiest way is to buy one and the internet is the first port of call for most folk. If you're worried about using your card on-line why not try www.Amazon.com as they (unlike Amazon U.K.) sell apparel on their site. Just type in hip scarves and you'll get a whole range from different suppliers in a range of prices and instead of these stores doing the financial transaction Amazon.com do - so you have that peace of mind.

Quite a number of ladies enjoy making their own hip scarves, especially tribal styles scarves as they are more difficult to get hold of and many ladies like them to be completely tailor made for their tastes. This may not be a very exotic sounding alternative as it involves work and the sort of work that some people aren't used to - sewing! Frankly I think that making a scarf is a rather fun thing to do as it gives you the chance to have something totally individual and in whatever colour takes your fancy. Sadly I don't think I'd have the time to undertake this alternative but there are even books on Amazon.com which will help you with patterns and ideas - even for exotic tops to go with your outfit. It's a labour of love for some or a cheaper way of getting hold of not just the scarf but the whole outfit to fit their own figure.

The next easiest way is to substitute a hip scarf for a jingly belt which can easily be bought at U.K. stores.

Make-Up:
Firstly let me say that to take part in classes you don't have to wear make-up but for performing or at a hafla you may want to experiment a bit. There are two schools of thought on make-up and belly dancing. One says just use your usual style with a bit extra thrown in for good measure; the other says go exotic - if you feel like dressing it up..... plenty of kohl, mascara, stained lips, rouge and why not include fake eyelashes or a bindi as part of the whole 'go for it' ethos? Just look at our logo to see how wonderful the eyes are when framed with lots of make-up. I have friends who use their eyes almost as much as their veils and for them false eyelashes and heavily outlined eyes are indispensable. For Tribal, especially East Coast, the mood can get quite gothic and I've been known to add bindis, false tattoos (not a pain girl personally so it's got to be fake) and a whole range of heavily applied stuff which doesn't suit the more ethereal styles of belly dance. Like anything, it's really a case of 'do what suits you' as there should never be prescriptive rules in this dance..... it's as individual as you are and totally your choice.

EAST COAST TRIBAL

As you can see from the photos, East Coast Tribal has a different feel and different costumes, in some respects, to the belly dance you might have come across before. I'm really excited about this style and the way that it's sweeping through the U.S. is absolutely going to happen here - evidence of this can been seen on the recent 'Belly Dance Superstars' tour of the U.K. when all the workshops run on this style booked out before all the traditional ones.
You can do both individual / solo dancing in this style but also a wonderful group dance that looks fantastic and is quite addictive. All your skills learnt in our traditional belly dance courses will be used but there is a different slant in interpreting and executing those moves which gives you even more scope to experiment... Actually, there's a sneaking of East Coast and American Tribal Style being popped in to even the total beginners schedules to get you all ready for new developments. As we demonstrate in class, sometimes these styles can be more edgy, sometimes tribal (glancing back to influences from tribes years ago), sometimes more snake like and sinewy. Like all belly dance it's down to who’s taking part and the music to name but a few ingredients.
The costuming is all about layers, sometimes it can have a gothic look, sometimes more a style that's referred to as 'Urban Gypsy' - again, it's belly dance and as eclectic as those taking part and their individual tastes allow. See the section on making your own costumes for more.....
For class purposes your hip scarves will still be useful though you won't need one at all if you don't want to wear one. As you can see, there is a lot of skirt material involved in this style of belly dance but for classes you can wear leggings unless you want to dress up for the occasion and although you can see a lot of midriff on the ladies below other tribal styles have the body completely covered with highly unflattering baggy outfits so you are most welcome to wear a t-shirt to learn in, try a shock absorber bra/top, or go the whole hog and purchase something from the internet to really row the boat out. I'll be adding a photo of my rehearsal tribal outfit some time next week so you can see the difference and, more importantly, details about the origins of East Coast Tribal on a page of it's own as I'm hoping that this style becomes a popular addition to our regular class offerings.

Zills - finger cymbals
Zills (Sagat) or finger cymbals got their name from the Sanskrit word 'zillah' the literal meaning of which goes something like this.... 'she whose approach can be heard from afar due to the jingling of her ornaments' which always makes me smile, especially as we have a student called Zillah. Okay, little things amuse me!
When I first came across belly dancing I had the feeling that these were another tool of the trade and a noisy one at that and that I could do without them but now I see it a little differently. I heard them played badly and seen how this can affect a performance and I've been privileged to see a great performer use them to announce her arrival, stir feelings of anticipation, use them to accent areas of music and to become an integral and indispensable part of her routine. Like all simple instruments it's easy to pick them up and make a noise but as with any other instrument, there's good noise and there's not so good noise. The good news is that it's simple to learn the basics of good zill playing and once you've got the basics under your belt experimentation brings all sorts of delights to you and your audience. If you're looking for zills try ethnic and sari shops or the trusty old internet. I have six sets - yes, six! - as they're great fun to mess around with. Zills are worn on the middle finger and thumb and basically make two distinctive sounds, a clack and a ringing sound and can be played fast or slow depending on the mood you are setting and the style of dance music you're using - Chiftitelli, Beladi or more recently I've seen them included in a rather 'out there' East Coast Tribal demo that defied description musically but was enthralling.

Making Your Own Costume
It may not be a popular idea to get out a needle and thread but if you get into belly dancing and want a costume of any description that fits YOU and looks exactly the way you want it I think you'll end up giving it a go. I did and it worked for me. As most of my students know, I've adapted my gym T-shirt with integral bra to suit the long hours of teaching belly dance at all day workshops to give me the flavour of a belly dance outfit but the flexibility of a washable and stretchy top. As you can see from the image to the left, this is a black top that really moves with you even if you're pushing things to their limits with an upper body undulation. However, why not simply knot a T-shirt and wear a pair of beach trousers or sarong - it's as simple as that!
Try these web sites for ideas on everything from coin bras to the whole regalia.
I've also found that there are some good paper patterns available on the internet from a number of the usual dress pattern companies - usually in the costume section - well worth giving a look. However, if you really don't want to make your own and only something made to measure will do then why not take a cheats way out and go along to one of the many dressmakers and tailors dotted around the county and have them take the sweat out of it?
http://www.sevenveils.co.uk/learning/costumes/
http://www.annabella.net/coinbra.html
http://www.kawakib.com/page-16.html
http://www.zilltech.com/FAQCostumeHP.html
http://www.shira.net/make-cveil.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Books-Making-Beaded-Belly-Costumes/lm/1Z1JBS0NLNJB8
See below reference to sewing veils and harem pants......
I've recently found that a number of the U.S. based companies producing dressmaking patterns stock ranges of patterns suitable for belly dance. My favourites are Simplicity Patterns which have a very useful set which includes harem pants and choli tops and is a great tribal offering. Another pattern for more usual belly dance gypsy outfits and another that has definite Indian influences and looks lovely. All these patterns come in a realistic range of sizes - U.K. 6 through to 20 would you believe - and are well worth getting your hands on - even if it means ordering through the internet, which I hate. If you're able to get to one of the larger John Lewis stores you might find that they stock two of each on all these patterns but they're sold out the staff are very helpful and will order for you.

Veils

 
These are two of my favourite veils for teaching with. Both are silk and fairly light but more importantly they are transparent which means that I can see my students at all times. I'll pop a photo of my demo' veil below before the veil workshop in July as it's quite different from the ones you can see here.
Usually buying a good veil means you're looking for a length of silk that can be held with your arms out-stretched and still have some excess fabric dangling free. However, unlike most classes we also have a number of short veils which we advise students use for practise in their own homes as, frankly, most of us don't live in large roomed houses with high ceilings. Having been frustrated by overhanging light fittings while in the midst of dancing I've found this attitude to veils works best for real people. Obviously you can make both the larger AND the smaller versions of veil, just make sure you get very light fabric which is long enough for you to hold but still have a small length hanging below your fingers and that it's deep enough to cover amounts of your body for revealing etc. Mine tend not to be as deep (from head to whatever length you prefer) as I loan my veils to students and we're all different heights. In the picture above I'm also wearing traditional harem pants.... these are easy enough to sew if you've a mind but I bought mine in Granada.... good excuse for a holiday? They're a bit transparent but a sturdy leotard works pretty well and maintains dignity I guess. If you make your own you can use opaque fabric. I also own a pair of harem pants without the opening at the sides..... good option if you don't love your legs that much or want to avoid the white of winter shining through.
  

Resources for further reading
When you become interested in a subject you may find yourself wanting to totally immerse or just get a wider, more in-depth understanding of it and I hope belly dancing will be just like that for you. I have used a range of materials over the years to find out more about this dance form, here are just a few ideas to start you off. The most interesting resource is the internet where you can find huge amounts of information about the origins etc. of belly dance. As these tend to be sites created by enthusiasts rather than an authoritative body you should always do comparative readings as everyone has their own slant on things and some may just be wrong - it's true of many things after all. However, it's the most incredible resource and I highly recommend it to everyone. There are also a number of books which some of our students have told us they've enjoyed reading which you might like to check out. Belly Dancing Basics by Laura Cooper and Bellydance by Keti Sharif are quite different styles of book. The former endeavours to show some basic dance elements and give a basic grounding in and understanding of creating a routine and some of the early concerns of belly dance; The latter caters for those who are more into the techy side of belly dance like which instruments should instigate responses from which part of the body or brief descriptions of social history behind belly dance. Personally I think that both are just fine if you want more belly dance information and don't want to stare at the computer screen hour after hour.

If you have any questions about belly dancing why not drop us a line and we'll try to help. I know you'll get as addicted to this great dance as we've all become and I look forward to welcoming you into our group of gyrating ladies.