To Bianca Boll, belly dancing is a lot more than sparkly costumes, jiggly movements and exotic music. It was 21 years ago in Albuquerque, N.M., that Boll first experienced belly dancing, and she was ...

SEQUIM — Laura Samperi-Ferdig has been studying belly dance since she was 8 and teaching since she was 16. “Belly dance is one of the oldest known art forms,” she said. “Its true name is Raks Sharki ...

A flyer and a simple “Do you like good music?” from a promoter led to an obsession. At the time, Rebecca Williams was 17 or 18 and went to a concert for a band she had never heard of, Beats Antique.

Google the term “belly dance” and the first images the search engine offers are of white women in flowing, diaphanous skirts, playing at brownness. How did this become acceptable? The term “belly ...