If only we could get a "fly on the wall" commentary on what life was 50 years ago, then 100 and then as far back as we can go.

Instead we have to look at writings, drawings, paintings and other artifacts and from these try and guess what life was really like then. From one tooth an artist might draw an ape like man walking like an ape, with the expression of one. We see this picture and assume cave man was like that. 

Pictures of Merrie England may have as little to do with England as Post war Britain has with pictures of the Queen. When I went to Turkey for holiday, I was asked where in England I came from. Manchester I replied, "Oh Manchester United" and off would go this one sided conversation, I had no idea of where even Mc United played, not even shure what shirt colours they wore. The Turks saw only pictures of Manchester United so of course built up a picture that every Mancunian would know all about Manchester United. 

Obviously the more recent the period the more we have at our disposal. For example we can get a reasonably good idea of Victorian England as there would be photos, writings and endless pictures and other works of art and individual biases could be spotted. But of the same period of the Middle East far harder because of language for one thing. This is why I have focused on Victorian England, and European culture to some extent along with the Trade Fairs and Burlesque. Being European I cannot to the same extent explore writings about the Middle East to the same extent but as time goes by I shall add reliable information as it comes my way. I suspect that I shall get this more via chatting to lots of Middle Eastern people and seeing if I can spot similar strands. 

I once saw this beautiful book of Turkish Folkloric Dance. It was a massive book with hundreds and hundreds of really stunning pictures of the most wonderful costumes you could ever imagine. I looked as to who the publishers were and they were the Turkish Ministry of Information and Tourism. Wonderful as the costumes were, the whole book oozed high class and respectability which is clearly what the Ministry would be charged with promoting. In a few hundred years someone stumbling upon this book could be forgiven to think that this was the sort of dancing happening all over Turkey and the only dancing. 

So with every picture and every writing you have to examine who were the publishers and what sort of bias they may have had. 

The highly reliable Rose Elliot of the Shira belly dance site which every belly dancer would know about takes slight issue with Wendy B...' publisher of the well known and respected book "Serpant of the Nile." It is over the Orientalist paintings which Rose E' states that Wendy B' does not give convey strongly enough that the paintings would inevitably be biased, as they are painted and therefore the subject matter would be seen through a White European Man's eyes. Perfectly sound point - but there is always a twist, apparently the artists were allowed into the quarters without any of the local women being present then the artists got models to pose for the nude shots - according to this web site specializing in Oriental Art. If this is what really happened the artists would have captured the interiors accurately but not necessarily the activities of the people therein. So it helps to know as much as possible about how the paintings were created exactly.

I am not too hot on my history but it would seem that prior to mass entertainment in the 19th and 20th Century, the Upper Classes, which of course were very wealthy would bring in entertainment including dancing. The palaces of princes would maintain their own private troupes of entertainers and these organized themselves into all sorts of guilds. The utter dependency on the upper classes for their livelihoods, would of course affect anything put "down in writing" so as to speak. 

Scholarly works such as Frazer's "Golden Bough" would be subject completely to the very strong fantasy image Europeans had of other countries, particularly Egypt as mystical and spiritual in the same say the Moslem and Hindu East as sensual. Thus these scholars would be inclined to overlook the uninhibited exhibitions of the Ghawazee and document acrobatic exercises and religious processions rather than nude dancers performing at banquets. 

The famous composer Rimsky- Korsakov's opera "Le Coq d'Or," conveys Russian fantasies of Asia in a highly romantic way. This is just as biased as is the latching onto the writings of the Armenian Dancer, Armen Ohanian where she states that belly dance is the "poem of the mystery and pain of motherhood," which of course would find special appeal for feminists. 

As I looked into Victorian Culture, I was astonished as to how extreme it was. More details in later chapters. 

So it helps greatly to know something of the pervading culture and thinking that existed around every item that we look towards in helping us to understand the past. 

Again this is why I will dwell on at length on Victorian culture and in this way we can in a more sober way look at the vast mass of information with a greater sense of reason. Up to that time I feel it is far more guessing and speculation and I therefore maintain that only from the Victorian period can I begin to say anything with some degree of certainty and then only at the moment for me at least only regarding matters in Europe and America do things really begin to fall into place. 

Though I have lived in Africa and have been to various countries in the Middle East, these to me at least are still a big, big mystery. If nothing else all this research is only revealing to me far more what I don't know rather than acquiring new bits of information. 

I feel that I am moving from stage 1) which is Unconscious Incompetence to stage 2) which is Conscious incompetence. If you want to know what the next 2 stages are they are : 3) Conscious Competence and then 4) Unconscious Competence. I can only say that regarding the History of Belly Dance for me 3) and 4) are still a long way off. Nevertheless I would like to share with you what I am finding out as I go along.