I had heard a positive review about this book from another dancer several years ago, and when the great bookstore, Powell’s of Portland emailed me a discount on a book order, I decided it was time to purchase this book. I’m glad I did.  This memoir/book on dance was written by Rosina-Fawzia Al Rawi and translated by Monique Arav.  The sub-title is “The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing.” There is a forward, cited works, an epilogue, and a section on books of related interest. 
 
Grandmother’s Secrets is written in four sections. Part One, “How it all Began” has the author describing her childhood, her family members and other people in her life as well as surroundings which defined her. This section sets the foundation for her perspective on the subject matter. It was rich in details of memories that the author shares. I really enjoyed that segment of the book the most and found myself wishing it hadn‘t ended so quickly.  It could be a book in itself.   

Part Two covers a ‘History of Women’s Dancing,’ which is a truly fascinating study over time. She covers the following periods: Greek, Romans, Christianity, Middle Ages, Arab World, Bourgeoisie, Industrial Times, and Present Day. It was educational and enlightening as to where different ideas have emerged about the dance through the centuries, and the influences that they have made on present day dance. Al-Rawi specifically discusses the art of belly dance in relation to these time periods, and includes pictures in this chapter.

In Part Three, From Head to Toe, Al-Rawi covers the parts of the body from the head to the feet and how moving and accessing each part to dance with corresponds to something else inside the body.  She ties in the mental and physical connections of the dance to the different body sections, and she actually seems to get a little heavy about the subject matter in a place or two. She also includes pictures in this section, but I would have liked to see some illustrations to go with some of the movements she was describing how to do.  There were some movements she described that I found rather fascinating as I’ve never learned them along the way and maybe have never even seen done before that are definitely worth working on.

Part Four is Variations and Rituals where specific culturally related dances are explained, such as the wedding, birth and trance dances.  She also covers veil stick, and floor dances.  A quote starts off the Floor Dance section: “If you wish to elevate yourself, then you must learn to go to the ground.”  “Walking and Whirling” highlights such traveling movements as “Gazelle,” “Arabic” and “Camel Walks.” Whirls include the “Fatl,” “Egyptian” and “Half Whirl.”  Al-Rawi introduces these with an interesting history and culture lesson, and then proceeds to tell you how to accomplish each of them.  

I recommend this book for those who are serious about Middle Eastern dance and who want to learn more about it from a cultural and educational perspective.  I plan to re-read it when I get time as I found it very pertinent to my dance life and life in general.