I am so pleased and proud to announce that the volume I have been co-editing, Belly Dance Around the World: New Communities, Performance and Identity, has just been published by McFarland press!

My parents forwarded this photo of my author copies–they arrived at their house in the US a few days ago, along with a letter announcing that the book is now in print and orders are being filled.

I am very proud to have a part in this project which I believe is a real advancement to global scholarship in dance and globalization studies.  It was a real joy to work with contributors from all over the globe who each brought such insightful and unique additions to the volume.

My own contribution is on belly dance in the online game Second Life, looking at the success or failure of bodily representations of dance in a digitized format.  I also considered the social and cultural reasons people choose to dance even in a non-corporeal realm.  I extrapolate these into wider philosophical questions about the nature of reality and changing ideas of self and the body in our increasingly digital age.

What most excites me about the book is that we are donating the royalties to Women for Women International, an organization dedicated to supporting women survivors of war through economic, health, and social education programs.  The project isn’t over: our work will go on to touch many more lives.

If you want to stay in touch, please check out the book’s Facebook page.  As I said, it’s been a joy working on this project and I am glad that it’s entering a new phase with our support for Women for Women International.