ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book highlights belly dance in the United States. Belly dance is an intriguing pursuit to examine because it provides insight into a leisure subculture dominated by adult women of all ages, while also attracting a sprinkling of men. Leisure activities and subcultures are sites for identity construction and gender projects. Many belly dance scholars and writers suggest that the activity is one of the oldest dance forms in the world dating back to between 3,000 and 25,000 BCE. Although the origins of belly dance are based in community and social dances with fairly utilitarian purposes, in the United States the dance consists of polished movements that are combined with Westernized costumes and used to entertain various publics. Belly dance is not a single style of dance. It is a continuously evolving mixture of cultures, movements, and styles.
