Ep 61. Donna Carlton: Myths and Scandals Around Little Egypt

What do you know about the historical figure of Little Egypt? Be ready to be shocked after listening to this episode, because Donna Carlton shares her extensive research on this topic, and unveils a lot of misinformation circulating on the Internet! Donna Carlton established the International Dance Discovery in 1987, selling dance accoutrement. She began teaching group classes at Lynda Mitchell Yoga Studio in 1989. She published the “Middle Eastern Dance Video Sourcebook” annually from 1989-2005. In 1995, she published her book “Looking for Little Egypt” about the history and perceptions of Middle Eastern Dance in USA. In this interview we discussed such questions and topics: - How did Donna get involved in the research project about Little Egypt? - What was significance of the 1893 Colombian Exposition in Chicago? - Scandalous performances of Little Egypt. - Was Little Egypt a real person? - The origins of Hoochy Kootchy melody. - Does Little Egypt have anything to do with original Middle-Eastern dancers? - The origins of the term “belly dance” in English language. - The influence of Little Egypt on the modern belly dance scene. Show Notes to this episode: Find Donna Carlton on Instagram , FB , her website . Her book Looking for Little Egypt is available at lulu.com . Also check Donna’s Fb page All About Bellydance . Find Iana on Instagram , FB , Youtube , website . My Inner Dancer: myinnerdancer.com Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast Bellydance Evolution and information about their new program and casting: bellydanceevolution.com