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In this study, the researcher develops a documentary-driven methodology to understand the ways four women in the United States use their involvement in the belly dance phenomenon to shape their ongoing individual identity development. The filmmaking process itself and its

In this study, the researcher develops a documentary-driven methodology to understand the ways four women in the United States use their involvement in the belly dance phenomenon to shape their ongoing individual identity development. The filmmaking process itself and its efficacy as a process to promote self-understanding and identity growth among the participating belly dancers, are also investigated phenomenologically. Methodological steps taken in the documentary-driven methodology include: initial filmed interviews, co-produced filmed dance performances, editorial interviews to review footage with each dancer, documentary film production, dancer-led focus groups to screen the film, and exit interviews with each dancer. The project generates new understandings about the ways women use belly dance to shape their individual identities to include: finding community with other women in private women's spaces, embodying the music through the dance movements, and finding liberation from their everyday "selves" through costume and performance.
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    Title
    • The Belly Dancer Project: a phenomenological study of gendered identity through documentary filmmaking
    Contributors
    Date Created
    2012
    Resource Type
  • Text
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    Note
    • thesis
      Partial requirement for: Ph. D., Arizona State University, 2012
    • bibliography
      Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-186)
    • Field of study: Anthropology

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    by Ramsi Kathryn Watkins

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