The Belly Dance Handbook is the definitive resource for anyone committed to this incredible ancient art. Starting from the ground up, internationally acclaimed dancer and author Princess Farhana shares her extensive knowledge on the practical application of belly dancing as a lifestyle. For new dancers just beginning their journey to seasoned performers, there is something in this book for everyone. With information ranging from technique and history to costuming, props and stage make up; from community-building and networking to turning professional, teaching and traveling, you will learn invaluable tips and tricks culled from Her Majesty’s twenty-plus years of performing, teaching, researching and personal experience. Princess Farhana learned these things the hard way…so you won’t have to! "No matter what style of belly dance you do, or if you didn't know there is more than one style, you need this book in your arsenal. Everyone will learn from this world-renowned dance master's experiences. After all, not just anyone earns the title Princess!" -Kajira Djoumahna, author of The Tribal Bible "Princess Farhana entertainingly brings you everything (really everything!) you need to know about navigating the treacherous waters of becoming a professional dancer…or a consummately polished performer. Sew a secret compartment in your dance bag for Princess Farhana’s gem of a book, and take control of your destiny!" -Marta Schill, author of The Compleat Belly Dancer "Princess Farhana brings us all closer to the dancers we would like to somehow become, the dancers we want to grow up to be. She is absolutely glittering, shimmering and pulsating with life – which is what you want in a dancer, a teacher, an artist, a friend, a mentor, and a force of nature." -Margaret Cho, comedian, actor, dancer

The Belly Dance Handbook: A Companion For The Serious Dancer

Arts & Photography

Gehman, Pleasant

Farhana, Princess

Hughes, Christina Maharet

Performing Arts

Princess Productions

From the glittering debauched nights of 1980s Hollywood ("Escape from Houdini Mountain") to the festering bowels of New York's Lower East Side ("Must Have Been Love"), these 23 mind-bending tales chronicle a young woman's quest for romantic adventure. Spun from her experiences in the L.A. underground, the stories are infectiously entertaining. Pleasant's eye for the human condition is pristine. Her heart shines as she revels in a carnival of delicately drawn characters. Some are sad, some sick, some brilliant, but in Pleasant's world they are all appreciated equally. Ultimately this book, for all it's wildly funny tales, is an evolved praising of feminine beauty and it's power in a world gone mad. Pleasant Gehman has been writing about L.A. for more than 20 years. She has appeared on E!'s Wild On Tinseltown, MTV, VH-1, and CNN. The author of several books including Senorita Sin and Princess of Hollywood, her work has been widely anthologized.

Escape From Houdini Mountain

Literature & Fiction

United States

Manic D Press, Inc.

Princess of Hollywood

Poetry

Incommunicado Pr

ROCK ’N’ ROLL WITCH recounts Pleasant Gehman’s astonishing life, where music and the unexplained have been constants for decades. Her supernatural experiences unfold to a soundtrack of old school punk, 50’s rockabilly, vintage blues, classic rock and girl groups. Stranger than fiction, her true stories of spirit encounters, synchronicity and her own psychic abilities are populated with the friends who also experienced them, including The Go-Go’s, The Cramps, The Germs, The Gun Club, The Blasters and many more. Her writing is riveting, loaded with humor and extraordinary details that will make readers question their own reality.\nPleasant Gehman could write the phonebook and I'd read it. In Rock & Roll Witch, she ties together tales of cemetery adventures from childhood through her wild days as a Hollywood punk rocker in the 1970's and beyond. Her language is thrilling and the stories remind me of great pulp fiction, except it's all real! 
- John Doe from X, Austin, TX\nReading this book is like sidling up to the bar in a dark and dangerous dive, sitting next to a stranger who begins telling you a story that draws you in and weaves a magnetic web of fascination. Her stories prove that ghost stories are not just "stories." It's a true mystical, magical page-turner that will leave you spellbound. 
- Madame Pamita, author of Madame Pamita's Magical Tarot (Weiser)

Rock 'N' Roll Witch: A Memoir of Sex Magick, Drugs, & Rock 'N’ Roll

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Punk Hostage Press

Showgirl Confidential chronicles just some of Pleasant Gehman’s amazing adventures, from over thirty years spent constantly on the road. From cross-country punk rock tours in the early 1980’s to her belly dancing escapades in Cairo during the Arab Spring, from dressing room antics at burlesque shows to unnerving paranormal experiences, this memoir is as finely crafted as it is riveting. The easy finesse of her writing, her keen memory and eye for detail will leave the reader devouring each story while remaining hungry for more.

Showgirl Confidential: My Life Onstage, Backstage, And On The Road

Belle, Book, and Candle: Hollywood's Dancing Coven

Leilani, Shana

Independently published

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Books by Gehman, Pleasant