Belly Dance in Nebraska: Identity, Social Acceptance, and Perseverance
Location
Ponderosa Room C
Presentation Type
Presentation
Presentation Topic
Belly Dance, Great Plains
Start Date
6-3-2026 2:30 PM
Event Sort Order
43
Abstract
Belly dance is inherently geographic, as seen through its places of origin, music and movement styles, global spread, practitioners, and practice spaces. However, it has not been well represented in geography, including in the United States’ Great Plains. It is often a contested art due to tensions over dress, terminology, and cultural practices within its community because the dance originated outside the United States. Additionally, inaccurate association with exotic dancing often results in stigma, and need arises to prove its legitimacy to outsiders. This qualitative dissertation explored the cultural/dance 15 identities formed by belly dancers in the central Great Plains, specifically Nebraska, to discover why Nebraska people belly dance, why Nebraska belly dancers continue to dancing despite stigma, and if belly dance in Nebraska is a safe space welcoming to all bodies. This study found that Nebraska belly dancers enter into the dance and stay for similar reasons as those in the literature, that stigma is present in Nebraska, and that the dance appears to be welcoming to all Nebraska people and bodies. My research adds to the field of geography by its use of both cultural and feminist geographic methods to focus on belly dance in a specific state of the Great Plains region, by the examination of who is allowed to use the belly dance space, and by the updating of literature on belly dance and the study of stigma. It also helps to educate Nebraskans and others outside the state about the belly dance community that lives here.
Belly Dance in Nebraska: Identity, Social Acceptance, and Perseverance
Ponderosa Room C
Belly dance is inherently geographic, as seen through its places of origin, music and movement styles, global spread, practitioners, and practice spaces. However, it has not been well represented in geography, including in the United States’ Great Plains. It is often a contested art due to tensions over dress, terminology, and cultural practices within its community because the dance originated outside the United States. Additionally, inaccurate association with exotic dancing often results in stigma, and need arises to prove its legitimacy to outsiders. This qualitative dissertation explored the cultural/dance 15 identities formed by belly dancers in the central Great Plains, specifically Nebraska, to discover why Nebraska people belly dance, why Nebraska belly dancers continue to dancing despite stigma, and if belly dance in Nebraska is a safe space welcoming to all bodies. This study found that Nebraska belly dancers enter into the dance and stay for similar reasons as those in the literature, that stigma is present in Nebraska, and that the dance appears to be welcoming to all Nebraska people and bodies. My research adds to the field of geography by its use of both cultural and feminist geographic methods to focus on belly dance in a specific state of the Great Plains region, by the examination of who is allowed to use the belly dance space, and by the updating of literature on belly dance and the study of stigma. It also helps to educate Nebraskans and others outside the state about the belly dance community that lives here.
Presenter Bio
Alex R Mohr received his Bachelors and Masters in Geography at the University of Nebraska at Omaha before heading to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he completed his PhD in August of 2025. He has had a varied list of occupations over the years, from zookeeper to lab tech, and upon returning to school this background made the field of geography a perfect fit. He considers teaching his third career, and as an adjunct at UNO and a substitute for Omaha Public Schools he keeps busy. He likes to spend time with his wife and their 3 furry children, read, and (sort-of) play his guitar. He also plays the Egyptian doumbek for belly dancers.