Bellydancers are a wildly misunderstood lot. Presented by hucksters in America for the better part of a century, their art is rooted in service to both gods and men and — as is often the case with movement and bare flesh — their sinewy and sensuous dances are seen as a rather complicated come-on rather than the folk art-form that they rightly are. Dispelling all those unpleasant leers is Bellydance Superstars, on a 75-date U.S. tour through autumn. Touring since 2003 in more than two dozen countries, the Miles Copeland-produced extravaganza features 19 dancers and a percussionist, performing routines from the Egyptian, Turkish and Indian disciplines, mingling ritual and mesmeric contortion into one phenomenal experience. The cane, the veil, the sword, the candelabra headdress — they're all there, experienced best during the more languorous moments, during which you can most fully see the undulations in all their slow-motion, apparently boneless glory.

Fri., Oct. 1, 8 p.m., 2010

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