Founded, owned, and operated since 1985 by Lucy Smith, AKA Scheherezade, Scheherezade Imports is the largest wholesale supplier of Belly Dance supplies in the US, and a major retailer serving individuals in the Belly Dance community. We are committed to bringing you the best in music, costuming, and accessories direct from the source, at reasonable prices.

 

Lucy has been dancing since 1974 and currently teaches on going Middle Eastern Dance classes in Richmond, VA.   At Scheherezade Imports we stay current on all Belly Dancing trends by attending regional and national seminars, festivals, and workshops and by traveling annually to Egypt to research dance and  meet with eight ateliers to collaborate on designs for new merchandise lines. In addition we work with selected manufacturers in Pakistan and India who do custom design fabric milling and costuming for us. 
All of our imported merchandise is produced by hand, in cottage industry: usually in the home or small workshops in Egypt, India and Pakistan,  All of the workers and craftspeople are paid fair, above the local average wage for their work and no child labor is involved. Our business literally supports entire villages while also allowing women in a culturally acceptable manner to practice a skilled craft, earn money, and become financially self sufficient.
We believe in establishing and maintaining personal ongoing relationships with both our producers and consumers that are mutually beneficial to all involved.
We carefully inspect and buy only merchandise that is well made to survive the (vigorous demanding) movements of Middle Eastern Dance. Our focus is to provide durable, quality costumes and dance accessories that will provide many many hours of pleasure during practice, at class, and during performance.
We hope you enjoy browsing the website as much as we enjoyed creating it bringing it to you! If you can’t find what you need in our online catalog, call or e-mail us. We have many unique items in the warehouse and also offer a custom buying service for those hard to find items.

Scheherezade Imports is a member of the Better Business Bureau and maintains the highest Dun & Brad Street Rating.