Traditional belly dancing arose in Egypt in the early 20th century with the rise of evening cabarets and has been declining a century later owing to the lack of suitable public venues It is a late ...

Thursday 26 September witnessed the start of this year’s Contemporary Dance Night (CDN), the third edition of an independent initiative launched in 2011 by Ezzat Ismail Ezzat, an Egyptian performer ...

Belly dancing in Egypt faces stigma despite growing global popularity and heritage value Safy Akef, linked to a dance legend, has never performed on stage in Egypt due to lack of respect Choreographer ...

Egyptian belly-dancers Amie Sultan (C), Safaa Said (L), and Menna Emmam (C), full-time instructors at the Taksim Belly-dance Institute, take part in a rehearsal in Cairo. (Image credit: AFP) As belly ...

As belly dancing gains popularity internationally, young Egyptian performers are working to restore its reputation at home, pushing back against decades of stigma to reclaim the dance as part of their ...