At a Cairo wedding hall, Russian belly dancer Anastasia Biserova shimmied to the dance floor in a bright, high-slit skirt and an elaborately sequined bra top. She swirled her diaphanous pink shawl and ...

Some young Egyptians are trying to reclaim belly dancing as part of their country's artistic heritage, pushing back against decades of stigma — Khaled DESOUKI As belly dancing gains popularity ...

When I turned 17, I wanted just one thing for my birthday: belly-dancing classes. The dance's beauty, grace and creative costumes, along with its strong connection to Arabic music, made it a natural ...

Like many Egyptian authors on the issue, Bigad Salama, the author of a recent volume on the history of belly dancing, argues that it was in the 1920s in Egypt that belly dancing saw the beginning of ...

We call it "belly dancing," that alluring art form where dancers use their hips and torso in mesmerizing motion that is often seen as sensual and expressive. But in other places, the dance is referred ...

Sultan (C) and fellow dancers Safaa Saeed (L) and Menna Emmam (R) rehearse at a dance studio in Cairo As belly dancing gains popularity internationally, young Egyptian performers are working to ...