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 ...

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 ...

As the traditional dance is increasingly associated with nightclub culture, Amie Sultan seeks to change perceptions of the artform and those who perform it As a trickle of tourists slowly returns to ...

Hundreds of women of all nationalities sway their hips and twirl in time to the beat of a drum in a hotel ballroom by the pyramids in Cairo. Belly dancing is said to have been practised in Egypt since ...