This page consists of interesting News / Articles related to Belly Dancing.

We source articles from our regular contributors ,customers and various internet sites . We strongly recommend to all our readers to visit the original site which you will find at the end of some articles.

“Welcome in Egypt,” A Journal                                               25-07-08

The following is an account of my visit to Cairo, with a side trip to visit friends in Alexandria, in April of 2008. My main purpose was different than that of most dancers, since I was really there to visit my dear friend, costumer Hallah Moustafa, and to try to get a deeper understanding of the people of Egypt.

 April 14^th- “Welcome in Egypt!”

It has taken me thirty-four years in reality, but for the last twenty hours or so, I have been traveling physically toward my destination. I am tired and my feet are swollen from extended air travel. The straps on my shoes will not fasten and I am none too tidy and clean, but I have stepped off the plane and on to Egyptian soil at last. Here I am, in Cairo!

I walk with my carry-on and huge purse down the walkway to the entry gate and Oops! I am turned back to get my entry visa. The clerk accepts my $20 American. When he offers me my change USA style, I ask for Egyptian money. His smile is broad as he takes back my mundane five -dollar bill and exchanges it for a lovely array of currency and coins that are the legal tender of his country.

 Noted percussionist Hossam Ramzy is a man on a mission to redefine the teaching of music.

                                                                                                         25-07-08

Away from the anxious public relations hawks and rolling tape recorders, Hossam Ramzy expounded his world views on unsuspecting reporters. The distinguished Egyptian percussionist and composer was easy with his opinions at a recent press conference and would have enriched the morning with his candid take on non-music matters if protocol had permitted.

Ramzy transferred his natural ebullience to the stage at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas with no difficulty later in the day when he interpreted the music of Umm Kalthum and Abdul el-Halim Hafez. The two-night performance was divided into Classical – which showcased the music of Egypt’s golden era – and improvisations pieced together by Ramzy and his seven-man ensemble under the Baladi segment.

Read full article here

CAIRO // At about 2.30am on a Saturday, Dina, Egypt’s most famous belly dancer, slinks on to the stage of Haroun el Rashid Night Club wearing a revealing pink outfit, accompanied by the sound of her trademark music.

Without an introduction she eases into her routine, gyrating her hips and rolling her stomach in slow, sensual motions, gradually raising the tempo with ever more daring and titillating movements of her thighs and torso.

The audience, made up of upper class Egyptians, Gulf businessmen and tourists as well as a smattering of westerners, is enthralled.

Dina is practising an art that dates back to the Pharaohs, but belly dancing, or raqs sharqi, is these days more often condemned as immoral than celebrated as a national pastime, as religious conservatism grows in Egypt.

In May, Dina caused an uproar after giving a brief performance at a high school party. Apart from the storm that ensued in the media, 17 Islamist and independent lawmakers filed an urgent inquiry with the education minister, and Nabih al Wahsh, a well-known lawyer, filed a lawsuit against her for “seducing students”.

Ali Laban, a legislator and member of the Muslim Brotherhood, called for talks with the culture, education and interior ministers, while Sherif Omar, who heads the education committee in parliament and is a member of the ruling National Democratic Party, referred to the incident as a “catastrophe”.

Dina, in her forties and who goes only by her first name, was taken aback by the reaction, though it is far from the first time her dancing has raised the ire of conservatives.

“When I heard that my dancing for five minutes while wearing a jeans and T-shirt in the prom party [caused such offence], I was shocked,” she said, sipping a cappuccino and smoking a cigarette in the cafe of the Semiramis InterContinental Hotel in Cairo, where she performs three times a week.

“Sometimes I feel I get used to these things, but I don’t, because they never cease to amaze me,” she said.

In Oct 2006, Dina was widely blamed – by officials, the media and the public – after scores of young men chased women through downtown Cairo groping them and pulling off their clothes – even those wearing Islamic headscarves and face veils.

Read the full article here

FINGER CYMBALS IN EGYPTIAN DANCE       By Aisha Azar        26.06.08

In Egypt, finger cymbals are rarely played while the RIGASSEH (Dancer) is performing RAQS EL SHARGHI ( Dance of the East or belly dance). However SAGAT, (finger cymbals) may well be the prop of choice when the music is Beledi. RAQS BELEDI (Dance of my country or the country), is a folk style of Egypt. The movements are very much like the root movements for Raqs el Sharghi. The reason is that the styles are very closely related and in fact belly dance owes its root movements to the older folk styles. Many kinds of Beledi dances involve props. These dances can be seen in the country and the city at parties, weddings, community gatherings such as saint's days and other festive occasions. The dancer might be using a cane or stick (ASSAYA), a water pipe (SHISHA) in some urban variations, a candelabra (SHAMADAN), sagat or other kinds of props. All of these dances come under the basic style of Beledi.

This is an abstract from Aisha azar’s Article “FINGER CYMBALS IN EGYPTIAN DANCE “
Please visit http://raqsazar.com  to read the full story also some very interesting articles.

The Last Egyptian Belly Dancer

Abir Sabri, celebrated for her alabaster skin, ebony hair, pouting lips and full figure, used to star in racy Egyptian TV shows and movies. Then, at the peak of her career a few years ago, she disappeared—at least her face did. She began performing on Saudi-owned religious TV channels, with her face covered, chanting verses from the Qur'an. Conservative Saudi Arabian financiers promised her plenty of work, she says, as long as she cleaned up her act. "It's the Wahhabi investors," she says, referring to the strict form of Sunni Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia Before, they invested in terrorism—and now they put their money in culture and the arts."

Source - http://www.newsweek.com/id/139434