In her book "Imperialism and the Heshk Beshk", author Shatha Yehia traces the artform's roots to ancient Egypt, but says the modern colloquial term only emerged in the 19th century, coined by French ...

CAIRO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A high-profile Egyptian belly-dancer, Sama el-Masry, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,500) on Saturday for inciting ...

CAIRO -- Egypt's foreign belly dancers have been given their marching orders. The government says it wants to protect homegrown practitioners of the seductive Middle Eastern dance form and is no ...

CAIRO — When undercover police officers in Egypt swooped on an upscale nightclub on the Nile last spring and arrested a Russian belly dancer, the focus of their investigation was her costume — and ...

A Russian belly dancer faces charges in Egypt for alleged “incitement to debauchery” after a video showing her scantily-dressed went viral, security sources said. The sources said the woman identified ...

AMMAN (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Egyptian lawmakers have called for stricter surveillance of women on video sharing apps after the arrests of a popular social media influencer and a well-known ...

High-profile Egyptian belly dancer Sama el-Masry was sentenced to three years in prison Saturday after prosecutors said she posted sexually suggestive videos to TikTok. El-Masry, 42, was arrested in ...

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 ...

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 ...

You no longer have to be Egyptian to work as a belly dancer in Egypt. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The government has reversed a ...

CAIRO, June 27 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A high-profile Egyptian belly-dancer, Sama el-Masry, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,500) on Saturday for ...

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 ...