Haya" is a powerful and thought-provoking performance that sheds light on the challenges and triumphs of female belly dancers in contemporary Egypt.

Al-Monitor is an award-winning media outlet covering the Middle East, valued for its independence, diversity and analysis. It is read widely by US, international and Middle East decision makers at the ...

Women-only clubs are now a trend in morris dance, the 500-year-old English pastime that was once mostly male. And men in Turkey are performing as belly dancers, as they did in the Ottoman Empire.

Aya Youssef said she had returned to work as a teacher on Tuesday In Egypt ... Belly-dancing is said to date back to Pharaonic times but it is often frowned upon now for women to dance in public.

and Hamo Beeka (C), were convicted of "violating family values" Human rights groups have criticised an Egyptian court for jailing two popular singers over a video they made with a Brazilian belly ...