Egypt's Belly Dance Superstars

Egypt's Belly Dance Superstars
1920s - 1990s

The Golden Age of belly dance began in 1926, when a well-known Syrian dancer by the name of Badia Masabni opened the first European style cabaret on the banks of the Nile. This hard headed businesswoman single handedly transformed the sha'abi dance of the ghawazee into the floating butterfly we now know as "al raqs sharqi." The following women were unique cabaret artists of the last century who shone among the countless women performing the dance in the Middle East.

Classic Belly Dancers:
Badia Masabni
Tahia Carioka
Samia Gamal
Naima Akef
Beba Aiz-ed-Din
Katie
Sohair Zuki
Fifi Abdou
Nagwa Fouwad
Mona Said
Nelly Fouad
Sahar Hamdi
Shoo Shoo Amin
Zizi Moustafa
Aizza Sharif
Nahid Sabri
Ida Nour
Lucy
Dina