CAIRO -- Farid Mesbaah, male belly dancer, hopped on a car in Cairo’s Shobra district and strutted his stuff. He clanged metal castanets, magically converted his hips into pistons and twirled his head ...

In a country of 1.3 billion people, it's not easy to do anything first or best. But rising living standards, a greater flow of information and increasing ties with the outside world have enabled many ...

Dark eyes peep bashfully over a black, sequined veil. Silver tassels tremble as the belly dancer's hips move in a sweeping circle. His sideburns and muscular torso are less typical. Beirut's ...

When Segah dances, everybody cheers. His hips slope then shake; the muscles on his stomach vibrate with the coin belt across his loins. The drumbeat speeds up. The glitter on his chest and the gold ...

Belly dancing is often seen as Orientalist, erotic and undeniably feminine – but one Lebanese performer is using it to fight for gender fluidity. In the Middle East, the word ‘belly-dancing’ is never ...