Dance teacher Ali Abdelfattah says belly dancers are stigmatised in a way that doesn’t affect other professional dancers. “The ballet is seen as something graceful,” he says, “but when people see belly dancers, it throws up a lot of question marks. It’s not a good image.” Abdelfattah says that most of his students attend his workshops without their families’ knowledge. Because of the difficulties faced by Egyptians, many of those dancing in clubs, cabarets and at weddings come from abroad, especially from Russia and South America. Lurdiana, a Brazilian dancer working in Cairo, says she was recruited to belly dance in Sharm el-Sheikh. “They need dancers here,” she says.
