The lighter side of international news

Making a comeback: Male belly dancers in Egypt

CAIRO: Farid Mesbaah, male belly dancer, hopped on a car in the Shobra District of Cairo and strutted his stuff.

He clanged metal castanets, magically converted his hips into pistons and twirled his head around like a centrifuge. The crowd seated at tables lining a dirt alley clapped rhythmically. Young men in jeans jumped up to wiggle along.

Mesbaah was performing at the opening of the Old-Time Moon Café, a gig that, along with weddings, birthdays, nightclubs and circumcisions, is typical for belly dancers. Untypical, at least in recent years, are performances by men.

Male belly dancing, a centuries-old Egyptian tradition, is making a comeback - against the odds, considering its periodic suppression by government and religious officials. The problem for Mesbaah is that his craft has long been associated with homosexuality - a taboo in Egypt.

"I just like to dance," says Mesbaah, who has seven children. "It's very sensual. I've been doing it since I was little."
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SheikBen wrote:Have the seven children taken a toll on his body?