I’m a bit confused about how Muslim nation can have a strong, proud tradition of belly dancing. Anyway, the Egyptians don’t seem to like foreign competition. Foreign Belly Dancers Fight Ban in Egypt:
Foreign belly dancers are appealing to the Egyptian courts to overturn a decree that stops them working in the country they consider the home of the dance, a performer and her lawyer said Thursday.Mohamed Ibrahim, a lawyer representing two dancers, Australian Caroline Evanoff and a Russian known as Nour, said Manpower and Employment Minister Ahmed el-Amawi issued the decree preventing foreign belly dancers from working in Egypt.
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Tickets fetch 200 Egyptian pounds ($35.52) for performances by top dancers in Cairo’s luxury hotels, where the mixed-sex audiences often throw generous tips onto the dance floor.Some dancers perform in cheaper, smoke-filled bars, frequented almost entirely by men, venues which some say give a bad reputation to an art form that requires years of training to perfect.