Quoted By:
Belly dancing as we know it - the bra and bare belly costume, the expansive movements - is basically the creation of one Lebanese-Syrian Christian woman, Badia Masabni (1892-1974), who opened a cabaret in British-led Egypt in 1920s Cairo, creating sexy dances we all enjoy now.
Though the core of belly dancing is thousands of years old, likely from ancient India and spread to the MidEast via Roma (Romani - travellers - 'gypsies'), it was dancer - club owner Badia who gave the sensual art its beautiful current form, her club being a dramatic locale for spies and soldiers during the war.
But as British power began its exit from Egypt, around 1950, Badia was forced to sell her club, also facing an extortionate 'tax' attempting to confiscate her life savings. Thanks to holding physical gold, Badia was able to rent a private plane and escape with much of her fortune to Lebanon, where she lived in peace until the 1970s.
