The Ahlan Wasahlan festival is an international belly dancing festival hosted annually attracting more than 550 novice and professional dancers from more than 40 different nationalities attending.

The internationally acclaimed Mrs Raqqia Hassan organizes the festival and invites novice and professional belly dancers worldwide gather in Cairo, Egypt for this week long workshop.

Together dancers attend master classes hosted by the very best dancing teachers to learn new moves and improve their current dancing skills. Mrs Hassan is responsible for the organization of classes, schedules and programs. Mrs Hassan releases a class and teacher timetable one month prior to festival commencement available at  www.raqiahassan.net

Join the Fun! Start dancing today

The term "Belly Dance" originates with Napoleon's soldiers who were probably the first Europeans to see the dance . They labeled it "danse du ventre", which is French for "Dance of the Stomach". The English term "Belly Dance" is directly translated from the French. Even thought it is called "Belly Dance" it is a dance involving the entire body especially the hips.

Today many dancers prefer the term Middle Eastern Dance (MED for short) because the dance is traditionally from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey. "Belly Dance" is also called by the Arabic term "Raqs El Sharqi," literally translated as "Dance of the East" and some times we hear it called "Oriental Dance."

Students can be male or female, large or small, young or old, Belly Dancing is something you can do it regardless of your figure type or age.

Belly Dancing like anything else in life it will give you what you put into it.
Belly Dancing is helpful in reducing stress, increase energy, and improves strength, muscle tone, and coordination. It has been said that it heals, strengthens and balance the body, mind and spirit all at once. Belly Dancing can also burn as many calories as walking or riding a bike. It's a great way to make new friends, be creative and expressive. The best part of Belly Dancing is the fun you can have while you exercise.

Wear something comfortable that you can easily move about in. You will need some type of hip scarf. Any piece of cloth that will tie comfortably around your hips will work. It helps the instructor to focus quickly on student's hips in class, and helps you isolate your hip movement.