A few shimmies and hip drops can empower even the timidest woman to come — or dance — out of her shell. The trick to belly dancing is "all in the torso," said Garnett Kepler, longtime artistic ...

When Jamila Salimpour created the Bal Anat belly dance company to perform at the 1968 Northern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire in San Rafael, she was already a foundational figure in a style ...

On Friday, Sept. 16, violinist, vocalist and composer Sami Abu Shumays hopes to introduce those classics and also lesser-known tunes to a new audience, when he brings his Arabic music ensemble ...

A flyer and a simple “Do you like good music?” from a promoter led to an obsession. At the time, Rebecca Williams was 17 or 18 and went to a concert for a band she had never heard of, Beats Antique.

“Andalee” Nicole Owens, a professional Middle Eastern dance artist from Clovis, will host the Hot Raqs Belly Dancing Competition and Festival in the Clovis Veterans Memorial District on April 22 and ...

At first glance, Alia Mohamed’s Instagram account appears like a fantastical throwback, reminiscent of Middle Eastern record covers and black-and-white movies of the ’50s and ’60s. In one post, the ...