Dina disappointed with the fate of belly dancers in Egypt

Published May 18th, 2004 - 03:00 GMT

Prominent Egyptian belly dancer, Dina, revealed that there are not as many good dancers in Egypt as there was in the past, and that’s why foreign dancers are coming to Egypt. "These days the real business is in singing and belly dancers are not making loads of money as they used to be. I advise all the youngsters to head to singing if they want to make money." Dina added.

Dina revealed that she is affected when people write bad things about her, because she is concerned about her son growing up and reading these bad things. Dina denied the rumors about her wearing Hijab saying that she only wore it while she was in Hajj while doing pilgrimage. She said that rumors circled about her retiring but Dina asserted that she is still working and she recently finished filming her last scenes in the drama [Friska].

With regards to belly dancing Dina said that it’s not a bad thing to be a belly dancer asserting that it's part of Egypt's heritage. "Belly dancing is a world renowned art and is used in the USA as a mental medication" Dina explained.

Dina has been kicked off the set of the play “New Look” by the producer after she demanded to be paid a very high wage for her performance. Dina was to play the leading role in the play, but after her demand she was immediately replaced by Egyptian actress Elham Shahin.

Dina had previously agreed on accepting the leading role for a wage of 40 thousand Egyptian pounds a month, but gone back on her decision around two weeks ago and demanded 100 thousands instead.

The dancer’s decision to increase her wage came after she realized that she has become very popular due to her scandalous affair with her ex-husband and her resignation then returning to the spotlight. Since her return the dancer has received numerous offers to star in different films and to perform dances at different occasions. –Albawaba.com