Reviews

Music and album reviews, festival and workshop reviews, books, films and performances, plus editorial recommendations for choreography and musicality.

Music Reviews · 21 October 2026

Alf Leila wa Leila: The Umm Kulthum Recording That Teaches Dancers to Wait

“Alf Leila wa Leila” is one of the great tests of a dancer’s musical patience. This review looks at how Umm Kulthum, Baligh Hamdi and Morsi Gamil Aziz build anticipation - and what raqs sharqi dancers can learn from letting music arrive before answering it.

By Raqs Atlas team

Music Reviews · 26 September 2026

Electronic Touches Belly Dance: A 1978 Arabic Groove Record Sounds New Again

Nearly fifty years after its original release, Assa’d Khoury’s Electronic Touches Belly Dance is back in circulation. We listen to the 2026 remaster from a dancer’s perspective: what makes this strange, funky, electronic record so compelling - and where might it fit in a modern raqs sharqi playlist?

By Raqs Atlas team

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