The Ghawazi (also ghawazee) dancers of Egypt were a group of female traveling dancers of the Nawari people, a subgroup of the Dom people. The ghawazi style gave rise to the Egyptian raqs sharqi by the first half of the 20th century, and in turn to the Western forms of belly dance. While the performative raqs sharqi in urban Egypt was heavily influ...
Egyptian dancing girls
• (n. pl.) Egyptian dancing girls, of a lower sort than the almeh.
Gha·wa'zi noun plural [ Etymol. uncertain.] Egyptian dancing girls, of a lower sort than the almeh.