Shafi'a El'eptiyya

Shafiqa al-Qibtiyya or Shafiqa the Copt (1851–1926) was an Egyptian belly dancer and one of the first female owners of a night club in Cairo of the late 19th century. Due to her success in Egypt and abroad, she is known as the first internationally famous belly dancer.

In 1963 Hassan el-Imam based his film Shafiqa al-Qibtiyya on her life and career.

Life Early life Later know by her stage name Shafiqa al-Qibtiyya, She was trained by the ghawazi dancer Shawq, despite her family's disapproval. When taking lessons with Shawq on Sundays, she told her parents she was going to a local church. When she decided to become a professional dancer, she ran away to the Mediterranean Coast to perform at local saint's festivals, also known as mawlids. Finally, she returned to Cairo to join Shawq's troupe performing at weddings and private parties.

Al-Qibtiyya was the first belly dancer to become famous outside of Egypt The routine also features champagne glasses rhythmically clinking on the dancer's stomach as it moves.

Legacy Hassan el-Imam's 1963 film Shafiqa al-Qibtiyya (Shafiqa the Copt) transformed Al-Qibtiyya into a symbol of late 19th-century Cairo's glamorous nightlife, turning her into a mythical figure known for her talent and flamboyant persona, making it difficult to distinguish the facts of her life from fiction.