Under wear of a woman/dancer in Cairo

Yes, I meant under wear, not underwear. Because there is still room for underwear under the under  wear. Got a bit confusing? Let me clear it up. This is the layer of clothes that is between the private clothing and the visible every-day wear.
It's an interesting but not much discussed topic because it touches different topics of living in Egypt: dancing, being a woman, covering up and "being polite".

Let's start with the basics. Egypt is an islamic country and dance is looked upon as non-prestigious profession. Women are especially criticized. This is the reason why many dancers make a statement by wearing the special under wear and also to save themselves from too much unwanted male attention (yes I know it might seem funny/weird/wrong/hypocritical but that's the way life is here). So women wear extra pieces of clothing to cover up some of their skin while dancing (but more often just in our every-day lives too), it shows respect to the culture and to dancers around. Here are some examples of my under wear collection:

From left: leggings, top, biker pants, hot-shorts, tricot

The leggings

Covered up to my heels

In dance. These are the kind of leggings that I wear to many of my performances in Cairo Opera House. Under skirts, dresses, transparent pants and galabeias. Usually I would wear beige color and it's provided by the opera costume hall. The idea is to look as if Im not wearing anything, but to be covered nevertheless. Most of my foreign friends who have seen my shows say it's distracting and obviously looks fake, not real skin. This is very typical to many folkloric dance companies in Cairo. Ballet company is wearing pantyhose and modern dance companies wear them less.

Climbing trees with
miniskirt and leggings

Everyday life. This is what women usually wear under a mini skirt or under short dress. They often match the color of the dress with the leggings. This is the "polite" way of wearing short clothing in Cairo.


The top a.k.a boobietop

Top under mermaid costume

In dance. I would wear it under a transparent shirt in a performance or to
my training under a light transparent T-shirt, but it's not the best option since with movement it usually lifts up and exposes your belly. I will get to the belly issue later;)
Everyday life. This is the best option under transparent light shirts on burning hot summer days. The beige top is made of cotton and feels cooler on the skin. The point with wearing this top is to cover your bra lines from under the light shirt. I have tons of half-transparent summer shirts that need help with covering the underwear. Many Egyptians women wear not a top, but a long-sleeve top to completely cover their hands.


The biker shorts

Vintage dance shoot.
Biker shorts under dress

In dance. I would wear this sometimes to my opera performances when the leggings would simply ruin the overall look of my costume. It's the sexy version of leg cover-up. I have also worn these to commercial dance shoots (video clips, TV-ads, flash-mobs etc) with knee-high dresses. So if I make a spin or a lift with a partner I won't show too much.
Everyday life. No, these are not for riding a bike! I think I have never worn these to street in Cairo, but I once used them as bikini cover-up as I walked to a beach in Sharm el Sheikh:)

Pink hot-shorts in Sharm

The hot-shorts
In dance. This was my under wear for bellydance costumes I used to wear in Sharm el Sheikh 4 years ago. Costumes with long open splits needed a "small help".
PS. There is no "Everyday life" comment for obvious reasons as you can understand by now.

The tricot
In dance. This is what I wear under my training T-shirt almost every day to opera. The main point is to cover the waist if my T-shirt should lift up during training. This is what a most girls are wearing. We might wear sleeveless shirt and show shoulders, but showing the belly is not considered appropriate.

Always ready and prepared
This weekend I performed with the dance team of Egyptian pop-star Tamer Hosny. I could only try on the costumes few hours before the show. This is completely normal for private commercial dance events and this is why a dancer has to be always ready with all the possible under wears, have them with her to add to her costume. Here is me with the guitarist of Tamer Hosny and if you look close I have an under shirt under the pink dress. Always ready in Cairo!