Almah (dancer)
Almah or Almeh (Arabic: عالمة ʕálma IPA: [ˈʕælmæ], plural ʕawālim عوالم [ʕæˈwæːlem, -lɪm], from علم ʻālima "to know, be learned") was the name of a class of courtesans or female entertainers in Egypt, women educated to sing and recite classical poetry and to discourse wittily.[1] They were educated girls of good social standing, trained in dancing, singing and poetry, present at festivals and entertainments, and hired as mourners at funerals.[2] The Awalim were first introduced as singers, not dancers-cum-prostitutes, according to Edward William Lane's book, Manner and Costumes of modern Egyptians.Lane additionally wrote that the Almah didn't display herself at all, but sang from behind a screen or from another room at weddings and other respectable festivities.Transliterated into French as almée, the term came to be synonymous with "belly dancer" in European Orientalism of the 19th Century.