But as Sammy Mahmoud, Tourism Counsellor with the Embassy of Egypt puts it, “The performance is a window to the rich cultural heritage of Egypt. I hope like belly dancing, Tanoura will become part of the subculture.”

Organised as part of the Visit Egypt 2008 campaign, the one and a half hour performance by the Cairo based Al-Tannoura troupe began with “tahmeila”, a musical interlude by each of the nine artists.

After the prologue, the narrator Inshad Deni, in a sonorous voice broke into a song in praise of Allah expounding on the origin of the Sufi tradition. An hour into the performance, the dancers in traditional white robes—galabiya took center stage and leaned forward rhythmically, with a drum and salamia in tow. Heavy on symbolism, the senior dervish Ahmed Alawan took off the tanoura (the multi-coloured cloak) and whirled with incredible lightness and grace, his arms extended towards heaven.