[1] Shafiqa started taking lessons with Shawq on Sundays, telling her parents she was going to a local church.

[3]: 39  When she decided she wanted to became a professional dancer, she fled to the Mediterranean Coast to perform at saint's festivals, also known as mawlids.

[4] She became a famous performer in the newly founded theatres and night clubs in Egypt, notably the El Dorado.

She created the “Dance of the Candlesticks,” where a belly dancer balances a candelabra (venyara or shamadan) on her head while performing.

The routine also features champagne glasses rhythmically clinking on the dancer's stomach as it moves.