Nagwa Fouad ( arz, نجوى فؤاد,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: ; born Awatef Mohamed Agami ( arz, عواطف محمد) on 17 January 1939) is an Egyptian

belly dance Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

r and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She has appeared in around fifty Egyptian films.

Family

Nagwa was born as Awatef Mohamed Agami, in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

to a middle-class Egyptian family from Agami region. She then changed her Egyptian folk name (Awatef) to a more artistic sounding one.

Career

She began belly dancing in the early 1960s. In 1976, the composer

Mohammed Abdel Wahab ''Mohamed Abdel Wahab'' ( ar, محمد عبد الوهاب), also transliterated ''Mohamed Abd El-Wahhab'' (March 13, 1902 – May 4, 1991), was a prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer, actor, and composer. He is best known for his Romantic ...

wrote an entire musical piece exclusively for her belly dancing show titled ''"Amar Arbatashar"'' (a popular Egyptian slang term meaning the ''"full Moon of the 14th (day)"''), it was her transition from traditional oriental dance to a choreographed stage performances. After Fouad's marriage to Ahmed Fouad Hassan, the prominent Egyptian violin player, composer and conductor, she danced in the stage show ''Adwoua El-Madina'' (City Lights), which had featured such performers as

Abdel Halim Hafez Abdel Halim Ali Shabana ( ar, عبد الحليم علي شبانة), commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez ( ar, عبد الحليم حافظ,) (June 21, 1929 – March 30, 1977), was an Egyptian singer, actor, conductor, businessman, music teach ...

, Fayza Ahmed,

Shadia Fatma Ahmed Kamal Shaker ( ar, فاطمة أحمد كمال شاكر; 8 February 193128 November 2017), better known by her stage name Shadia ( ar, شادية, ''Shādiyya''), was an Egyptian actress and singer. She was famous for her roles in ...

and

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

. Fouad featured on many of the covers of the Ahmed Fouad Hassan's albums. Fouad says: "Hassan nurtured my amateur's talents... He taught me the importance of studying and working on my talent if I wanted to be a big star." She also trained some Western dances at the ''Nelly Mazloum Dance School'' and joined the National Dance Troupe to study Western folklore with Russian teachers. Nagwa Fouad learned showmanship and eye-catching techniques that she used in her performances of "Ayoub El-Masri" (''"Ayoub, The Egyptian"'') and "Bahiya wa Yassin". Najoua_Foued_Esperance

In 1976, composer Mohamed Abdel-Wahab wrote "Qamar Arbaa-tashar" (Blue Moon or 14th moon) for her. Her stage performance to this piece allowed her to change the way belly-dancing was presented on stage, transforming it from traditional oriental dance to more of a choreographed lavish spectacle, adding more dramatic elements to it than ever before. The composition served as a transition for Fouad: "I was able to combine the oriental dancing of

Tahiya Karioka Taheyya Kariokka ( ar, تحية كاريوكا) also Tahiya Carioca (born Badaweya Mohamed Kareem Ali Elnedany), (February 22, 1915 – September 20, 1999) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress. Early life Born in the Egyptia ...

and Samia Gamal with Na'ema's acrobatic style and created a stage show like a dramatic piece" she says. Fouad offered original stage shows in five star hotels and productions for television for many years, not only in raqs sharqi, but also using inspiration from raqs sha'biyya (noted as folklore, or 'baladi') sometimes with folk singer, Fatma Serhan, and often with chorus ensembles of other dancers. Fouad established her own dance group, but it did not last long; she later tried to retire from dancing to become actress. She played on the stage and in the cinema and finally became a cinema producer.

Famous performances

* 1976 Qamar Arba'tashar (Moon of the 14th). Music by

References

External links

* Bellydance superstars
Nagua Fouad
at Belly-Dance.org * Hossam Ramzy

1939 births Living people People from Alexandria Egyptian female dancers Belly dancers {{Egypt-bio-stub