Nadia Jamal
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nadia Gamal (, 1937 – 1990) was an Egyptian dancer and actress. She is known of mixing local Egyptian belly dance with Western Waltz, Cowboy, Cha Cha and other.


Early life and career

Born as Maria Carydias to a
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
father and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
mother in
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Egypt. Gamal first began dancing as a part of her mother's
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
act. Trained in piano as well as several kinds of dance such as
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
and tap, Gamal initially performed European
folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...
s in her mother's act. When she was 14, an ill dancer in her mother's troupe gave her the opportunity to dance raqs sharqi in Lebanon, which her father had forbidden her to do because of her youth. After this debut, she became a popular dancer and went on to star in many Egyptian films. In 1953, she dated Indian movie star
Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. Kapoor is considered one of the greatest and most s ...
after they met in Sri Lanka, but she moved back to Cairo. She did perform in a number of Indian movies too. In 1968, Gamal became the first raqs sharqi dancer to perform at the
Baalbeck International Festival The Baalbeck International Festival (; ) is a cultural event in Lebanon. Since 1955, people from around the world have gone to the city of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon to attend the annual festival. Classical music, dance, theater, opera, ...
. She also appeared at the
Cairo Opera House The Cairo Opera House (, ''Dār el-Opera el-Masreyya''; literally "Egyptian Opera House"), part of Cairo's National Cultural Centre, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is ...
and danced for
King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...
and the
Shah of Iran The monarchs of Iran ruled for over two and a half millennia, beginning as early as the 7th century BC and enduring until the 20th century AD. The earliest Iranian king is generally considered to have been either Deioces of the Median dynasty () ...
. Gamal toured Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and North America during her career. In 1978 and 1981 she briefly taught dance workshops in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Later in her career, Gamal started a school of dance. Gamal was diagnosed with
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
in 1990, and while undergoing treatment in
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
contracted
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
and died.


Style and influence

Gamal was known for her extensive use of floorwork. She also often included raqs baladi (folkloric dance),
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
dances and
Zār In the cultures of the Horn of Africa and adjacent regions of the Middle East, ''Zār'' (, ) is the term for a demon or spirit assumed to possess individuals, mostly women, and to cause discomfort or illness. The so-called ''zār'' ritual or ' ...
dance with raqs sharqi in her performances. She influenced many dancers such as Ibrahim Farrah, Suhaila Salimpour, and Claire Naffa.


Filmography

* ''Prem Pujari'' (1970) *''Bazi-e eshgh'' (1968) *''Bazy-e-shance'' (1968) *''Mawal al akdam al zahabiya'' (1966) *''Twenty-Four Hours to Kill'' (1965) *''Garo'' (1965) *''Layali al chark'' (1965) *''Zenubba'' (1956) *''Mawwal''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gamal, Nadia 1937 births 1990 deaths Tap dancers Egyptian belly dancers Deaths from pneumonia in Lebanon Egyptian film actresses Egyptian female dancers People from Alexandria Egyptian people of Italian descent 20th-century Egyptian actresses Egyptian people of Greek descent 20th-century ballet dancers