Foreign Dancers in Egypt

With Performing Licenses

Table of Contents

About This List

This is a list of foreign (non-Egyptian) dancers who have held licenses to perform raqs sharqi in Egypt. This list was compiled through a collaborative effort of many members of the now-defunct belly dance forum known as www.bhuz.com. In order to be included, a dancer must meet these criteria:

• Hold a valid legal license to perform
• The license must be for raqs sharqi (not folkloric dance)

If you have additions or corrections to suggest, please contact Shira.

If you are one of the dancers on this list, you may submit a photo of yourself to include. Use the "contact Shira" link to make Shira aware that you have a photo that you would like to send, and she will respond to you with instructions on how to send it. You must have the permission of the photographer to use it. The photo should be a width of 230 pixels.

Over the Decades

In the 1970's, it was possible to work in some venues without having a performer license. Therefore, not everybody who worked professionally in Egypt had licenses at that time. Later, the laws were changed.

Around 1984, Egyptian dancers rebelled at the influx of "foreigners" and demanded laws that would make it more difficult for foreigners to work there. The new law stipulated that foreigners could work in only one venue at a time, rather than having multiple jobs at multiple venues as they previously had done. The license identified which venue was authorized. When that contract ended, the dancer needed to quickly find a new venue and update the license.

Began in the 1970's

Dancer	Where From?	When Licensed?	Comments	Photo
Judy Jihan Reda (Judy Goldberg)	U.S.A.	?		None Submitted
Feiruz Aram	U.S.A.	1976-1977	Need to confirm whether she actually held a license or performed without one.	None Submitted
Elizabeth May	Switzerland	?		None Submitted
Shems (Lisa Loewenguth)	U.S.A.	?		None Submitted
Morocco	U.S.A.	1979-1983	Performed on the Kasr el Nil boat, at Salt & Pepper, and other venues. Also performed in Luxor with the Banat Maazin.
Sultana (of Queens)	U.S.A.	?		None Submitted.

Began in the 1980's

Dancer	Where From?	When Licensed?	Comments	Photo
Asmahan	United States	Initially, 1980. Later, 1990-1995.	Danced at Cairo Meridian, MenaHouse, Nile Hilton, Cairo Sheraton, Hyatt El Sallam, Holiday Inn, and Cave du Rois. Also danced in London, before going to Cairo.	None submitted.
Leyla Amir	U.S.A.	1981 - 1990	Danced at Balloon Theater, Al Hamra, Gouna City, Sheraton Heliopolis, Holiday Inn Pyramids, and Mena House.
Yasmin Henkesh	U.S.A.	1981 - 1983		None Submitted
Badia Star	Canada	1982 - 1986	Held contracts at Cairo Marriott, Ramses Hilton, Sallam Hyatt Heliopolis and Siag Penta. Performed at hundreds of weddings, festivals, and concerts.
Aegela	U.S.A.	1983 - 1985	Performed at the Hotel Alex in Alexandria. Also performed for weddings at the Nile Hilton in Cairo and the Alhambra in Heliopolis. One of very few foreigners to be granted a Lifetime Performer's license by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, which  allows her to return to Egypt to work as a dancer as long as she holds a valid U.S. passport.	None Submitted
Shareen el Safy	U.S.A.	1988 - 1992		None Submitted
Samasem	Sweden	1989 - 2004	Hotels that Samesem performed at include the Safir in Doqqi, Nile Hilton, Mena House, Meridien in Cairo, Semiramis, and Sheraton. Nightclubs that she performed at include Sunset, Tivoli, and Cave de Roi.
Sahra Saeeda	U.S.A.	1989 - 1995	Performed at the Meridien Hotel in Heliopolis.	None Submitted
Safiya	U.S.A.	Early 1980's	Performed in London, Cairo, and Alexandria.	None Submitted
Kamelia	Brazil	?	She danced at the Semiramis Intercontinental.	None Submitted
Diana Tarkan	France	1995?		None Submitted
Karima	Japan		Sahra Saeeda met her while in Egypt.	None Submitted
Sohaila	U.S.A.		She danced at the Meridien Hotel in Cairo.	None Submitted
Marina	Russia
Amar & Shams	Russia		At first, they worked as a duet. Later, Shams worked as a soloist.

Began in the 1990's

Dancer	Where From?	When Licensed?	Comments	Photo
Zeina	Sweden	1990-1994	She worked 3 years at Safir Etap Hotel in Doqqi, 3 months at Baron Hotel in Heliopolis, and 3 months at Sheraton Montaza Hotel in Alexandria.	None Submitted
Nesma	Spain	1993 - 1998	In the photo, Nesma dances as Ahmed Adaweya sings for her.
Yasmina	United Kingdom	1995 - 2002	She danced at the Meridien Hotel in Heliopolis after Jalilah Zamora left.	None Submitted
Jalilah Zamora	U.S.A.	1995-1995	She danced at the Meridien Hotel in Heliopolis from February to August. She danced at the Venzia in Alexandria from August through October.	None Submitted
Nour	Russia	1997 - ?		None Submitted
Caroline Evanoff	Australia	1998 - Current	"Current" as of January 2011.	None Submitted
Tamra Henna	U.S.A.	?		None Submitted
Eva	Spain			None Submitted
Sakti Rinek	U.S.A.	1991 - 1995	License was with Casino el Nar nightclub in Zamalek. Also obtained special permission to perform at Shepherd Hotel in Garden City. Was the first foreign dancer to be granted special permission to dance in the Egyptian Officer clubs.
Asmahan	Argentina	1999 - 2010		None Submitted
Liza Laziza	?	?		None Submitted
Keti Sharif	Australia	1993-1993	Performed at the Ramses Hilton with the Hassan Folklore group. Later, some corporate events, Red Sea performances, film appearances, tv spots that did not require a license.	None Submitted
Ketty	France	?	Was certainly working in Egypt in 2003, on the Nile Maxim at the time.	None Submitted
Katya	Russia	mid-1990's - ?		None Submitted

Began After 2000

Dancer	Where From?	When Licensed?	Comments	Photo
Majken Wærdahl	Norway	2000-2001	Held a steady job on the Nile Maxim in 2000, sharing the place with Nour. Also worked steadily at the Sheraton. During this period, used a stage name of "Hanin". Manager was Ehab Akef, who was also Nour's manager. Beginning spring 2001, transitioned to a new manager and worked on the Nile Pharaon boats, using a stage name of "Nagham". Appeared in Raqia Hassan's Volume 5 instructional video under the name "Micken". Photo by Lars Ervik.
Soraya	Brazil	2002 - Current	"Current" as of January 2011	None Submitted
Leila Farid	U.S.A.	2002 - Current	"Current" as of January 2011	None Submitted
Kasumi	Japan	?	Was already dancing in Cairo as of 2005	None Submitted
Outi	Finland	2005 - Current	"Current" as of September 2013
Marinna Hafsa	Portugal	2005 - Current	"Current" as of January 2011	None Submitted
Joana Saahirah	Portugal	2006 - Current	"Current" as of January 2011	None Submitted
Lorna Gow	Scotland	2006 - Current	"Current" as of January 2011. Performs on the Nile Pharaoh.	None Submitted
Magda Monti	Argentina	2010 - Current	"Current" as of January 2011. Performs on the Nile Pharaoh.	None Submitted
Sabriye Tekbilek	U.S.A.	2010 - 2011	Danced at the Semiramis.
Diana Esposito (Luna)	U.S.A.	2010 - Current	Contracted at the Semiramis in 2010. Contracted at the Nile Memphis in 2011.	None Submitted
Cherine	France	?	She danced at Mena House.	None Submitted
Dalila	Italy	?	She danced at Semiramis.	None Submitted

Can You Tell Us About These?

These dancers were identified in a discussion thread on bhuz.com as possibly having held performer licenses in Egypt. Do you know any of them, or are you one of them? If so, can you please confirm whether or not a license was held, and if so, for what years? Please send your answers to Shira.

Do You Have Additions or Corrections to Offer?

Please contact Shira with any corrections, additions, or updates you can offer.

Copyright Notice

This entire web site is copyrighted. All rights reserved.

All articles, images, forms, scripts, directories, and product reviews on this web site are the property of Shira unless a different author/artist is identified. Material from this web site may not be posted on any other web site unless permission is first obtained from Shira.

Academic papers for school purposes may use information from this site only if the paper properly identifies the original article on Shira.net using appropriate citations (footnotes, end notes, etc.) and bibliography. Consult your instructor for instructions on how to do this.

If you wish to translate articles from Shira.net into a language other than English, Shira will be happy to post your translation here on Shira.net along with a note identifying you as the translator. This could include your photo and biography if you want it to. Contact Shira for more information. You may not post translations of Shira's articles on anybody else's web site, not even your own.

If you are a teacher, performer, or student of Middle Eastern dance, you may link directly to any page on this web site from either your blog or your own web site without first obtaining Shira's permission. Click here for link buttons and other information on how to link.