Hello Dancers,

I find great joy and comfort in watching old black and white movies - both American and Egyptian. I want to share this clip today because it features the song we are learning in our online belly dance class.

This is Naima Akef performing in a scene from the 1954 Egyptian movie “Aziza”. In this movie she plays dual roles as Aziza and also her younger sister. Emad Hamdi plays Hassan the policeman who has a soft spot for Aziza and also starring were Zeinat Sedki and Said Abou Bakr. Farid Shawki plays Khalil who becomes obsessed with Aziza. . Trivia: The movie was directed by Hussein Fawzi who was Naima Akef’s husband between1953-1958.

The song Aziza was originally composed by the great Egyptian composer Mohammed Adel Wahab. It is a belly dance classic here in the US as well, and almost every band you can dance with, at least in the Bay Area, can play this one so it is a good one to learn if you have dreams of performing live one day.

You will notice that the tempo of this version is faster than the version I am using in class. I feel like this is closer to how I hear it played by the bands.

I hope you enjoy it! The caption is courtesy of The Caro Van, an essential resource for any belly dance lover.

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A little bit more about Naima Akef here.