Aida Nour is one of my favorite dancers. I love her style of dancing and I was looking for more information about her life. I came across this article on the Gilded Serpent, which looks like it is about 10 years old.
The article discusses her early life and career and then has some wonderful quotes about dance that I wanted to share here. One of the things I especially loved was her thoughts on improvising and responding out of love for the music.
“If a dancer has very good technique and a good ear for the music she should just dance. -Aida Nour”
She goes onto say that the dance is about femininity, and since each dancer has her own feeling, each woman's dance will be unique. I thought her words from ten years ago were so important to repeat, because as we see an increasing shift to emphasize exacting drills and choreography, we lose this important connection to the dance: feeling and individual response to the music.
In another lovely comment, Aida Nour says that women all over the world can have a feeling for the dance and dance well, meaning that it is more about a woman's individuality than it is about nationality.
“Egyptian dance gives women femininity... each dancer has her own individual style. - Aida Nour”
I hope that new and continuing dancers will find inspiration in these words from one of the greatest Egyptian belly dancers of her generation. I certainly do!
Here are some beautiful vintage clips of Aida Nour.
Aida Nour in 1988 Part One
Aida Nour in 1988 Part Two
Here are some more modern clips, of Aida Nour with a shamadan. These two are among my absolute favorites, I just love her dancing so much.
Aida Nour with Shamadan Part One
Aida Nour Part Two
I hope you enjoyed those as much as I did. Happy dancing!!
Alisa