Directory
Dancers
The professional people layer of Raqs Atlas — performers, instructors, choreographers, schools and the legends who shaped the art form.
205 profiles · showing 121–144
All Dancers
New York · Romania
Morocco / Carolina Varga Dinicu
Carolina Varga Dinicu, universally known in the dance community as Morocco or Aunt Rocky, began working professionally as an Oriental dancer in New York in 1960. She became one of the earliest American dancers to approach Middle Eastern and North African…
Barcelona · Brazil
Munique Neith
Munique Neith is a Brazilian dancer of Arab descent who established a major professional career in Barcelona. She founded large Oriental dance schools and has trained substantial numbers of dancers and teachers. Her international career includes performances…
Legend · Egypt
Nabaweya Mustafa
Nabaweya Mustafa was an Egyptian dancer and occasional actress whose career unfolded during the formative decades of Egyptian musical cinema. She came from a family connected with the Awalim professional entertainment tradition. Between the mid-1930s and…
Dancer · Mexico
Nabila Aswan
Nabila Aswan is a Mexican dancer who began studying Arab dance at approximately thirteen years old. Before relocating to Egypt she was active as a teacher and event organiser in Mexico. Around 2020 she moved to Egypt and began building a professional career…
Toronto · Egypt
Nada El Masriya
Nada El Masriya grew up in Cairo immersed in Egyptian music, dance and everyday cultural traditions. Her formal dance training began in school folklore activities and later continued through the prestigious Reda Troupe School. At Cairo University she studied…
Legend · Egypt
Nadia Gamal
Nadia Gamal was born in Alexandria and became one of the most important dancers connecting the Egyptian and Lebanese performance worlds. Her mother introduced her to dance and performance at an early age. She developed a highly theatrical vocabulary enriched…
Dancer · Japan
Nadia Sueoka
Nadia Sueoka is a Japanese dancer who established her professional career in Singapore in 2005. She has trained extensively in Egypt and Türkiye and has travelled to more than thirty countries for dance. Her work includes Oriental dance, folklore…
Legend · Egypt
Nagwa Fouad
Nagwa Fouad expanded the scale of the traditional Oriental dance show by combining dance with elaborate choreography, orchestras, costumes and theatrical production. Composer Mohamed Abdel Wahab created the musical work “Amar Arbatashar” especially for one of…
Legend · Egypt
Nahed Sabri
Nahed Sabri was an Egyptian dancer and actress who became particularly visible during the 1960s. Her career developed at a time when Raqs Sharqi remained an important feature of Egyptian popular cinema and entertainment. She appeared in films as both a…
Legend · Egypt
Naima Akef
Born into the renowned Akef Circus family, Naima Akef began performing when she was only four years old. Her circus training gave her extraordinary agility, speed and control, which later distinguished her in Egyptian musical cinema. She became known as a…
Legend · Romania
Nejla Ateş
Nejla Ateş became one of the most internationally visible Turkish Oriental dancers of the mid-twentieth century. Born in Constanța, she developed her career as a Turkish performer and eventually achieved considerable fame in the United States. Her appearances…
Lebanon and Cairo · Egypt
Nelly Fouad
Nelly Fouad was born in Alexandria and entered professional dance unusually young, joining an Awalim troupe while still in school. She initially developed her reputation in Lebanon before returning to Egypt and becoming part of Cairo's professional Raqs…
Legend · Egypt
Nelly Mazloum
Nelly Mazloum was an unusually versatile Egyptian dancer, choreographer, actress and teacher. A child performer, she later became associated with ballet and appeared as a prima ballerina at Cairo's Royal Opera. She also worked extensively with Egyptian dance…
Legend · Turkey
Nergis Mogol
Nergis Mogol belongs to an early generation of professional Turkish Oriental dancers whose careers predate the television stars of the 1970s and 1980s. She began appearing on stage extremely young and later became known in Turkey and other Middle Eastern…
Dancer · Spain
Nesma
Nesma is a Spanish dancer and choreographer who established a major part of her early professional career in Cairo. Between 1993 and 1998 she performed thousands of professional shows in Egypt, gaining direct experience within the Cairo entertainment…
Istanbul · Turkey
Nesrin Topkapı
Nesrin Topkapı became one of the most culturally significant Turkish Oriental dancers of the television era. She began professional work abroad before returning to Turkey and building a major career. Topkapı became famous as the first belly dancer to perform…
Cairo · Russia
Nour
Nour is a Russian-born dancer who became one of the most important foreign performers to establish a long-term professional career in Egypt. She began choreographic training at around eight years old and was exposed to several Soviet and Central Asian stage…
Kyiv · Ukraine
Olena Sinelnikova
Olena Sinelnikova is a Ukrainian dancer, choreographer and educator with a substantial competition and teaching career. She founded the Isfahan Dance School and created the Isfahan Bellydance Festival. Her own competitive achievements include major results at…
Dancer · Israel
Orit Maftsir
Orit Maftsir is an internationally recognised Oriental dancer particularly associated with the elegant aesthetics of Egyptian Golden Era cinema. Her artistic development was strongly influenced by old Egyptian films and the movement quality of dancers such as…
Dancer · Argentina
Oscar Flores
Oscar Flores began his professional artistic career in Argentina in 1995 and has worked across dance, theatre and fashion for more than thirty years. His training is unusually broad and includes ballet, flamenco, Oriental dance, theatre and music. In 2001 he…
Legend · Turkey
Özcan Tekgül
Özcan Tekgül was a Turkish dancer and actress who became prominent during the Yeşilçam cinema period. She began performing professionally in the 1950s and developed a reputation for dramatic stage presentations. Her repertoire included Oriental dance as well…
Legend · Turkey
Özel Türkbaş
Özel Türkbaş was a Turkish dancer, singer, actress and author who became highly influential in the United States. After an early career in Turkish entertainment and cinema, she moved to America in 1959. Her performances, recordings and instructional…
London · Turkey
Özgen Özgeç
Özgen Özgeç is a Turkish Cypriot dancer who established his international career from London. His repertoire centres on Turkish Oriental and Turkish Romani dance while also incorporating theatrical storytelling. He has worked extensively as a performer…
Dancer · United States
Petite Jamilla
Petite Jamilla grew up in a dancing family and was trained from childhood by her mother, folkloric dancer Jamilla Rasa. She began working professionally at fifteen. Later she became a founding member and choreographer for Bellydance Superstars, touring…