Nagwa Fouad biography

Her name in Arabic: نجوى فؤاد‎,  born 1936, is an Egyptian belly dancer.

After her release she performed at the Abdeen Casino where she met Ahmad Fuad Hassan (her future husband for 6 years), a producer of stage shows that later became a famous conductor. He convinced her to perform live at the most prestigious music and dance show in the 1960s called Adwa El Madina (City Lights) which had featured such superstars as Shadia, Abdel Halim Hafez, Fayza Ahmed, and Sabah.

In 1976, the famous composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab wrote an entire musical piece exclusively for her belly dancing show titled Qamar Arba'tashar (meaning the full Moon of the 14th), it was her transition from traditional oriental dance to a choreographed stage performances.

The next important career step was Nagwa's marriage to Ahmed Fouad Hassan, the talented violin player, composer and conductor. Ahmed gave Nagwa Fouad her chance to appear in the very popular sixties stage show "Adwoua Al-Madina" (City Lights), which had featured such superstars as Abdel-Halim Hafez, Fayza Ahmed, Shadia and Sabah. Nagwa featured on many of the covers of the Ahmed Fouad Hassan LP's/CD's. Nagua took every career step well calculated: "Hassan was 17 years older than me, but I needed him. He nurtured my amateur's talents... He taught me the importance of studying and working on my talent if I wanted to be a big star. He trained me at the Nelly Mazloum Dance School and I joined the National Dance Troupe to study folklore with Russian teachers." Nagoua Fouad learned showmanship and eye-catching techniques which were obvious in her performances of "Ayoub Al-Masri" and "Bahiya wa Yassin". But Fouad Hassan wanted to have a baby with Nagua. Something she didn't approve to so this eventually led to her first divorce after six years of marriage. In 1976, Nagwa Fouad reached the top of her career when composer Mohamed Abdel-Wahab wrote "Qamar Arbaa-tashar" (Blue Moon or 14the moon) for her. Her stage performance to this special piece allowed her to change the way belly-dancing was presented on stage, transforming it from traditional oriental dance to more of a choreographed lavish spectacle adding more dramatic elements to it than ever before. The composition served as a transition for Nagwa: "I was able to combine the oriental dancing of Tahiya Karioka and Samia Gamal with Na'ema's acrobatic style and created a stage show like a dramatic piece" she says. Najwa established her own dance group but it did not last long and later tried to retire dancing to become actress. She played on the stage and in the cinema and finally became cinema producer.

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