Samia Gamal

Samia Gamal ( _ar. سامية جمال), born as Zaynab Ibrahim Mahfuz), (1924 - December 1, 1994) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress.

Born in the small Egyptian town of Wana in 1924, Samia's family moved just months later to Cairo and settled near the Khan El-Khalili bazaar. It was many years later that Samia Gamal met Badia Masabni, the founder of modern Oriental Dance. Badia offered Samia an invitation to join her dance company, which Samia accepted. Badia Masabni gave her the stage name Samia Gamal, and she began her dance career.

At first, she studied under Badia and Badia's star dancer at the time, Tahiya Karioka. However she soon became a respected soloist and brought forth her own style. Samia Gamal incorporated techniques from ballet and Latin dance into her solo performances. She was also the first to perform with high-heeled shoes on stage. She starred in dozens of Egyptian films next to the famous Farid Al Attrach. They could be easily thought of as the Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers of the Middle East. They not only played each others' love interest on the silver screen but also in real life. However, their love was not meant to be. Because of Farid's social position, he refused to marry Samia. Being a Druze prince, he told her it would bring too much shame to his family for him to marry a belly dancer.

In 1949, Egypt's King Farouk proclaimed Samia Gamal "The National Dancer of Egypt", which brought US attention to the dancer.

In 1950, Samia came to the US and was photographed by G. John Mili. She also performed in The Latin Quarter, New York's trendy nightclub. She later married so-called "Texas millionaire" Shepherd King III (who, it was later reported, actually only had about $50,000). All this brought her to star proportions in the US.

However, their marriage didn't last long. In 1958, Samia Gamal married Roshdy Abaza, one of the most famous Egyptian (of mixed Egyptian-Italian descent) actors with whom Samia starred in a number of movies as well. Samia Gamal stopped dancing in 1972 when she was nearly in her 50s but began again after given advice by Samir Sabri. She then danced until the early 1980s.

Samia Gamal died on December 1, 1994, at 70 years of age in Cairo, Egypt. Samia's charismatic performances in Egyptian and international films gave Oriental Dance recognition and admiration in Egypt and worldwide. She was and still is deeply mourned by the dance community.

Filmography

* "Samia Forever (Documentary, 2003)
* "Fabulous Samia Gamal, The, (Documentary, 2003)
* "The Stars of Egypt: Volume 3: Samia Gamal, Part I (Film, 19??)
* "The Stars of Egypt: Volume 3: Samia Gamal, Part II (Film, 19??)
* "Tarik al shaitan...aka The Way of the Devil" (Film, 1963)
* "Waada el hub... aka And Love Returned (Film, 1961)
* "Nagham el hazine, El... aka Sad Melody (Film, 1960)
* "Rajul el thani, El... aka The Second Man (Film, 1960)
* "Kull daqqa fi qalbi... aka Every Beat of My Heart (Film, 1959)
* "Maweed maa maghoul... aka Rendezvous with a Stranger (Film, 1959)
* "Gharam al-miliunayr" aka Love of the Millionaire (Film, 1957)
* "Amanti del deserto, Gli...aka Desert Warrior (Film, 1956)
* "Masque de Toutankhamon, Le...aka Trésor des pharaons, Le (Film, 1955)
* "Sigarah wa kas... aka A Cigarette and a Glass (Film, 1955)
* "Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs...aka Ali Baba; Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (Film, 1954)
* "Valley of the Kings" (Film, 1954)
* "Nachala hanem... aka The Lady Pickpocket (Film, 1954)
* "Raqsat al-wadah... aka The Farewell Dance (Film, 1954)
* "Wahsh, El... aka The Monster (Film, 1954)
* "Ketar el lail... aka The Night Train (Film, 1953)
* "Ma takulshi la hada... aka Tell No-one; Don't Tell Anyone (Film, 1952)
* "Amir el antikam... aka The Count of Monte Cristo (Film, 1951)
* "Taa la salim... aka Come and Say Hello (Film, 1951)
* "Ahmar shafayef... aka Lipstick (Film, 1950)
* "Akher kedba... aka The Final Lie (Film, 1950)
* "Sakr, El... aka The Falcon (Film, 1950)
* "Nuit des étoiles, La (Film, 1950)
* "Agaza fel gahannam... aka Holidays in Hell (Film, 1949)
* "Bahebbak inta... aka I Love You Only (Film, 1949)
* "Bint haz... aka The Lucky Girl (Film, 1949)
* "Sparviero del Nilo, Lo (Film, 1949)
* "Mughamer, El... aka The Adventurer (Film, 1948)
* "Sahibat el amara... aka The Landlady (Film, 1948)
* "Afrita hanem... aka Lady Afrita; Lady Genie; Little Miss Devil; The Genie Lady (Film, 1947)
* "Ahdab, El... aka The Hunchback (Film, 1947)
* "Ersane talata, El... aka The Three Suitors (Film, 1947)
* "Habib al omr... aka The Love of My Life (Film, 1947)
* "Bani adam, al-... aka Sons of Adam (Film, 1945)
* "Taxi hantur... aka A Hansom Carriage (Film, 1945)
* "Russassa fil kalb... aka A Bullet in the Heart (Film, 1944)
* "Ali Baba wa al arbain harame... aka Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (Film, 1942)
* "Gawhara (Film, 1942)

External links

* [http://www.gobellydance.com/SamiaGamal.html Samia Gamal bio at Go-Bellydance.com]
* [http://www.belly-dance.org/samia-gamal.html Samia Gamal bio at The Bellydance Museum]
* [http://www.jasminjahal.com/articles/99_12.carpet.html Egyptian Greats at Jasmin Jahal.com]
* [http://www.waleg.com/celebrities/archives/000227.html Samia Gamal bio at waleg.com]
* [http://www.hossamramzy.com/stars/starsofegypt_samya.htm Samia Gamal bio at Hossam Ramsey.com]
*
* [http://www.orientalischer-tanz.ch/videos/film_foto/Samia%20Gamal%20und%20Farid.asf Video Clip of Samia Gamal and Farid Al-Atrache from the movie Afrita Hanem]

Persondata
NAME= Gamal, Samia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Mahfuz, Zaynab Ibrahim; سامية جمال
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Egyptian belly dancer and film actress. Named "The National Dancer of Egypt" in 1949 by Egypt's King Farouk.
DATE OF BIRTH= 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH= Wana, Egypt
DATE OF DEATH= December 1, 1994
PLACE OF DEATH= Cairo, Egypt