Танец живота

From the 1959 film Aashat Lel Hob (She lived for Love) Hermeen does not have an acting part in this film and she only appears in this dance clip. It takes place at a village wedding and it's a baladi style piece with a falahi flavor danced with a cane. The song is an old Egyptian folkloric one called "Oulo Li 3aen El Shams ma Ta7mashi" (Tell the sun not to be too hot)
Hermeen begins to dance at around



From the 1955 film Fi Sabil Al Hob. (In the Name of Love) The dancer in this scene is Hermeen. This takes place on what is called henna night (leylet al henna) which is usually held the night before a wedding. The bride and her friends and female relatives all get together to put henna on each other's hands and feet. They sing and dance and celebrate. The round pan with the candles in it, which is on the floor in front of the bride in this scene, is the henna paste.
Henna night is not as common as it used to be and it's slowly becoming less and less frequent even in villages. The song in this clip is called Leylet Al Henna.

A clip from the 1954 film Kedbet Abril (April Lie) starring Ismael Yaseen as a deceitful husband and Mary Mounib as his wife. Hermeen plays the part of a casino dancer and this performance is part of her nightclub act. She has a small acting role in the film as well.
-Uploaded on May 3, 2011-
Hermeen was an Egyptian golden era dancer of Armenian heritage. She appeared in about 25 films and was married to Egyptian actor Shokry Sarhan



his is from the film El Donia Lamma Tadhak from 1953. Hermeen was an Egyptian bellydancer of Armenian heritage who was born in Alexandria. The man sitting in the sala watching the dancers is actor shoukry Sar7an. He was Hermeen's husband in real life. The singer is lebanese singer Najah Salam. The background dancers with the Melaya Leff appear as background dancers in many other Egyptian films as well. According to the film credits, their names are Sanaa, Fakriya, Aminia, Naia, Gelda and Leen.




This clip is from the 1954 film Kedbet Abril (April Lie) Hermeen is the main dancer in this scene. She has both an acting and a dancing part in this movie and her character is a dancer at a casino. This scene is part of her nightclub act and she is Morgianne in a show about Ali Baba and the 40 thieves.
It is interesting to see the use of the sword in this performance. Although it is a dance number about Ali Baba and the swords are used in keeping with the theme, still, its not often that one sees golden era Egyptian bellydancers dancing with swords.
Hermeen was an Egyptian bellydancer of Armenian heritage who was born in Alexandria and appeared in over 25 films. She was married to Egyptian actor Shokry Sarhan.