Nadira Jamal, Belly Dancer

In the Beginning

Nadira Jamal is living proof that you should listen to your mother. In 1998, Nadira's mom (a dance reviewer) returned from a show by Folkloric Productions, and said "you'd be perfect for this". She couldn't have been more right.

Style

Nadira dances with grace, skill, and great emotional range. Performances and costuming are elegant and tasteful, and appropriate for the whole family. Her effervescent style and infectious smile never fail to charm audiences of any age.

Nadira specializes in American traditional style belly dance. This style has its roots in the ethnic clubs and restaurants of the US in the 1950s and 60s. These stages served as a melting pot, and as musicians and dancers from many parts of the world performed together, new conventions and musical interpretation evolved naturally. American traditional belly dance is exciting, accessible, and crowd-pleasing.

In keeping with this style, Nadira's performances use an eclectic mix of middle eastern music, and incorporate traditional props, such as finger cymbals and flowing veils.

Experience

Nadira has studied belly dance since 2000, and has been performing for restaurants, private parties, and community events since 2003. Her public appearances include:

• The Athenian Corner Restaurant, Lowell, MA

• Restaurant La Camelia, East Providence, RI

• A Gypsy in Cairo theatrical production by Snakedance Productions

• ArtsCentral festival, 2005

• The MIT Earth Day celebrations, 2005 and 2006

• Argana Restaurant, Cambridge, MA

Honors

• Jewel of the Nile 2008: 2nd runner up (professional category)

• Third Annual Boston Belly Dance Awards (2006): 1st place winner in the New Performer (most advanced) category.

• Second Annual Boston Belly Dance Awards (2005): 2nd place winner in the New Performer (most advanced) category.

• First Annual Boston Belly Dance Awards (2004): 2nd place winner in the New Performer (most advanced) category.

The Buzz

What people are saying about Nadira

• "To all people who enjoy the art of Belly Dancing as performed by a Beautiful and Talented Dancer: I have had the pleasure of seeing Nadira dance on many occasions and simultaneously being honored to be a part of the instrumental group who provide her music. She has a magnificent stage presence which is amplified by her ability to perform the dance in harmony with her music. The art of the dance requires that the dancer interpret her music with body movements that tell the story of the dance and to this end, Nadira does this with uncanny perfection. - Edmund J. Telage DDS"

• "You are very expressive and exhibit a good moodiness at times. You look relaxed and sweet and exhibit a nice emotional range - in fact you showed the best range of emotion out of all dancers. One judge said you were the only dancer they smiled at genuinely because they wanted to." - anonymous feedback from 2nd Annual Boston Belly Dance Awards judges

• "Thank you so much for your participation in our latest Earth Day@MIT celebration! Your performances were quite a hit!" - Anne Wasserman

• "I was the event coordinator for the MIT Earth Day celebration and I wanted to thank you personally for your performance at our event. It was a magnificent performance and I loved the variety of moods, emotions, styles - of what little I know of bellydancing. But from what I saw - each dance of yours told a story and though I couldn't understand the words in the music - I could tell from your dance what was going on." - Nancy Boyce

• "it was terrific! your style, grace and sense for the art were just gorgeous" - Arthur Steinberg

• "You are one of the most talented dedicated students I have, and you are beautiful, to boot!" - Amira Jamal