Hermeen – Unsung Golden Age Dancer

I adore watching old videos of classic Egyptian dancers. The costuming is so inspirational, and it makes me want to hit the drawing board to create unique and retro designs. Recently, I decided to hunt down a relatively unknown, but extremely accomplished dancer, Hermeen.

Information about her is quite slim. According to most bios, she was born in Alexandria, Egypt, of Armenian descent.  Hermeen became a professional dancer and appeared in at least 24 movies. Sometimes she was just a dancer, other times she had small acting rolls. She later married her frequent co-star Egyptian actor Shokry Sarhan.  Other than these few facts, there has been little written about Hermeen.

What we can tell from surviving video clips is that she was an accomplished and versatile dancer. In the following clips, you will see her dance in a variety of styles including a fantastic Spanish dance with castanets ablaze! There are also examples of her dancing with a cane, and in one scene we catch a glimpse of her flexibility with a few seconds of floor work. Her spins are to die for, she has an amazing range of motion in her hips, and her connection with the music is undeniable.

Check out this collection of her videos on YouTube.

Kedbet Abril (April Lie), 1954  – http://youtu.be/Y5XIV7EZzFI

Check out her back bend, a moment of floor work and swords in this clip from Kedbet Abril (April Lie), 1954 – http://youtu.be/ysShmMcdQT4

This clip has an amazing spin sequence!  From Qoloub Al Nas, 1954 – http://youtu.be/u6uNFx1G4Us

In this clip, she dances with a cane  – Aashat Lel Hob (She lived for Love) from 1959 – http://youtu.be/aTx-OIvXacU

And to demonstrate how versatile Hermeen was, here is a Spanish dance: – http://youtu.be/_9Na_zCr2zU

Check out the amazing backbend Hermeen performs in this clip from El Donia Lamma Tadhak, 1953   – http://youtu.be/3sxgXC6J9PM

Dance clip from Kedt Ahdem Baiti (I Almost Destroyed my Home), 1954 –http://youtu.be/7Gd69u6ARYU