Neddasou

Nedda Sou

Amsterdam

Amsterdam-based dancer, choreographer, teacher and DJ Nedda Sou is looking for a myth that might make a comeback: a strictly no-phones dance floor, home to a mash up of social circles intent on sharing their energy through dance. Nedda Sou has a no bullshit approach to uniting people in and outside the club under one groove. No stranger to the complexities and hardships of having a mixed identity, Nedda is driven by a desire to break down barriers and establish honest role models. She has made youth theatre focused on authenticity and peer pressure, fusing Freestyle dance with Spoken Word, electronic music and physical theatre. She runs an event series called Pass The Torch, where a guest who is active in club or street culture shares their perspectives and experiences before showing a film that has inspired them on their creative journey. She’s the co-founder of The Update, a group of independent creatives in leadership positions focused on collective ownership of artistic spaces. Not to mention the vast experience she has as a teacher, mentor and judge in dance schools, workshops and tournaments around the world. Growing up in The Hague in a mixed-race Moroccan household, young Nedda struggled to find a sense of belonging until she found club culture. Moroccan pop, funk and traditional Arabic music blasted from the kitchen radio and at family gatherings, but it was the emotion of Moroccan hip hop cuts on cassette passed on to her by a French cousin that first truly captured her musical attention. A DJ Cut Killer cassette in particular really spoke to young Nedda. On presenting her finds to her older friends expecting gratitude and glory for enriching their lives with this music, Nedda was disappointed by their response. “Oh yeah, we know that one from the club”. Nedda Sou needed to get to this infamous “club” place. Not longer after, The Hague’s Club Asta and Paard van Troje became her stomping ground. But she didn't stomp like the rest of us. Nedda took to dance like a fish to water. It became what she lived for. After just a few years of professional dance training, she was booked to dance for Footlocker and Nike, at the TMF Awards and on MTV. But she was aware she was following someone else’s vision for her creativity, and she missed the club feeling, Then Nedda made a pivotal discovery. House dance culture. It was like a homecoming. Years later, Nedda Sou found herself learning basic music production skills when creating the multidisciplinary youth theater piece ‘Ja hé?’. Putting together a collage of sounds for the performance, something clicked in Nedda’s mind. She began selecting mixable tracks in her head whenever she listened to music. While recovering from a dance injury, Nedda took the plunge and rented a studio with decks in it so she could practice mixing “like a maniac”. Nedda Sou the DJ was born. Now Nedda Sou’s career as a dancer and teacher funds her ever-growing music collection. She DJed for Djoon, Paradiso, Red Light Radio and Lofi before the covid19 crisis shut everything down. Thankfully, she has kept her regular slot on Operator Radio, where she showcases her soulful sounds every month. Her selections are melodic, bassy, sometimes grimy, sometimes sing-along, usually House or Techno and always creating motion on the dance floor. Nedda Sou understands the power of the music she plays on a physical, emotional and societal level. She is exactly the honest role model we need to turn her myth into reality.