The Cairo Opera House is holding the 10th Egyptian International Modern Dance Festival from 16 June to the end of the month. The theme this year is “Dance, the Universe is Dancing”.
The journalists covering the event were given a handy file that included data on each performance and its synopsis in English and Arabic. The pack was well-prepared and extremely attractive except that, regrettably, the English version of several synopsis appeared to have been computer-translated and much of it made little sense. This was a pity as this year several new countries have been invited to take part, including Sweden, France, India, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Palestine, the US, Greece, and Algeria.
The opening night in the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House saw a performance of Othello by the Egyptian Modern Dance Company, choreographed by the international Swedish choreographer Marie Brolin-Tani.
Out of 24 performances, 15 are being put on by Egypt.
Six from 36 from Egypt, designed and directed by Fadwa al-Heneidi, and Past Continuous from Greece, directed by Albert Albert and Aleksandra Konnikova, are two of the best performances. The Egyptian director chose six of the 36 figures defined by the Department of Dramatic Arts as the relevant models of mankind used by directors in dramas. Heneidi established a personal relationship between the six characters to reveal each one’s role through the expressive motions and the indicative music. The six characters are the romantic, the conservative, the perverted, spoilt, the arrogant, and the lost.
The Creativity Arts Centre of the Opera House is hosting for the first time documentary films under the slogan “Documentation of Dance” by prominent choreographers such as Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey. Maurice Béjart, Pina Bausc, Carolyn Carlson, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Marie Brolin-Tani, with the comments and analysis of Ahmed Gomaa, Rafiq al Sabban, Walid Aouni and Ismail Fayed.
Every year the Creativity Arts Centre honours public figures, critics, and artists who have made significant contributions in the development of modern dance. Over the past nine years the CAC honoured 21 people; this year they are joined by Magda Saleh, Louis Grais, Adam Henein, Ahmed Zaki, Mounir Amer and Mohamed al-Gharabawi.