Government committed to facilitate easy financing for private sector: Finance Minister    Egyptian, Chinese transport officials discuss bilateral cooperation    Health Ministry adopts rapid measures to implement comprehensive health insurance: Abdel Ghaffar    Rafah crossing closure: Over 11k injured await vital treatment amidst humanitarian crisis in Gaza    Nouran Gohar, Diego Elias win at CIB World Squash Championship    Coppola's 'Megalopolis': A 40-Year Dream Unveiled at Cannes    World Bank assesses Cairo's major waste management project    Egypt sets EGP 4b investment plan for Qena governorate    Russian refinery halts operations amid attacks    NBE, CIB receive awards at EBRD Annual Meetings    Egypt's gold prices increase on Sunday    Partnership between HDB, Baheya Foundation: Commitment to empowering women    China's pickup truck sales rise 4.4% in April    Venezuela's Maduro imposes 9% tax for pensions    Health Minister emphasises state's commitment to developing nursing sector    20 Israeli soldiers killed in resistance operations: Hamas spokesperson    Sudan aid talks stall as army, SPLM-N clash over scope    Microsoft eyes relocation for China-based AI staff    K-Movement Culture Week: Decade of Korean cultural exchange in Egypt celebrated with dance, music, and art    Empower Her Art Forum 2024: Bridging creative minds at National Museum of Egyptian Civilization    Niger restricts Benin's cargo transport through togo amidst tensions    Egyptian consortium nears completion of Tanzania's Julius Nyerere hydropower project    Sweilam highlights Egypt's water needs, cooperation efforts during Baghdad Conference    AstraZeneca injects $50m in Egypt over four years    Egypt, AstraZeneca sign liver cancer MoU    Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23    Prime Minister Madbouly reviews cooperation with South Sudan    Egypt retains top spot in CFA's MENA Research Challenge    Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation    Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action    Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat    BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely    UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



So you think you can
Published in Al-Ahram Weekly on 29 - 09 - 2011

Venus Fouad is uplifted by the young talent at the Cairo Opera House, before being heavily let down
Every year, youngsters with a talent go to the Cairo Opera House seeking to enrol in music and dance lessons. The Opera House's Educational Centre for Promoting Talents has been in operation since April 1992, offering lessons in the violin, piano, ballet, opera singing and Arab music. A powerhouse of young talents, the centre is run by the legendary Ratiba El-Hefni and boasts among its teachers such distinguished artists as Marcel Matta, Nadia Abdel-Aziz and Iman Mostafa.
At the end of every year, the Opera House holds performances to showcase its new crop of gifted youngsters. This year the ballet performances featured two classes of students. One was utterly brilliant and inspiring, the other lifeless and discouraging.
The class run by Lamiaa Zayed saw 170 young dancers performing 11 scenes from Rimsky- Korsakov's Scheherazade. Yasmine Riyad and Marwa Magdi dazzled the audience in solo scenes inspired by palace life, while group dances featured slave girls challenging the awesome swordsman Masrour, and the two protagonists of Arabian nights, the lovely Scheherazade and her fearsome husband Sherayar, locked in duels of wit and intrigue.
In the second part of her show Zayed changed gear, throwing in her lot with hip hop modern dance performances in a brilliant set designed by Nermine Azab and backed by expert lighting from Reda Ibrahim. Zayed, who teaches choreography and ballet production at the Academy of Arts, designed the costumes herself, while Hala Mahmoud supervised the costume production in the Opera House's workshops. Tamer Abdel-Latif provided a set of enticing accessories for the scenery of the Turkish, Andalusian and Indian dances
In the modern half of the show, Zayed made use of soloists Mohamed Nabil and Mohamed Abu Sariye to bring the performance up a notch of two, making the whole performance by the youngsters look convincingly professional.
As soon as the Sameh Saber's show began, disappointment set in. It was a reiteration of the performances he has provided for the last two years, with the same youngsters, the same choreography, and even the same music. And yet it had no clear focus. The "selection of international and local dances" Saber had promised turned out to be a mishmash of styles, lacking innovation and bringing nothing new to the art. With names such as Waltz Cobilia, Dream, Shadows, Waltz Bonbon, Light, Pharaonic, Turkish, Bridal March, Navy March, 100 Years of Cinema, CanCan, Salsa, Comic, Halawet Shamsena (Our Lovely Sun), Michael Jackson, The Black Swan and Pas de Quatre, Saber offered us the usual fare of monotonous choreography and clichéd style. With the exception of two talented dancers, Yasmin El-Hawwari and Nadine Medhat, the troupe looked unmotivated and under-rehearsed. The talented opera soloist Ahmed Yehya was featured in one dance, Tawba (Repentance), but instead of dancing with the youngsters to enhance their style and add motivation, this was a solo dance almost unconnected to the rest of the show.
Adding insult to injury, Saber had his entire family working in the show. His son, Youssef, featured in almost every dance. His wife, Eisha Fouad, acted as an assistant coach and costume designer. Saber also included his daughter Romaysaa in the production, with a written note in the programme saying that she had edited the video. There was just one small detail: the show had no video.
This did not need to happen. Egypt has dozens of talented choreographers dying to work for the Opera House, as I am sure the Opera House director Abdel Moneim Kamel, himself a professor at the Academy of Arts, knows full well.
The good news is that a new art teaching centre for young talents has just opened at the Academy of Arts in the Sayyed Darwish Hall. I am very hopeful that this might have better luck than the Opera House's talent-promoting operation.


Clic here to read the story from its source.