With the official ceremony having taken place at the Port Said Culture Palace earlier this week, Egypt's Culture Minister Ines Abdel-Dayem then launched the activities of the Talents Development Centre's branch in the northern city. The inauguration comes within the year-long activities held under the 'Port Said, Capital of Egyptian Culture 2021' which aims at strengthening the city's presence on the country's cultural map while boosting the creative dynamism for its inhabitants. The centres which already operate in Cairo, Alexandria, Damanhour and Tanta, provide a large scope of educational activities including playing instruments, singing, ballet courses, and others. They are attended by large numbers of children, young people as well as adult students benefitting from the education provided to them by artists working at the respective cities, along with visiting-teachers and those affiliated to the Cairo Conservatory as well as other renowned artists. The newly launched Talents Development Centre's home will be set at the Port Said Culture Palace, a body affiliated to the General Organization of Culture Palaces headed by Ahmed Awad. The operations will be under the supervision of the Cairo Opera House with its chairman Magdy Saber and the authorities of the Suez Canal and Sinai region. Commenting on the new Talents Development Centre's launch, Abdel-Dayem said in the ministry's press release, that the initiative aims to embrace talented young people and provide them with a chance of valuable development. The classes will span across numerous creative fields including: playing instruments, singing, ballet, performing arts and visual arts. She added that among the music lessons will be courses focusing on simsimiyya, an Egyptian traditional string instrument which its origins go back to the ancient civilisation and which remains popular in northern Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal regions. The new centre will accept children starting from the age of seven and even six for visual arts. Ballet classes will welcome even younger children, with the minimum age required being five-years-old. The classes will be conducted by the artists specialised in the respective fields. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
