Michelle, ma Belle Aficionados of Cinderella and Swan Lake ballets will indeed remember last weekend for a long time to come. Their favourite tales were performed with a twist -- on ice. The Cairo Opera House Main Hall was the first choice of the Moscow Classical Ballet Company on Ice to tour some countries in the Middle East. Photographer Bassam El-Zoghby joined the crowd of fans. Veteran actor Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz has agreed to play the leading role in the new short film Al-Nashwa fi November (Ecstasy in November), based on the work of late novelist and Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. The film is the graduation project of the Cinema Institute students. In a gesture to film director Aeda El-Kashef, daughter of late filmmaker Radwan El-Kashef, Abdel-Aziz refused payment in honour of El-Kashef 's memory, who directed Abdel-Aziz 's hit film Al-Saher (The Magician) that amassed a number of international awards. To celebrate National Orphan's Day, Secretary-General of the National Council for Women (NCW) Farkhonda Hassan spent an exceptionally joyful day with 30 orphans of Al-Tawfiq wal Naga Association (TNA), located in Al-Haram district of Cairo. Hassan distributed toys and presents among the children. Head of the TNA Nagat Ali as well as members of the NCW were among the attendees. On the same occasion, Rotaract Nasr City Club (RNCC), in cooperation with Dar Al-Orman, organised a fun day out for the orphans in Magic Land last week. The children enjoyed playing games and watching the dolphin show. In cooperation with other Rotaract clubs the RNCC held a charity bazaar for second-hand clothes at Ain Shams University last month; all proceeds were donated to the renovation of the Children Hospital at Ain Shams University. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid During the shooting of the TV series Qatel Bela Agr (Unpaid Killer) -- directed by Rabab Hussein, scripted by Mustafa Muharam -- veteran actor Hussein Fahmi was surprised by the arrival of his wife, actress Leqaa Swedan at the studio with a birthday cake. Swedan and the cast together celebrated Fahmi 's birthday. A spectacular event was held last week celebrating the 30th anniversary of the New Cairo British International School (NCBIS). A Circle of Peace was formed around the Pyramid of Khafre in Giza. The event reflects to the world that young people from different cultures and religions can live together peacefully. With the participation of 50 different nationalities, some 1,500 students, teachers and parents participated in the Circle of Peace that symbolises peace in Egypt and the world. Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass participated in the event holding hands with the children. Singer Hisham Abbas energised the event with an exceptionally beautiful song about peace, created specially for the event. photos: Ayman Barayez Lebanese singer Assi Al-Hellani held a thrilling concert at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall. Revenues from the concert were donated to the Kidney Dialysis Unit at the village of Aghour and for building shelter in Qattamiya. The concert was organised by the Egyptian Association for Developing Villages presided over by Gihan Halawa in cooperation with Al-Amal Village, headed by Fatema Barada. Qalioubiya Governor Adli Hussein honoured Al-Hellani as well as a galaxy of high-profile figures including Al-Ahram back page editor Mona Ragab, Chairman of Telecom Egypt Aqil Bashir and Chairman of Amer Group Mansour Amer. Attending the wonderful concert were Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziyada, Vice-President of the Egyptian-Lebanese Friendship Association (ELFA) Ghazi Nasser, Chargé d'Affaires of the Lebanese Embassy in Cairo Ali Al - Halabi as well as members of the ELFA. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Tunisian Theatre, the Egyptian show Ali El-Zeibaq won the Ibn Arous Award for Best Show. Scripted and directed by Nabil Bahgat, it was performed by the Shadow Puppet Theatre and Qaraqoz troupe of Beit Al-Suhemmi, affiliated to the Cultural Development Fund. Mustafa Othman, who gained his popularity playing the role of character Amm Saber Al-Masri, was also awarded a certificate of recognition for his brilliant performance and for his long career in the folk theatre. In the framework of cooperation with the Italian region of Sicily both in the artistic and cultural fields, Qalioubiya governorate worked to promote the initiative titled "Italy as seen by the students of Qalioubiya". The latest activity was a drawing competition, involving students of primary and secondary schools, who used their imaginations to portray Italy. The drawings will be exhibited tonight at the Italian Cultural Institute gallery. An award ceremony for the best drawings will follow the exhibition to be opened by Qalioubiya Governor Adli Hussein. The visit of Gambian Foreign Minister Omar Alieu Tourary to Egypt was aimed at reinforcing bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as revisiting his own past in Egypt where he received his education at the Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University in 1987. His short visit ended with a dinner party organised by the Foreign Minister's Assistant for African Relations Mona Omar on the Pharaoh boat. The event was attended by Gambian Health Minister Mariatou Jallow. Award-winning chart topper Rihanna was spotted wearing the jewellery of world-renowned Egyptian jewellery designer Azza Fahmi on and off stage in her recent Jingle Ball gig in New York. Complementing her hip style, the stylish R&B star was seen wearing a sculptural silver geometric layered ring and a geometric square ring along with an array of strikingly sleek bangles with floral and geometric motifs. These pieces are part of Fahmi 's latest line. The International Mugham festival was held in the capital of Azerbaijan at the initiative of UNESCO and ISESCO goodwill ambassador, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva. The international Mugham competition opened at the Azerbaijan State Puppet Theatre. An international scholastic symposium, an international Mugham competition and a series of concerts were organised as part of the festival in Azerbaijan. The events were attended by some 100 visitors, and 30 scholars exploring traditional oriental music. The symposium gave a kick-start to the development of cultural ties between the two countries. The competition brought together 20 participants from Iran, Syria, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Turkey and Germany. Azerbaijani singer Tayyar Bayramov won the grand prix by the jury's unanimous decision. The prize is valued at LE20,000. The top three winners of the festival were Egyptian Mustafa Said, Uzbek Yulduz Turdiyeva and Iranian Mohamed Motamedi. They were awarded LE15,000, LE10,000, and LE5,000 respectively. The NDP's Secretary for Media Affairs Alieddin Hilal launched the regional initiative "The Dialogue for Development: Media and Societal Partnership", organised by the Arab Media Forum for Environment and Development, headed by Randa Fouad. Among the participants in the inaugural session were former prime minister Abdel-Aziz Hegazy as well as world-renowned environment expert and head of the International Centre for Environment and Development Mustafa Tolba. Last week, a press conference was held at the Cairo Opera House in the presence of the Turkish Embassy Attaché Ozkan Durmaz, opera singer Hassan Kamel, Director of the Cairo Opera Ballet Company Erminia Kamel and Opera House Media Officer Mohamed Hosni to announce the arrival of the Turkish Fire of Anatolia troupe in Egypt to present their latest rendition of Homer's Troy for the first time outside Turkey. Right by the Giza Pyramids, the troupe will stage five shows in April at the Sound and Light Theatre. The show will feature 100 dancers who will perform 13 scenes that represent the legendary life of Achilles, the hero of Troy. ( see Listings p.4)
