Sherif Sonbol catches Olga, a Russian ballerina, sitting alone looking bored while she waits for hours before it is time to perform her part in Tango -- presented by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company, directed by Italian ballerina Erminia Kamel, at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall three weeks ago and again, two weeks later. According to ballerina Sahar Helmi, "the rehearsal lasted for around 400 hours while the actual performance took only one hour." She pointed out that this show in particular took several hours of preparation and needed several rehearsals because it was presented for the first time by an American choreographer, who managed to discover budding dancers with potential, giving them lead roles. Congratulations! The Egyptian, Denmark-based couple Ahmed and Manal tied the knot at the Laylati Hall, Grand Hyatt. The groom, who is Reham El-Adawi 's nephew, said they would fly to Sharm El-Sheikh to spend their honeymoon. The Contemporary Image Collective (CIC), under the patronage of the Royal Netherlands Embassy, proudly announces the arrival in August of the World Press Photo 2007 exhibition, showing for three weeks at Al-Sawy Culture Wheel as of 9 August. US photographer Spencer Platt 's colour image taken on 15 August 2006 of Lebanese young people driving through southern Beirut following Israeli bombing made the premiere award, with many of the awards revolving around Lebanon and Iraq. The travelling exhibition shows annually in some 90 venues in 40 countries. It is the most prestigious news photography event in the world and amounts to a visual chronicle of world events. The 2007 exhibition contains some 200 prize-winning images, selected out of 78,038 images by 4,460 professional photographers from 124 countries. The CIC, Egypt's first independent artist-run photo-centred space was established in January 2005 by a group of Egyptian and foreign artists eager to find ways past the obstacles in the way of contemporary visual arts in Egypt. photo: Ayman Barayez Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Farag Al-Dokali gave a reception at the embassy garden celebrating the Moroccan National Day. Present were Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Hani Helal, Minister of State for Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Moufid Shehab and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and actresses Poussi, Nabila Ebeid, Algerian singer Warda as well as Al-Ahram Editor-in- Chief Osama Saraya. In the context of continuing efforts to improve the level of culinary skill in Egypt, the Egyptian Chef Association (ECA) has just concluded the 10th Anniversary of the National Culinary Salon (NSC). Over 160 chefs from various five-star hotels participated in this year's culinary arts show, held at Al-Saraya ballroom, InterContinental Citystars. The Egyptian Chefs Association was awarded two gold, 12 silver and 43 bronze medals in total. The Hilton Fayrouz Resort, Sharm El-Sheikh was the proud winner of the ECA Culinary Trophy 2007 with one gold and two bronze medals. Special prizes were also awarded to individual high scores. The veteran Lebanese singer Wadie El-Safi gave several concerts in Cairo and Alexandria on his last visit to Cairo. Here he is captured with Ramses Hilton Public Relations Manager Maha El-Qadi and its Advertising Manager Amal Rateb. Last week the Pharaonic Village organised a ceremony on the occasion of signing a protocol with the General Authority for Adult Education in Giza. The protocol was signed by Chairman of the Board of the Pharaonic Village Abdel-Salam Ragab, head of the Giza South District Mona El-Hawari, general manager of the protocol in Giza and manager of the protocol general authority Khaled Kamel. The protocol stipulates that the Pharaonic Village should sponsor literacy and adult education. Two classes will be inaugurated in the village and two other classes in schools. The Sultan Bin Ali Al-Uwais Association in the Emirates has donated 150 books on different topics to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Established in 1992 when poet Sultan Bin Ali El-Uwais thought of founding a prize in his own name, it has since become a major independent foundation. The Four Seasons at the Nile Plaza Hotel in Cairo hosted the Ghazi Zein Awadallah Cultural Salon. The salon honoured public figures and intellectuals including Secretary-General of the Arab Economic Union Ahmed El-Goweili, former minister of housing Hassaballah El-Kafrawi and permanent Envoy of Saudi Arabia in the Arab League Ahmed Abdul-Aziz. Actress Afaf Shoeib, actor Khaled Zaki and veteran footballers Hassan Shehata and Ahmed Shobeir were also among the honourees. Ambassador of Bahrain Khalil Al-Zawadi and Ambassador of Morocco Mohamed Al-Dokali both attended the event. The Ahmed Bahaaeddin Friends Society will launch its 10th annual Competition entitled "Arab Youth Participation in the Political and Social Fields", with the objective being a book on the topic. The association was founded to encourage young scholars and writers to pursue their work. The deadline of submitting a book is 30 October 2007. For more information visit www.ahmedbahaaeldin.com or e-mail [email protected].
