Egypt's FEC, TRAIN partner to support food exporters    Spot Gold, futures slips on Thursday, July 17th    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt expresses condolences to Iraq over fire tragedy    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's Environment Minister attends AMCEN conference in Nairobi    At London 'Egypt Day', Finance Minister outlines pro-investment policies    Sukari Gold Mine showcases successful public–private partnership: Minister of Petroleum    Egypt's FRA chief vows to reform business environment to boost investor confidence    Egyptian, Belarusian officials discuss drug registration, market access    Syria says it will defend its territory after Israeli strikes in Suwayda    Pakistan names Qatari royal as brand ambassador after 'Killer Mountain' climb    Health Ministry denies claims of meningitis-related deaths among siblings    Sri Lanka's expat remittances up in June '25    EU–US trade talks enter 'decisive phase', German politician says    Egypt's Health Min. discusses drug localisation with Sandoz    Needle-spiking attacks in France prompt government warning, public fear    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt, France FMs review Gaza ceasefire efforts, reconstruction    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    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    

Articles of the author Rania Khalil
Rise and fall of Egyptian circus captured in haunting exhibit
A few years ago in academic circles, it seemed like one could not go anywhere, including art galleries, without hearing the name Mikhael Bakhtin. Bakhtin, a turn-of-the-century Russian philosopher who died in 1975, was rediscovered in the 60s (...)

07 - 06 - 2011
'Visegrad' films explore life in distant political autocracies
For those unfamiliar with art from the Eastern European countries known as “the Visegrad,” it will be difficult to communicate the subtlety, depth and intensity of the Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovakian films screened this week under the (...)

01 - 06 - 2011
Tahrir Monologues: A declaration of independence
In the days and months that have followed the departure of former president Hosni Mubarak, it would be very easy to create a work about the January 25 Revolution in a way which prematurely capitalizes on its nostalgia. Along the fault lines of (...)

29 - 05 - 2011
On literature and the city
In its second year, the Cairo Mediterranean Literary Festival focused on the theme of “Literature and the City.” Designed as an opportunity for exchange between Egyptian writers and their counterparts from the Euro-Mediterranean countries, the (...)

26 - 05 - 2011
L'amour fou in downtown Cairo
Downtown art exhibit “Le Caire Mon Amour” is a collection of painting, performance and installation in an abandoned apartment on 7 Champillion St. It is the brainchild of French born, Cairo-based painter Anne du Boistesselin. Envisioned as a (...)

16 - 05 - 2011
An untoward Michael Jackson tribute at Opera House
What should be said at the outset of this review is that it is a biased one. I am in fact a deep admirer of late American pop star Michael Jackson. I remember quite vividly my classmates in primary school in the 80s joining the craze that MJ had set (...)

06 - 05 - 2011
Egypt's witty revolution caught on film
In the days and weeks that have just passed, art here in Cairo, and indeed throughout the country, has found an inextricable link with a larger cause of justice, freedom and of course the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak. Where much of (...)

17 - 02 - 2011
Loyac brings Omar Al Khayyam production to Egypt
On Thursday evening, Sawy Cultural Wheel in Zamalek will host the play “Omar Al Khayyam” based on the life and times of famed eleventh century Persian scholar and Poet, Omar Al Khayyam. A production of the Kuwaiti youth empowerment group, LoYac, the (...)

27 - 01 - 2011
Political parable raises eyebrows in 2B Continued Fest
Clearly, there is something about the plays of Eugene Ionesco that lend themselves to an Egyptian context. Perhaps this is why two of them appear in the five performances of Downtown's 2B Continued Festival of Theater and Dance this week. It is (...)

17 - 01 - 2011
Searching for an 'exit' in 2B Continued theater fest
In her book “The Art of Making Dances,” early 20th century contemporary dance pioneer Doris Humphrey observed “all dances are too long.” This couldn't have been truer in the case of a 30-minute piece entitled “Exit does not Exit” choreographed by (...)

14 - 01 - 2011
Children's theater makes a comeback in Old Cairo
It is not always easy to produce theater work for children that is simultaneously interesting for adults. This is the thought that ran through my mind while sitting down to watch the first scenes of “The Invention,” presented by ACT, the Alumni (...)

10 - 01 - 2011
A tree in the desert: An interview with Egyptian choreographer Karima Mansour
With the establishment of MAAT for Contemporary Dance in 1999, Karima Mansour became the founder of the first independent dance company in Egypt's history. One of the most established choreographers in Egypt, Mansour's latest work is "Nomadness, (...)

14 - 05 - 2009
Poignant last act saves patchy "Spartacus" ballet
It must be hard being the Bolshoi Ballet. One of the oldest and greatest ballet companies in the world, they have a 200-year reputation of excellence. It must be even harder being the Bolshoi Ballet of Belarus, because in the wake of the Soviet (...)

27 - 04 - 2009
"Figaro's" failed marriage between orchestra and vocals
An instrumental version of Mozart's classic opera buffa "The Marriage of Figaro (of 1784) is being staged this week at the Cairo Opera House. Opera frequenters will be surprised not to be treated to the usual lavish costumes, opulent scene changes, (...)

16 - 04 - 2009
AUC reinvents 'School for Wives' at new campus
On Dec. 26, 1662, a new play opened at the Palais Royal Theatre in Paris. It was the work of a compelling young playwright who was unfazed by controversy. Centuries later, the same play premieres at the new AUC Campus Theater in New Cairo to (...)

06 - 04 - 2009
Mai Refky's striking pensive portraits
A solo exhibition by painter Mai Refky is currently on view in one of the small galleries at the impressive Gezira Art Center in Zamalek. Refky's work is showcased alongside a host of other artists, including Walid Aouni, the director of Cairo's (...)

01 - 04 - 2009
An uneven combo of 'Carmina Burana' and 'Bolero'
Carmina Burana and "Bolero are two vastly different ballets currently combined in one performance at the Cairo Opera House. Accompanied by the Cairo Opera Ensemble and the Munich Percussion Ensemble, the work is part of the German Cultural (...)

26 - 03 - 2009
The elephant in the room
This month, Cairo's hottest contemporary arts venue Darb 1718 hosts an exhibition called "Nun by Amr Fekry, one of Egypt's most celebrated young artists. Like the space, Fekry's work straddles lines of elegance and timelessness, at once entirely (...)

19 - 03 - 2009
Magnificent 'Russian Hamlet' conquers Egypt
There is a well known guiding principle in the contemporary arts: No matter how experimental an artist wishes to be, he/she must study the classics. This week, the St. Petersburg ballet under the direction of Boris Eifman has taken this idea to (...)

12 - 03 - 2009
Voices of the strangers
This week, the Stranger Festival - Europe's largest competition for young video makers - arrived in Cairo. The touring show consists of 77 videos made by European youth. From Amsterdam to the Balkans, videographers up to the age of 25 present a (...)

05 - 03 - 2009
Lush costumes, lavish set rescue middle-grade "Lakmé"
Cairo Opera House is currently hosting opera "Lakmé, the story of ill-fated lovers, one Indian, one British, living under the British Occupation of India. Written in French by Leo Delibes, it is a story of love, vulnerability and betrayal (...)

26 - 02 - 2009
A winter delight with Slovak Folklore Ballet
It s a rare occasion when the Cairo Opera House can host a performance that does its lush atmosphere justice. This week, the Slovak National Folklore Ballet does that and more with their performance of "Lúcnica, a spellbinding collection of (...)

19 - 02 - 2009
Grotesqueness absent in 'Frankenstein'
A comment performance, installation and magazine, comprise the main elements of "Frankenstein, a "transdisciplinary project featuring international collaboration under the direction of Egyptian choreographer Adham Hafez. According to the (...)

17 - 02 - 2009
Pinocchio joins Shakespeare at new ballet performance
This week the Cairo Opera Ballet Company presents two back-to-back performances of "Pinocchio and "Jeu d'echecs (Shakespeare Suite). Contrasting lively flamboyance with a moodier sophistication - both works contrast on technical levels as well - (...)

12 - 02 - 2009
Classic dysfunctional relationship tramples postmodernism
Last week, Bibliotheca Alexandrina's sixth Creative Forum for Independent Theater Groups hosted vastly different dance performances. The Italian group Milo e Frida presented "Varco on Wednesday evening, while the 6 pm and 8 pm slots on Thursday (...)

09 - 02 - 2009
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