A new branch of the Talents Development Centre has been launched in Port Said, with Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem in attendance. The inauguration comes as part of the year-long activities held under the ‘Port Said, Capital of Egyptian Culture 2021', which aims to strengthen the city's presence on Egypt's cultural map. The event also aims to boost the creative dynamism of the city's inhabitants. The Talents Development Centre, which already operates in Cairo, Alexandria, Damanhour, and Tanta, provides a large scope of educational activities, including musical instrument lessons, singing, and ballet courses. The classes and courses are attended by large numbers of youngsters, as well as adult students, all of whom benefit from the education provided to them by artists working in the respective cities. Visiting teachers also provide in-depth classes, alongside artists affiliated with 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, along with its Chairperson Magdy Saber, and the authorities in the Suez Canal and Sinai regions. In a press release to mark the launch of the new branch, Abdel Dayem said 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 available will be courses devoted to the "simsimiyya", a traditional Egyptian string instrument whose origins extend back to the country's ancient civilisation. Despite it not being widely played now, it remains popular in northern Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal region. The new centre will accept children starting from the age of six for visual arts, and seven for other classes. Ballet classes will welcome even younger children, with the minimum age required being five years old. The classes will be conducted by artists specialised in the respective fields.
