A night out in Cairo - hunting for ballet!

Do you know the classical problematic issue for artists!? When dance is life we hardly find time to go and see other artists in our free time(do we actually have free time:) ?). Its usually because we have same working hours. Meaning, dancers and teachers are the night people, having rehearsals, classes, performances from usually between 4 to 10 PM. I have lost count of the invitations by dear friends who want me to come see their achievements and I had to decline because I cannot cancel my own work.
 
Yesterday I changed that! I decided to go and see the Cairo Opera Ballet Company new ballet "Oriental Steps". Surely not your expected famous international classic ballet synopsis! No heroes or princesses or magicians or any of that fairytale stuff. Real life, real EGYPTIAN life story in the language of ballet accompanied by beautiful oriental music.


I was invited by my Spanish ballet friends from the company and I decided to dress up and grab the chance to get acquainted with our neighbor company in the Opera.

I opened the program of the ballet and found out the ballet company ballerinas consist of 10 foreigners (Russia, Spain, Cuba) and 6 Egyptians and the male ballet dancers are dominated by 18 Egyptians and one Spanish foreigner. It was especially excited to follow the ballet, because I have many many friends within the ballet dance circle and it was my first time to see them in their professional moments in stage!

Erminia and Abdel Kamel

I couldn't write this blog without tributing the leaders and choreographer of the new ballet - most famous and prestigious dance couple in the Egyptian dance world - Dr. Abdel Moneim Kamel, the former director of Cairo Opera House (R.I.P. Dr. Kamel passed away recently and the Opera is in official morning at the moment) and his wife Erminia Gambarelli Kamel, the former graduate and teacher of Milano "La Scala" Opera ballet, now the director and choreographer of Cairo ballet. When she got on stage at the end of our ballet night, people tood up;)!

About the ballet. The story was one of the classics from Egyptian lives: busy labour office, crowded streets, man and woman meet in a park and soon get married and have childern, the man fails and looses his job because of corruption and bureaucracy, surprisingly the woman is successful in her job, drama and fighting within the family, break-up, time passes and both regret the drama and miss the other too much, love wins and brings them the family back together. The main theatrical character controlling the whole ballet is a golden bird following the man and the woman throughout the ballet as a symbol of luck, or the lack of it.

I have to say the soloists were truly at the level of European opera ballet companies, but within the corps the ballet I saw dancers who were a bit shaky and out of balance, fooling most of the audience, but not me;) Little bits of disorganization is typical for egyptian productions. For example, the side coulisses were not positioned in the right way so that I could see the dancers relaxing or mingling on the sided during their time off from stage. Cute but not professional.

Overall a beautiful experience! When You are in Cairo come and see us! Dance companies in Cairo are versatile and a real experience to witness!

With my ballet friends. From Left: Maria, Kaidi, Alicia, Vincent, Mahmoud