Saturday, June 15, 2013

AUC's Egyptian Folklore Concert

By Salma Kadry and Hagar Elfar


AUC's Egyptian Folklore Concert left people breathless

CAIRO, Egypt -- An exquisite Egyptian Folklore Concert was held at Malak Gabr Theater in AUC New Cairo Campus on Thursday.

The AUC music group along with the folklore group collaborated together presenting an astonishing performance that combines the traditions, diverse cultures and vibrant colorful costumes of the Egyptian society. 

The whole show was organized, performed, choreographed and hosted by the AUC community with the assistance of some professional musicians. 

The performance is preserving the folk traditions and reflecting on the various Egyptian cultures across Egypt's demographic. According to Nadia Abdelhady, Associate Director for Cultural programs in the Office of Student Development, "The folklore group help keep Egyptian traditions alive because their folklore performance show traditional dances from different parts of Egypt, dances which have to do with different occasions and different cultural practices." 

Rural Egyptians "fallahin", Nubians and Bedouins performances were displayed in the concert demonstrating the diversity of Egyptian dance throughout the country. Abelhady said, "Through dance the Egyptian cultural and heritage comes through, and is preserved, enjoyed and celebrated."  

The folklore performance is characterized by being very organized and well rehearsed. Every performance has a different lead dancer, which kept the audience entertained by the diversity offered. 

The folklore group has a busy schedule and they go through extensive rehearsals in order to produce such a professional performance. The group performs regularly throughout the year, and they meet at least two to three times a week. 

There is a structured process that the whole group must go through; they have to create a proper program, learn the dances, practice and prepare costumes, make up and accessories. Karma Marawan, one of the lead dancers, said, "The two or three hours we spend weekly on rehearsals is nothing compared to the hours we spend studying, and we love to dance, so we make time for it." 

Admission was for free to the AUC community. Throughout the show, the audience were cheering and applauding fervently, which created an energetic atmosphere. Many of the audience were friends and families of the performers, but still there was a mixture of Egyptian and International students who attended. 

No comments:

Post a Comment