Thirty countries were celebrated on Saturday 12 June when Cairo hosted the 8th round of the annual International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts which runs from 12 to 18 June.
“Drum Dialogue for Peace” was the slogan of this year’s round. Set in six different cultural venues, the opening was staged in the open air theatre of Beir Youssef, at the premises of Cairo’s Citadel.
Celebrating various cultures and art heritage, this round also was a celebration of resilience and persistence after being postponed for one year. “Through the persistence of the Egyptian Minister of Culture, Inas Abdel Dayem who decided to resume cultural activities, we started to arrange for an international festival during Covid time. And we decided to approach the embassies and collaborate with amateur bands to represent their countries in Egypt,” explained founder director of the Festival, Intisar Abdel Fattah.
“Having Yemen participants is a great gesture in light of the difficult circumstances, and also the fact that the Ambassador of South Korea insisted on performing live at the opening reflects a lot of appreciation,” added Abdel Fattah.
The opening performance reflected a great effort on the part of all the talent that was shimmering on stage with all the different rhythms and cultures of 30 countries. The troupes each started to simultaneously play their own beats and traditional songs that reflected their unique identities. However, Intesar Abdel Fatah managed to orchestrate a vivid sense of harmony among all the rhythms on stage and created a mosaic mural of tunes that managed to engage the audience.
For this year’s Festival, Southern Sudan and Colombia are the two countries invited as guests of honor.
Siham Youssef, an organizer of the Festival, explained that the Festival also honors the Philippines which celebrates 75 years of cultural relations with Egypt, as well as Egyptian cultural figures such as Alexandria artist Esmat Dawistashi and Mahasaen Al Helw, pioneer of Circus Art in Egypt.
Attending the first day of the festival was quite a treat. Set in the open area in front of Al-Hanager in the opera house complex, yesterday’s schedule opened with Al-Falouga, a Palestinian folk troupe.
The young talents took the stage with their folk dance Dabka and the audience cheered and clapped along with their touching songs of resilience and resistance, and their passion for life.
Their opening speech was a salute to Al-Sheikh Jaraah and the People of Jerusalem announcing that “we are all victorious, and on this earth, there are things that are worth living for.”
The performance waltzed us amid the colorful Palestinian folk songs and dances. “We are the history and history is from us, time will tell tales of us, People of Gaza,” goes the folk song.
The next performance was that of the Circus Arts. It reflected the high capabilities and flexibilities of talented Circus Artists and included a magic show. Though it seemed to deviate from the main theme of the festival, yet the fact remains that circus art has its own unique intangible heritage that deserves to be celebrated.
The final performance was given by Egypt’s Sahel folk troupe. The opening scene engaged the audience by singing the popular folk song Ah ya Lalali. What was very interesting and outstanding about this troupe is the fact that women performers broke the gender taboo and performed the stick dance and the Tannoura side-by-side with their male counterparts. Their choice of costumes was out of the ordinary for the performers dressed up with ancient Egyptian headwear that did not match the other folk attire. Their closing song was the old- time favourite folk song “Etfarag Al Hallawa” (Admire such beauty).
The Schedule:
Performances start at 8 p.m. Entrance is free. The opening and closing ceremony are with free invitations available on the opening and closing nights at the premises of the Citadel.
Tuesday 15 June 2021
Venue1: Beir Youssef theatre, Citadel
Indonesia
Palestine, Kanaan Troupe
National Folk music Troupe, Egypt
Venue 2: Qobet Al-Ghoury
The Philippines
Southern Sudan 1
Dakahlia folk Centre troupe
Venue 3: Al-Hanager yard, Opera House premises
Southern Sudan 2
National Folk Arts Troupe
Oscarizma Troupe
Venue 4: Al-Horeyya garden
Palestine, Al Falouga troupe
The Circus Art (The Clown and the children)
The Stars of Cairo Troupe
Venue 5: Prince Taz Palace
Bangladesh
Reda Folk Troupe
Peap Band
Venue 6: Beit-Al-Sinnary Al-Saida Zeinab
Donqola Association Troupe, Sudan
Ain Shams University Troupe
Sahel for Folk Arts Troupe
Wednesday 16 June 2021
Venue 1: Beir Youssef theatre, Citadel
Donqola Association Troupe, Sudan
Nubian Drum Beat Troupe, Egyptian musical instrument troupe, and Hasaballa troupe (Egypt) in a Dialogue along the Nile.
Venue 2: Qobet Al-Ghoury
Al- Falouga troupe, Palestine
The National Troupe for Folk Arts
(A day for the love of Palestine)
Venue 3: Al-Hanager yard, Opera House premises
Indonesia
Reda Folk Troupe
Tabla El-Set troupe (Egypt)
Venue 4: Al-Horeyya garden
Yemen
Ain Shams University Troupe
Oscarizma Troupe, Egypt
Venue 5: Prince Taz Palace
Southern Sudan 1
The National Folk Music Troupe
Circus Art troupe
Venue 6: Beit-Al-Sinnary Al-Saida Zeinab
Southern Sudan 2
Palestine, Kanaan Troupe
The Stars of Cairo Troupe
Peap Band (Egypt)
Thursday 17 June 2021
Rehearsal for all the participants on the closing ceremony (No Audience Allowed)
Friday 18 June 2021
The closing ceremony where all troupes shall perform under the guidance of Director Intisar Abdel Fattah
Venue: Beir Youssef Theatre, at 8 p.m.
