Farida Fahmy

Farida Fahmy’s name is, for Egyptian dance, a synonym for style, class and elegance. Her name is also tightly connected to the birth of the most famous Egyptian dance company, Firqit Reda or Reda Troupe. This dance company was able to create a new choreutic language, influencing the dance scene in Egypt and in the world.

This book, that contains her memories, it is not simply a record of personal anecdotes, but a journey in the artistic, cultural and political life in Egypt, during the Sixties and Seventies. The history, evolution and perception of dance in the MENAT countries is tightly connected not only to cultural evolution, but also to social and political events occurring in the societies where this dance is presented and represented.

Farida Fahmy’s book offers us a historical frame, to better comprehend the history and development of dances in the MENAT countries. It also offers many topics to reflect upon, if we look at dance, not as a mere entertainment, but as a touchstone that reveals strengths and contradictions of this form of art. In the lecture I will share with the public these topics, to provide relatively new and until now unknown historical data about Egyptian theatre dance and it’s evolution and expansion worldwide.