Born
on 18 March 1930 in Cairo, Egypt, Mahmoud Reda is a pioneer of dance
theatre in Egypt. Soloist, choreographer and director of
hundreds of productions, Mahmoud Reda has toured in more than 60
countries, performing on the world's most prestigious stages. He has
also been principal actor, dancer and choreographer in popular
Egyptian films. Mahmoud Reda has been universally acclaimed
for his dance with the strength of and appeal of a Gene Kelly or
Fred Astaire.
In
1959 he founded the first folk dance company, The Reda Band, which
consisted only of 15 members , all dancers. Today,it has more than
150 talented members including dancers , musicians and technicians
. The band has presented more than 300 shows including dances
and folkloric songs , ballads , with different rhythm and different
features creating an atmosphere of entertainment and happiness . The
band also participated in two musical movies : " Mid year vacation "
and " Love in Elkarnak". Reda Band is endorsed by the Egyptian
Government "as a band capable of representing the Egyptian Folklore
both in music and dances." The group traveled throughout Egypt
collecting folk dances, and then toured the world, promoting those
dances as fine art, worthy of respect.
As a
soloist, choreographer and director, Mahmoud Reda made four world
tours to 58 countries with his troupe. He performed on the world's
most prestigious stages such as Carnegie Hall (NY, USA), Albert Hall
(London, UK), Congress Hall (Berlin, Germany), Stanislavsky &
Gorky Theaters (Moscow, USSR), Olympia (Paris, France) and the
United Nations (NY & Geneva). The Reda Troupe has performed for
many world leaders and Heads of states. Mr. Reda received Egypt's
Order of Arts and Science in 1967, The Star of Jordan in 1965 and
the Order of Tunisia in 1973. In 1999, he was honored by the
International Dance Committee/Unesco and by the International
Conference on Middle Eastern Dance in May 2001.
Mahmoud Reda draws from techniques of jazz, ballet, Hindu
dance and folkloric dance from the USSR. His work has shaped
and influenced what is known today as Oriental Dance (Raks Sharki).
Many former troupe members include master teachers Raqia
Hassan, Momo Kadous, Mo Geddawi and Yosry Sherif.
This
spring, the world famous Mahmoud Reda Troupe and the National
Folkloric Troupe joined forces to produce a full two hour
extravaganza of one of Egypt's strongest national assets: its
folkloric dances at Balloon Theater in Agouza, Egypt. Mahmoud
continues to teach through tours where he instructs in the famous
"Reda" technique. In July, He will be teaching a 2-days
dance workshop in the San Francisco bay area, followed by workshops
in Texas, Ohio and North Carolina.
Other
Reda Accomplishments
A
participant in the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952, Mahmoud Reda
represented Egypt in gymnastics after winning a gold medal in free
exercise at the Arab Countries Championships Alexandria in 1950.
Mahmoud Reda holds a degree in commerce from the University
of Cairo. From 1982 to 1990 he was Under-Secretary of State
in the Ministry of Culture. His publications include "In the
Temple of Dance"
National Band
for
Egyptian Folkloric Arts
including their famous candelabra dance, a stick dance and
much more! (To increase the screen size; click your right
mouse, then full screen to get out of it repeat the
process
Own 3
fabulous REDA Videos!
Mahmoud's Words
Upon
His Return Visit to India India was the
country from which I came to learn my first lesson in the fine
art of dance. I visited India in late 1964 with Reda Troupe for
folklore Arts to perform our shows in the Asian countries, starting
from Pakistan, then, India, Burma, Hong Kong, China, North Korea,
and lastly, Philippine and Indonesia. At that time, our troupe was
no more than five years old. It had just overcome the fiscal and
technical problems it had confronted in its stage of formation. We
had also just overcome the first and major obstacle, namely the bad
reputation associated with the art of dance which was being
performed only in night clubs in an atmosphere full of frivolity and
alcoholics. The aim we had set for ourselves at Reda Troupe was to
develop and raise the standard of this art, then dubbed as belly
shaking. As we were still groping our way with no one in Egypt
preceding us to follow his footsteps, it was extremely important for
us to make this voyage to a country like India which deems dance as
a refined art worthy of all esteem. Our aim was to apprise ourselves
with the latest developments in this domain.
During
this month-long visit, we presented our dance-performances to the
audience who loved this art by heart. We performed in Delhi where we
were honored by the presence of the then President of the Republic
of India who had tea with us at the premises of the theatre, another
yet generous signal of respect for art and artists.
Our
performances were received with much success and encouragement by
the Indian audience, which pleased us and assured us that we were on
the right way. Although I admired many things about the
advancement and civilization of the Indian people throughout the
visits of my troupe to many ancient places such as Taj Mahal, I was
particularly impressed by their great interest in dance. They study
this art, preserve and develop it through teaching its principles to
artists. There is a school for teaching dance almost in every city
and village. There is even a university in Calcutta where dance is
taught. You can see the words written by the great poet Tagore in
this university in which he LAUDES artists and elevate their status
in society.
My
visit to India at the beginning of my journey on the road of art of
dance has taught me a great lesson- that the refined art of dance is
indeed worthy of respect. It was thus in India that I have come to
learn the first lesson in admiring this fine art.
Premier female dancer, Farida Fahmy & Reda Band
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