Reda
Troupe dancers, choreographers and trainers Atef Farag and Magda will be teaching
and performing in a 2-day dance workshop
and show in the San Francisco bay area. If you enjoyed Atef
Farag's workshops and show last year, this will be double the fun!! Learn
Egyptian dance from the masters! Atef and Magda teach and perform a very unique
and inspirational blend of Egyptian Folklore with Oriental dance. 30 years exprience
with the prestigious Reda Troupe coming to us from Cairo, Egypt. This is their
only stop in the Western United States as part of their 2006 teaching and performance
tour. They will be sharing their wealth of knowledge in Raqs Sharki (Oriental
dance), Ethnic Egyptian dances, and more.
Atef has been a dance trainer with the Reda Troupe in Egypt since
1993. Atef has also been training and directing the Egyptian Folkloric Troupe
at the American University in Cairo since 1989. Not only does he choreograph
& teach, but he also produces the whole show from costuming to music, lighting
and set design. His dance troupe has consistently won 1st and 2nd places in
national competitions. In addition to teaching in Egypt to native and foreign
students, Mr. Atef taught workshops internationally in the USA, Spain, the Netherlands,
Italy and France. Since 1995, he has been teaching Oriental and Folkloric dance
at the Arabic Language Institute in Cairo. His dance style is an innovative
yet very authentic blend of the folkloric/ethnic dances and the stylized 'Raks
Sharki'. Using the experience he gained teaching students of all nationalities
and performing all over the world, Atef has evolved into a world master in Middle
Eastern dance.
Magda has been a dance trainer with the Reda Troupe in Egypt since
1995. She progressed from training beginners to general trainer to the head
trainer of the Reda Troupe. She taught dance workshops in many European countries
including Germany, France, Spain and more. Magda has been teaching Egyptian
folkloric dance at the American University in Cairo since 1990. She was a master
teacher at Raqia Hassan's "Ahlan wa Sahlan" 2005. Magda has been awarded
over a dozen certificates of achievement from the AUC (American University in
Cairo), "Ahlan wa Sahlan" and other organizations where her contribution
to the dance was greatly appreciated. Magda's very unique and purely Egyptian
style is unparalleled by any other dancer. Having worked with dancers from all
nationalities and backgrounds, she is very well loved and very highly valued
by all her students and colleagues.
Both Atef and Magda were master teachers at Raqia Hassan's teachers
training program in Dec 2005/Jan 2006 and will be at "Ahlan wa Sahlan"
2006.
Atef and Magda joined the Reda Troupe in 1975. They
traveled and performed with the Reda Troupe to hundreds of countries in the
Arab world, Europe, the Americas and the Far East performing as soloists.
Atef also trained with the National Folkloric Dance
Troupe from 1970 to 1974. Atef and his Troupe (the American University Folkloric
Troupe) presented authentic Egyptian dance at 45 international folk dance festivals
all over the world including Germany, France, Spain, Turkey, Italy and the USA.
He participated in the North Carolina International Folk Festival "Folkmoot"
in 1995 and 2000 and performed at Epcot Center in Florida.
Magda participated in ALL the Reda Troupe shows from
1975 till 1995, in Egypt and all over the world. She performed in Europe (Italy,
Greece, France, Switzerland, England, Germany, Yoguslavia, Romania and more),
the USA, as well as the far east (Japan, India, Singapore, the Philippines and
more). When Mme Farida Fahmy retired
from performing, Magda performed Farida's most famous and complicated solos
on stage including Haggala, Muwashahat, Saidi, Bedouin and more. She was one
of the star soloists of the Reda Troupe until 1995 when she decided to become
a full time trainer.
In addition to choreographing for the Reda Troupe for 15 years,
Atef Farag has been the troupe director, trainer, choreographer and show producer
of the Egyptian Folkloric Troupe at the American University in Cairo since 1989.
He is an accomplished choreographer in both Oriental and Folkloric Egyptian
dance styles. He has his own very unique dance style that blends the authentic
with the modern, the earthy folkloric moves with the stylized Raks Sharki elegance.
He currently teaches dance workshops all over the world. In his role as director
of the Folkloric Troupe of the American University in Cairo, Atef not only choreographs
the dances and trains the dancers, but he also designs the costumes, stage sets,
lighting and all other aspects of producing a theatrical dance show. His group
has consistenly won 1st and 2nd place in national competitions and have represented
Egypt abroad at 45 different Folk Dance Festivals.
Magda has her own unique style and choreographies that are the
best definition of "simple and elegant". She teaches her very uniquely
Egyptian choreographies in workshops all over the world including Germany, France
and Spain. She's an amazing choreographer blending her very uniquely Egyptian
Oriental style with Folkloric steps. Magda taught her choreographies as a master
teacher at Raqia Hassan's "Ahlan wa Sahlan" 2005, "Ahlan wa Sahlan"
first annual teachers training in Dec 2005 and will be teaching at "Ahlan
wa Sahlan" 2006 in June. Magda has been teaching Egyptian folklore dance
at the American University in Cairo since 1990. Her musical interpretation,
timing and personal expression are truly a gift to Middle Eastern dance!!
Atef and Magda's style and choreographies have been very highly
praised by dancers from all over the world. Here are some testimonials from
their students:
"Atef is a really great instructor. I highly recommend him.
He taught internationally and his style is Reda-ish with a bit more belly dance
in it, so students will really like his choreographies. I learned four so far
and love them all! I found him very easy to work with: he is a great teacher
and very patient with students, and a genuinely nice person!"
Catarina of Santa Clara, CA (when she was in Cairo)
"Magda is one of the most inspirational and kind-hearted
people I have known - she also just happens to be a world-class Egyptian dance
instructor whose teaching is rigorous, methodical, and well-structured. Indeed,
she and her husband Atef are the most attentive and caring dance teachers I
found in Cairo during my 18 months spent there. They are true professionals
dedicated to seeing each individual student succeed. I highly recommend studying
with them to learn from their vast array of dance knowledge and their years
of experience in the Egyptian dance field."
Catarina of Santa Clara, CA
"Of all the classes I took at the Ahlan wa Sahlan festival
2005, I not only enjoyed Magda's most but got the most out of them as a dancer.
After experiencing her excellent teaching style, I also took several private
lessons with her while I was in Cairo. She has the best of both worlds: her
background as a performer and trainer for the Reda troupe gives her the ability
to be very clear structurally about what she is teaching, transitions, and position
of the body in space, and although in her career she never performed as an Oriental
dance soloist, she possesses the sense of timing, musical interpretation, and
personal expression that make a great dancer in the Egyptian Oriental style.
She is a treasure of knowledge in so many ways, and more importantly, a generous
and patient teacher and person."
Debbie Lammam of San Francisco, CA
"I met Atef in Cairo last summer, where I trained with him
and his wife Magda for two months (I had already been studying belly dance with
many teachers and have extensive ballet and modern dance training all my life
from Carnegie Dance Hall and the Joffrey Ballet). Their style is absolutely
unique, inspirational and authentic, the likes of which cannot be found in the
States. And in the short amount of time that I trained with them, my performance
improved dramatically. They taught me choreography from the remotest regions
of Egypt, in addition to classic folkloric and Oriental dance. Atef and his
wife Magda are nothing less than dedicated professionals who have been teaching
and choreographing for the Mahmoud Reda Troupe for thirty years, as well as
the world-renowned folkloric dance group at the American University in Cairo."
Diana Esposito of New York, NY
Read testimonials from Atef's
workshop last year...
