Mahmoud Reda

Last month (and thanks to Ryskallah Riyad of CT, who organized this event) I attended a workshop with the living legend of the dance, Mahmoud Reda.

I have gotten really lucky lately with my learning opportunities.
During the class I was constantly amazed at his vast knowledge, talent as a teacher, and at his amazing energy - at 77 years of age he taught two four hour classes, covering two choreographies and a technique section, and at the end of each day, danced the full choreographies for us. When I came up to take this picture he said to me "you are doing very well!" and if I were white, that would have been a moment where you would have seen me blush.

One of the many things I love about this art form is that, in it - age is revered and respected. In most dance forms there is a serious ageism problem, where dancers are expected to retire and never perform or teach again as they get older - specially in classical ballet.

In Middle Eastern Dance, however - specially in its women dances - there is a clear understanding that life experiences enhance your dancing. In fact some of my teachers have related life experiences such as birthing as crucial transitions in improving their abilities in this dance.

Is that really true, and why would that be the case?
In a dance that explores womanhood and sexuality, and that (at times) challenges social norms -- age gives you the confidence and strength to really be honest in the dance, without experiencing many of the hang ups that are visible when one sees a young (or new) performer.
Age and experience act as liberating factors that open the dance to its full potential, once the awkwardness and shyness of youth is gone.

This discipline (mostly in it's non performance version) should keep your muscles strong and flexible, but does not include any movements that are against the body. This dance is not meant to injure you and render you a 'retired' dancer.
There are dangerous moves sometimes used in performance (like deep back bends and Turkish drops) that should only be done after you know how to do them safely - but for the most part, one can age gracefully and actively in this dance.
That, I think is really cool.

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Afterwards I went home and searched youtube for clips of his work in the 50's and 60's and found him dancing, jumping through the air, spinning, along with Faridah Fahmy. Here's a short Playlist of the videos I found, where they do everything from "hollywood musical" / grease type of stuff (but in Arabic!) to what's he's best known for - creating visions that are now part of what we know as Egyptian dance (both "classical" and Folkoric), through his work with his "Reda Troupe" - one of the most important representative troupes of Egyptian (dance) Folklore.


RU.