NAWAL BENABDALLAH, PARIS/MOROCCO

Nawal is a dancer, choreographer and teacher of Moroccan and oriental dance, she nourishes her love for dance since childhood. Her cultural, national and family inheritance is great, and she is a true artistic link between North Africa and Machreq.
Nawal is deeply inspired by the artistic effervescence of the fifties in Cairo, as well as by the modern development of the oriental dance today and also by the richness of the dance in her own country, Morocco.
Since 1992, Nawal teaches Moroccan and oriental dance in Paris. She also devotes herself to spreading her art through the dance training courses that she leads abroad (Morocco, U.S.A., Europe).
She created the oriental dance association “Les Amis de Nawal” in 1990, and she founded her company “Nawal BENABDALLAH” in 1991. Her meeting with the great Egyptian choreographer and Mahmoud Reda in 1991 was the beginning of a close collaboration between them for 20 years. The pedagogy and the style of this master resembled her own ideal in teaching this art.
In order to pay tribute to him, she presented her show “Memoires” both in Paris, in the Parisian region and in Morocco. “Memoires” was centred on Egypt, Andalusia and Morocco. In 1997 Nawal participated in a number of shows and film shootings together with the Reda Troupe in Cairo.
To create her Moroccan repertoire, Nawal gets inspiration from dances from different Moroccan regions and she lets them develop on stage, thus participating in conserving this rich patrimony. The dancers of the company, belonging to different cultures, and open to other artistic horizon, embrace the oriental universe contributing with their own sensibility to the creations of Nawal.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMPANY

  Nawal has presented in Paris and it’s suburb in 1992 as in morocco/Marraches in 1993, her first show “Memoires”, inspired to Egypt, the Andalusia and Morocco

She has introduced her show inspired to the Atlas mountain to the "Istitut du Monde Arabe" of Paris during the celebrations of The Woman’s Day in the 1994.

For the “The Year of Morocco in France” in 1999, Nawal has presented in co-production with the parisian theater the "Divan du monde" her Moroccan show "Le Derniers Moussem" and  again in 2000.

She participated with her compagny in the international “Salon de la Danse” in Paris in october 2000.

As TV shows, Nawal has realized two creations for France 2 "Vivement dimanche" introduced by Michel Drucker in honor to E.Gigou in 1999 and to D. Strauss Kahn in 2000.

She has been dancing and teaching in the international festival of Cairo "Ahlan Wa Sahlan" from 2002 to 2005.

In 2005, her company has participated in the festival of arab and andaloussian dance "Raks Madrid”, and in the “Festival  of Francofony” in Bucarest .

Nawal teaches and dances with  her Company in the international festival of Cairo "Nile Group" from 2006.

She performed and teached at the “Belly Dance Festival” of Stockholm in 2006 and 2007.

Her association has created the first festival of oriental dance in France: "L’Orient de la Danse" in Paris in 2004. The second edition of this festival has taken place in 2006. During these festivals the company has introduced two creations:

“Nuit Etoilee” and “Fil D’Or” with the guest companies “Virginia Wa Noun al Ayoun” from Miami and the Flamenco dancers of spain “Suenios”.

Nawal teached and danced for the Festival of Arab Films, “El Jirs El Takafi” of Woippy in 2007.

In 2007 and 2008 her company, representing France, has danced in the great show “The World Dances with Mahmoud Reda” directed by himself in The National Library of Alexandria, and in Rome and Helsinki in 2010

In 2007 the company has participated in the moroccan television show "Staracademie"of Studio 2M.

And in 2008, the company danced in the Center of Congresse in Berlin, for the “Salon Logistica” help by the moroccan CMPE.

At the beneficent day “Fun Run” organized by the association "Help to the Needy Children" of the province of Ifran in Morocco, the company offered a dance show

In February 2009 the company has created five hours of show in the closing evening organized by Morocco for “The World Economic Forum of Davos”.

In june 2011, Nawal Production will organize the first festival of dance in Morocco “La Saison de la Danse”.

NB! Limited spots at all workshops. Schedule

MAHMOUD REDA, EGYPT

WE REGRET TO INFORM THAT MR. REDA IS NOT JOINING THE FESTIVAL DUE TO THE SITUATION IN KAIRO.
Mahmoud Reda is a pioneer of dance theater 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 is universally acclaimed for his dance with the strength and appeal of a Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire.
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 (New York, USA), Royal Albert Hall (London, UK), Congress Hall (Berlin, Germany), Stanislavsky & Gorky Theaters (Moscow, USSR), Olympia (Paris, France) and the United Nations (New York & Geneva). The Reda Troupe has performed for many world leaders and Heads of states.
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.
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 Yousry Sharif.

Both last years guest performer, Nesma, and this years dancer, Nawal (presented below) have been members of the Reda troupe.