Reda Series

Articles by Farida Fahmy

'The Artistic Impact of the Reda Troupe' 8 Part Series by Farida Fahmy 

"As years are passing, I realise that the time has come to clarify the misperceptions that have inundated our world of dance for a long time, both in Egypt and abroad. I hope that dancers who really want to know now, and in the future, after I am gone, will find at least, some written documentation which would help them understand and on which they can depend."

"These monthly PDFs are available freely to the public and the wider international bellydance community. They are supplied as PDF format and I encourage you to share these articles with your students or fellow dancers. The monthly releases allow translators time to complete this vast volume of work. It also allows readers to digest the information fully, as we can open up conversation on my FaceBook page to explore each topic. Thank you Keti Sharif for creating and archiving these articles and for the many translators"

Farida Fahmy

'The Artistic Impact of the Reda Troupe'
NEW 8 Part Article Series by Farida Fahmy (articles written & translated 2017-2020) check links for other languages

Article 1 
Introduction To The Forthcoming Articles

"The following articles aim to fill in the gaps and to answer many lingering questions, and make sense of the scattered and vague information that has caused much confusion. Imparting information sequentially will allow readers to see the whole picture in a simple and straightforward fashion."

Read Article
Article 2 
The Artistic Impact of The Reda Troupe

"This article is intended primarily as a point of reference and a departure from which to demonstrate the artistic impact the Troupe had on dance in Egypt. The social impact of The Reda Troupe will not be discussed as this topic is beyond the scope of the forthcoming articles."

Read Article
Article 3
The Aesthetics, Inspirations and Adaptations of Mahmoud Reda

"Mahmoud Reda, as an innovative choreographer always said that all his works were inspirations of what he saw around him. He and his co-founders were deeply immersed in their cultural heritage and understood the traditions, moral codes, and aesthetics of their countrymen and women."

Read Article
Article 4
Field Work: Mahmoud Reda’s Adaptation of Traditional and Indigenous Dance Events for Stage

"In an important stage of his creative development as a choreographer, Mahmoud Reda organized field trips to various parts of Egypt in pursuit of material for his forthcoming performances."

Read Article
Article 5
The Difference Between 
Indigenous Dance and Theater

"I found that there is much misunderstanding about the nature of the various dance types in Egypt. Terms and names have been used loosely and erroneously."

Read Article
Article 6 
The First Egyptian Theatre Dance Genre

"Mahmoud Reda pioneered an entire dance genre that embraced many styles with a large vocabulary of movements. In the mid sixties, I travelled with Mahmoud Reda and a few charter members of the troupe on field trips to a number of provinces in Egypt."

Read Article
Article 7
Saidi Dance?

"The aim of this article is simply to show; how all have been made to believe that the term “Saidi dance” (wrong transliteration by the way) was correct and sufficient in describing what they were being taught. The term is too general."

Read Article
Article 8
Mahmoud Reda’s Teaching Methodology

"Mahmoud Reda's Teaching methodology was, and still is, an essential means of transmitting dance ovement and information. It was not only the backbone of The Reda Troupe, but became integral to teaching of Egyptian theatre dance worldwide."

Read Article