“Port Said, Siwa, Upper Egypt — we learn about the cultures and dance traditions from Egypt’s different regions,” said Amira ElKouny ’18. “This event in Tahrir also has diversity in all the activities and even the audience.”

ElKouny trains and performs with the student group AUC Folklore, a dance troupe that performed on campus on Saturday, April 12, at the Tahrir CultureFest.

“We’ve been training very hard for this event every single day, usually from 10 am to 4 pm, to correct any mistakes and perform perfectly,” said electronics freshman Omar Mohsen, who performed in three out of four male dances at the fest.

AUC Folklore: ‘Like a Family’

Film senior Mohamed El Khatib participated in the majority of dances in addition to his tanoura routine, a traditional Sufi dance style that consists of rotating around oneself while wearing a colorful weighted skirt. “I love tanoura because it’s related to Turkish and Sufi culture, which I wanted to learn more about,” he said. 

El Khatib officially rehearses tanoura twice a week, revolving around himself for anywhere from one to eight minutes at a time. At home, he continues practicing spinning without the costumes to perfect his technique. “Outdoor tanoura is more difficult than indoor because of the sun,” he said. 

“We’ve been training very hard for this event, every single day, usually from 10 am to 4 pm, to correct any mistakes and perform perfectly.”

The troupe practices 2-3 times per week, depending on whether they have a performance coming up. “It’s more than just an undergrad activity; it’s a safe and comfort zone away from stress at work,” Nadine Ezzeldine ’21, who occasionally practices and performs with the troupe. Ezzeldine fondly remembers staying past the end of rehearsal with her troupemates to improvise and have fun: “It’s like a family.”

Like many members, Ezzeldine had no previous dance experience when she first joined the troupe. El Khatib, who first began dancing tanoura four years ago when he became a member of the troupe, said, “I had never practiced any dances before joining AUC.” 

Dancing for Egypt

The troupe spent two weeks at a festival in France last summer, performing nearly daily during the trip. This summer, the troupe will spend 10 days in Greece. “We have two or three new dances we’re preparing for Greece,” said Hana Abdelsalam, biology and theater sophomore. 

Abroad, the troupe represents Egypt in all its diversity of culture, including the Eskandaroni dance, performed in blue-and-white sailor costumes, a nod to the country’s coastal cities. “Luxor’s style is diverse, unique and uplifting as well,” said Ezzeldine.

Abdelsalam was first inspired to join the team because she was interested in folklore’s unique songs, costumes and dance styles. The fully funded trips attracted her too. 

“The audience here definitely had more people and they were super engaged and fun to perform for.”

At Tahrir, the troupe got to show off Egypt’s rich culture right at home. “It’s my first time performing in Tahrir, and this event was so well organized,” said El Khatib, who was excited to perform an exclusive, new version of his tanoura routine at the CultureFest.

The venue presented new challenges that the team had to work around: “The costume changes were super fast, and that was difficult,” Abdelsalam shared. The outdoor stage was a lot smaller than what the troupe is used to and featured a makeshift tent as backstage. “We had to adapt for this performance. We had to squeeze in on the stage and be careful not to fall.”

Despite the challenges, the team found a supportive and enthusiastic audience in the heart of Cairo. “The audience here definitely had more people. They were super engaged and fun to perform for,” Abdelsalam said. 

With big smiles on their faces, the student performers just seemed happy to dance for their country that they love.

Performances, panels, bazaars and more: This year’s AUC Tahrir CultureFest, which took place from April 10 to 12 at the Tahrir Square campus, had offerings for everyone. But beyond fun programming, the CultureFest, now in its second year, was a chance to build meaningful human connections and community for residents and visitors of Cairo, right in the heart of the city.

“I love the work that AUC does; it’s really great,” said Jude, an expat from New Zealand who now lives in Cairo and attended with her visiting friend Ros.

The Gaza Salute Choir was one event that seemed to deeply move the audience and particularly touch Palestinian residents in Cairo. Ghada Ziada, a 45-year-old woman from Gaza who came to Cairo two months after October 7, 2023, has found a sense of belonging and resilience through the Tahrir CultureFest. “Coming from Gaza, we missed these cultural events,” she said. “So we enjoyed this performance, and we feel resilient.”

“My mother, who is 75 years old and can barely move, insisted on coming today.”

This is Ziada’s second year at the nascent CultureFest, and she now takes it upon herself to share the link with her family members through Facebook: “We came together both this year and last year for this event,” she said. Ziada first learned about AUC through last year’s CultureFest and got the idea for her daughter Jana to apply. Now, she told us Jana is an architecture student at AUC.

The choir performance had a powerful meaning for Palestinian-Egyptians as well. “My mother, who is 75 years old and can barely move, insisted on coming today,” said Mahmoud Sameh, a 37-year-old Egyptian with Palestinian and Sudanese ancestry. “Since I’m half Palestinian, this event means a lot to me. It’s so nostalgic to see the choir with little kids from Gaza since I had my own experience singing in a Palestinian choir as a child.”

Sameh was able to enjoy the diverse offerings at AUC with many family members, including his sister, an architect who attended the panel on Cairo’s Architecture: A Cosmopolitan Canvas. “Everyone in the family is running all over here to attend different parts of the fest,” he said.

Ahmed Omar, also an architect who attended the architecture panel and Gaza Salute Choir performance, really appreciated the offerings at the festival. “The events were affirmative and entertaining, and I collected some gifts for my wife and mother from the bazaar,” he said. “I also just reserved the Cairo Steps concert for later tonight.” This was Omar’s second year attending the CultureFest, and he said he had previously enrolled in a project management program at AUC several years ago.

“Everyone in the family is running all over here to attend different parts of the fest.”

Though some talks and panels were academic and professional, the festival was also family-friendly. “My kid Farida did all the activities like coloring, painting, face painting and T-shirt printing,” said Ahmed Youssef, a 39-year-old from Sheikh Zayed who attended with his wife and child all three days after coming to last year’s CultureFest. “The event is good for the kids, and I love the live music,” he said. Youssef is hoping to complete a business course at AUC next month.

The events attracted Cairo locals from all age groups and fields, including the city’s youth. Habiba Younes, 19, and her group of friends are studying Japanese at Cairo University, and they attended the CultureFest for the Japanese calligraphy event. “The vibes are really good,” the girls said.

For people who live near AUC Tahrir Square and want to integrate in Cairo’s community, the CultureFest — and other University events — always leave a positive mark. Outside of the festival, Jude from New Zealand is a regular at AUC. “There are lots of interesting book events from the bookstore and cultural events on campus. They’re very easy to access,” she said.

Freekeh eggplant salad topped with pickled onions and fresh seasonal raisins, all coated with date molasses: This tasty snack awaited attendees of the Tahrir CultureFest on Saturday at the Bilhana book talk by AUC Press. The dish was served after author Yasmine Elgharably and food photographer Yehia El-Alaily shared tips on sustainable cooking and behind-the-scenes details on publishing the book.

“From ideation to completion, it took around five years [to produce],” Elgharably said. Assembling the book — which Elgharably calls her passion project — was no simple task, from waiting for ingredients to come into season to conducting lengthy photoshoots to revising recipes with the board.

“Someone from New Zealand recently sent me a picture of something they cooked from the book — just wow, wow, wow.”

“[We] wanted the book to be global so it would apply to anyone, anywhere in the world,” said Elgharably. At the same time, the pair wanted the book to be rooted in Egyptian culture. “We made sure our spices are there, our herbs are there.”

Much consideration was given not just to the ingredients, but to the content that made the final page — including the page itself. “One thing is the printing paper, and I’ve seen several… this one lasts in the kitchen,” El-Alaily said. As the book’s photographer, he pushed hard to allow a photograph alongside each recipe, a move that ultimately set the colorful book apart. 

The pair also discussed the zero-waste production of the book. “When you attend commercial shoots, you see the massive waste happening on set,” El-Alaily said. Instead, “we just properly made one [of each plate] and took our time.” The book’s first two pages, which feature a picture of an empty plate, acknowledge this. “Every shot here was [of food] that was ultimately eaten; somebody enjoyed this in reality,” said moderator and chef Wesam Masoud.

Backdrop items were also given serious consideration, with a battle brewing between Elgharably’s maximalist idea and El-Alaily’s minimalist vision. “I need only the plate,” said El-Alaily, while Elgharably joked that “an Egyptian dining table is not empty.” 

For the materials that did make the cut, such as plates and cutlery, the pair stayed true to their zero-waste mission, keeping the shoots plastic-free and sourcing the pottery locally, from Fayoum.

“[We] wanted the book to be global so it would apply to anyone, anywhere in the world." 

In an exclusive interview with News@AUC, Elgharably said, “Having the AUC Press editorial team structure the production for us made a huge difference. They provided a full editor from the west, so we got the perspective of target markets outside the region.” This helped with writing recipes and choosing ingredients, she said.

Elgharably also praised AUC Press’s distribution after the book came to life. “We got to be in the international press and podcasts. This would not have been possible if AUC’s distribution was not that strong, especially in the U.S.”

AUC Press Director Tom Willshire said, “Establishing a line of cookbooks about Egypt really fits into our mission because it’s fun but also very cultural.”

Now, Elgharably regularly receives messages from the United States and Australia. “Someone from New Zealand recently sent me a picture of something they cooked from the book,” she shared. “Just wow, wow, wow.”