Northern California Chronicle

Mohamed El Hosseny Dazzles Audiences on Premier American Tour

By Elaine Pasquini

On his first U.S. visit, Egyptian dancer Mohamed El Hosseny teaches students at San Francisco’s Mission Dance Theatre. Staff photo P. Pasquini

Following the moves of master choreographer Mohamed El Hosseny, students of Middle Eastern dance gyrated to the beat of folk music from the Suez at San Francisco’s Mission Dance Theatre on July 19. Possessing a personality as dynamic as his original choreography, the Egyptian-born dancer directed his class of 12 women and one man twisting and spiraling around the wooden-floored studio during his five-hour workshop organized by Zsuzsi, a dancer, music student and the founder of Santa Cruz-based Mediterraneo Productions.

Renowned Middle Eastern master dance instructor Nourhan Sharif sponsored El Hosseny’s U.S. tour. He was a featured instructor in Sharif’s 12th annual Intensive Egyptian Workshop in New York City July 24 through 26. El Hosseny also traveled to Kalamazoo, MI, Miami, FL and Washington, DC to teach and perform Egyptian folkloric styles, including his trademark Simsimiyya, the signature dance form of his hometown, Suez, where he was born in 1973 and began his dance career at age 13.

In 1992, El Hosseny joined the celebrated Reda Troupe in Cairo. He performed solo roles with the company, including the male lead in the operetta “Rubabiki.” Eager to expand his training and repertoire, he studied and performed ballet with Diana Calenti.

Since 2005 the dancer has been based in Helsinki, Finland, where he is the director of El Hosseny Dance School and Company. Along with instructor Tuija Rinne, he teaches weekly classes in Oriental dance technique, expression, and interpreting rhythms. “Besides dance,” he told the Washington Report, “my students learn a great deal about Arab music, rhythms and the cultural background of the dance.”

For more information visit <http://www.elhossenydance.com/ds/index.html>.

From the City by the Bay to the Big Apple

As a farewell to his new friends and students in San Francisco, El Hosseny gave an impromptu performance to the accompaniment of the Georges Lammam Ensemble at Pena Pachamama restaurant before heading east to participate in Nourhan Sharif’s dance workshop at New York City’s Ripley-Grier Studios. In addition to teaching folklore, Baladi and Simsimiyya technique, El Hosseny teamed with master percussionist Karim Nagi to introduce rhythms and maqams—a system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music—in order to increase students’ understanding of Egyptian music.

Nagi, also known as Turbo Tabla, is an Egyptian musician and composer who blends traditional Arabic music with modern sounds. “The Belly and the Beat” is one of his popular releases.

Following the final workshop, El Hosseny and Nagi performed July 26 in a gala event at Manhattan’s Lafayette Grill & Bar.

Consul General Praises Obama’s “Historical Visit to Egypt”

Ambassador Hesham Elnakib (l) with Father Salib Gergis at the Egyptian National Day commemoration in San Francisco. Staff photo P. Pasquini

“In America’s pursuit of stronger ties with the Arab and the Islamic world, President Obama chose Egypt to broadcast a message of friendship and outline a strategy of cooperation,” Ambassador Hesham Elnakib, consul general of Egypt to the Western United States, told guests gathered on Egyptian National Day to commemorate the Free Officers Revolution of July 23, 1952. “That is not only an indication of President Obama’s recognition of the significance of Egypt to the success of his wise policy, but also an indication that the ties between our part of the world and the United States are rooted in history and in common values.”

In addition to citing economic and cultural exchanges between Egypt and California, the consul general noted the exchange programs underway between California universities and Egyptian universities. “We believe that education is a cornerstone and getting students together in exchange programs is a great instrument in bringing young people together,” he said. “Second and third generations are more important than we are, and we must pass the torch to the next generation.”

Authors Discuss Zeitoun, Arab in America and The Night Counter

(L-r) Authors Alia Yunis, Toufic El Rassi and Dave Eggers discuss ways to tell the Arab-American story. Staff photos E. & P. Pasquini

An Aug. 4 roundtable discussion featuring writers Dave Eggers, Toufic El Rassi and Alia Yunis drew a capacity crowd to San Francisco’s Arab Cultural and Community Center (ACCC). The center’s Youth Program coordinator Marwa Helal led the panel discussion on a variety of topics, including the authors’ views on being Arab American.

Journalist, filmmaker and writer Alia Yunis currently teaches filmmaking at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi. Her first novel, The Night Counter—a unique twist on the “1,001 Nights” tale—debuted in July (see Sept./Oct. 2009 Washington Report, p. 36).

“I think the term Arab American has shifted in time,” Yunis said. “I feel very connected to the Middle East, but I have Arab-American friends who do not speak Arabic and whose connection is very different than mine. But the universal connection is a love to dance and shared political views regarding Israel, Palestine and Iraq.”

In Arab in America, his autobiographical graphic novel—“a sophisticated way of saying comic book”—Toufic El Rassi chronicled his life as a young Arab American growing up in Chicago. Being of Lebanese and Egyptian heritage, the Beirut-born writer always felt discrimination against Arabs, he said, but the prejudice increased significantly after 9/11. Seeking ways to address this issue—such as, for a time, through political activism—he eventually combined his love of writing and of comics to introduce a different perspective. “I have always been infuriated by the so-called ‘experts’ on television who are not Middle Eastern or have never been to the Middle East that claim to give the Arab perspective,” El Rassi said.

Eggers is editor of the literary journal McSweeney’s, and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center for children ages 6 to 18 in San Francisco. While the Chicago-born writer does not have an Arab heritage, he has an affinity with the Middle East through his friendship with Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his family, the subject of Egger’s nonfiction book Zeitoun. “I’m a journalist by trade and I took an interest in the Zeitoun family after Hurricane Katrina,” he explained. “We got to know each other and over the course of three years I learned Zeitoun’s story of being caught in the middle of the ‘war on terror’ and the worst national disaster in American history.” Researching his book, Eggers traveled to Spain and the small fishing village on the coast of Syria from where the family originated.

Helal also asked the panel why they wanted to become professional writers.

“It’s something in you that is curious about the world around you and you want to share what you have learned,” Yunis explained. “You have a passion to tell your story and other people’s stories.”

“I always wanted to have something to do with comics,” El Rassi said. “It was a natural for me, as I’ve also been an artist and have drawn cartoons for local papers.” But the real reason, he added, was to tell his own story, as other people were always speaking for Arabs. “It is so rare that you see positive Arab voices, and the word ‘Arab’ or ‘Middle East’ is almost always synonymous with terrorism and violence,” he said. “So if I could contribute in any way to changing that and challenging the prevailing perceptions, that was what I wanted to do.”

Eggers succinctly stated his reason: “In my last years of college, I became hooked on the impact journalism can have.”

All three books are available through the AET Book Club. 

Elaine Pasquini is a free-lance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.