Hend Elbalouty – Mahraganat Dance in Egypt: Between Acceptance & Rejection

In ihrer Publikation "Mahraganat Dance in Egypt: Between Acceptance & Rejection" befasst sich Hend Elbalouty mit den verschiedenen tänzerischen Sprachen und Ausdrucksformen des Mahraganat, einer populären ägyptischen Tanz- und Musikform, die Elemente von Bauchtanz, Hip-Hop und Breakdance beinhaltet. Elbalouty, selbst Performerin und Choreografin, knüpft damit an ihre 2021 begonnene Recherche über die Zusammenhänge von Kunst und soziale Klasse in Ägypten an, die in einer von Maharaganat beeinflussten Performance mündete.

Hend Elbalouty, lebt in Köln, schloss 2022 ihr postgraduales Studium an der Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln mit Schwerpunkt auf Performing Arts ab. Zuvor studierte sie Produktionsdesign (BA) am Institute of Cinema Studies in Ägypten sowie zeitgenössischen Tanz am Cairo Contemporary Dance Center. In ihren Performances und Tanzstücken beschäftigt sich Hend Elbalouty mit der Rolle von Kunst als Instrument zur Stärkung des Individuums.

Hend Elbalouty wurde 2022 mit dem Kunstpreis der FREUNDE der KHM 2021 ausgezeichnet, mit dem herausragende künstlerische Leistungen von Diplomand*innen und Absolvent*innen der KHM gewürdigt werden.

Köln: Verlag der Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln, 2023. Englisch/Arabisch, ca. 300 Seiten, Softcover. ISBN 978-3-942154-65-9

Bestellungen demnächst unter: verlag@khm.de

EN: In 2021, Hend Elbalouty started researching the relation between art and social class in Egypt and created a performance inspired by the local street dance and music in Egypt (Mahraganat). In her artistic work, Hend strives to produce and participate in socially aware dance pieces, constantly exploring the role of Art as a tool to empower the individual and bring out those neglected modes of expression. With her recent publication "Mahraganat Dance in Egypt: Between Acceptance & Rejection", she now continues this exploration within the form of an artist's book.

Hend Elbalouty (EGP/DE) is a choreographer, performer and author, based in Cologne. She holds a MA in Performing Arts from Academy of Media Arts Cologne, a BA in production design from institute of cinema studies in Egypt and 3 years degree in contemporary dance from Cairo Contemporary Dance Center. In recent years, Hend was interested in the challenge of using Arabic language – in Germany – as an artistic tool. This approach often challenged the perception of Arabic language in the western art world, and was the core of many projects in the last three years such as for the video exhibition “FrauenGold'in Hamburg, the dance performance “The Kitchen” in Cologne, or “Absence”, a group exhibition at Coculture Art space, Berlin, as well as the video installation “hell vol.1” in Cologne.

In 2022 Hend was awarded the “Kunstpreis der FREUNDE der KHM 2021”, which honors outstanding artistic achievements by KHM diploma students and graduates.

Hend Elbalouty on Mahraganat music and dance: “Shaabi” popular music is the kind of music produced by the lower classes in Egypt and which was born and developed away from the recording companies and the prevalent satellite channels. It did so also away from the socially, financially and technologically independent circles. Mahraganat music and songs also known as “electro-Shaabi” appeared for the first time in 2007 in the neighborhood of Dar El Salam- a popular neighborhood on the outskirts of Cairo- where Amr Haha composed the first song with help from some of his friends who participated in the singing. The tunes of Mahraganat music adhered to its kinetic twin that holds the same name and fast rhythm. Some see that one of the secrets of this great success is in its ability to force its audience to enter the dance arena willingly or unwillingly. The Mahraganat dance and music adhered to each other to form a new form of art that dominates the field. Despite the fact that a large part of the performance or presentation of Mahraganat music is dance, the music rose to much more fame – and subsequently criticism- and dancing was dealt with only as an afterthought to the music and not as a separate phenomenon that is able to develop. The dancing style is still developing every day and lately is being influenced by hip hop and breakdance because of the availability of sources and videos on the internet. Mahraganat dance however resembles “traditional popular” (Balady) dance on the side of technique. It usually depends on the movement of the waist and hip area the same as belly dancing but in a more edgy way because of the effect of the music and its changes. The edgy arm movements represent the jerky movements of the knife whether the dancer is carrying a knife during his dance (tashfir) “blading” or exchanges that for signals by the palm (tashkil) “forming”. The way the fingers are clasped together differs according to the type of knife referred to by the dancer. The movements also largely depend on the lyrics of the song. Usually the street is the theater on some social occasion (wedding, festival ect). Actually, Mahraganat dance depends on improvisation and a depiction of reality whether solo dancing that aims at showing skill and innovation through new movements or in challenges between the dancers.