Women reclaiming the streets of Cairo through ballet

 

Nisaa FM: - 'Ballerinas of Cairo’ is a project that exhibits the beauty of the streets of Cairo differently. Two Egyptian artists, director Mohamed Taher and photographer Ahmed Fathy, have decided to bring a new spirit into the streets of Cairo by merging photography and the art of ballet with the hidden grandeur of Cairo streets.

 

The project features professional ballet dancers (most of them dance at the Cairo Opera House) and is mainly about capturing a series of photos for ballet dancing in the streets of the city from a different perspective and exploring the diversity within them.

The project was launched more than a year ago, and it has gained thousands of followers on the Facebook and Instagram profiles. In addition, the project has received many comments with sentiments ranging between fascination and enthusiasm, which is a surprise in a conservative society like Egypt’s.

Those who are familiar with Egypt would know that due to high rates of sexual harassment women do not feel completely safe while walking down the streets – especially if a girl is wearing tight, short or colorful clothes. In the end of 2017 Cairo was named the most dangerous megacity for women in a survey conducted in 19 megacities.

With the danger in the streets of Cairo in mind, imagine how people would act to the sight of women dancing in the streets. That is actually what makes the project more impressive, because a step like this requires courage.

The combination of the art and the beauty of the streets was not the original only purpose of the project. In fact, there were deeper purposes; breaking a taboo, a form of support to women, empowerment for both women and artists, and an invitation to them to take back their space in the street and feel more free.

According to one of the artists behind the project, Mohamed Taher, “this is just the first step for the project, and we are willing to continue in different areas of Egypt like Alexandria and Aswan.” On the first anniversary of the project, 'Ballerinas of Cairo’ added a cheerful video of how the shooting was through the past year.

 

Source (and see more photos): www.theculturetrip.com