Mahmoud Reda was born in Cairo on
March 18, 1930. He was the eighth of ten children and his
father was the head
librarian at Cairo University. Mahmoud became
interested in dance. Mahmoud Reda originally trained as a gymnast, representing
Egypt in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He attended Cairo University where he received a
degree in Political Economics. However, his main interest was dance and he
joined an Argentinian dance troupe after graduating and toured Europe. Reda married Farida Fahmy's older sister
Nadeeda Fahmy in 1950. His second wife is a
Yugoslavian ballet dancer
While on tour in Paris he
resolved to start his own dance troupe back in Egypt, but due to lack of funds
he had to work as an accountant for Royal Dutch Shell. He joined the
Heliolido Club in Cairo
where he met Anglo-Egyptian baladi dancer Farida Fahmy who became his dancing partner.
where he met Anglo-Egyptian baladi dancer Farida Fahmy who became his dancing partner.
Mahmoud Reda's
ambition to present a new genre of dance, and Farida Fahmy's strong desire to dance, were the catalyst for a successful and fulfilling artistic enterprise.
Mahmoud Reda was lead dancer until 1972. He taught the dancers, and
choreographed and directed all stage performances. With his ground breaking
choreographies he created a genre of dance that embraced many styles. Farida
Fahmy was lead dancer for twenty five years. She was a role model for the
recruited dancers, and her grace and elegance instantly captured the hearts of
the Egyptians.One of the most popular dance for them is "حلاوة شمسنا " .After his
retirement, Reda continued to teach dance workshops in
Egypt and
internationally.
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