Tucked away in the nooks and crannies of Downtown, El-Rawabit Theater is another independent space putting the ‘r’ of romance back into Cairo. On my way to the Townhouse Gallery, I was nearly enticed in by a magnificent graffiti styled garage exhibition, but resisted ogling longer knowing that in a building a few blocks down was Fathi Salama, the musical guru, with a new ring of devoted disciples.
Making my way through the front of the theater, I find a route under the scaffold audience seating area. It’s not a huge space, but it s certainly dramatic, the structural purity of the theatrical experience laid bare for all to see.
It wasn’t a group of players treading the boards, but an ensemble of around 30 budding musical acolytes following the cue of their musician sage: Fathi Salama.
Salama, a household name in the Arab world, has a plethora of accolades to his credit, including a Grammy award. He has worked with the megastar of the Arab pop scene Amr Diab and has even composed films. Despite his international prestige, Salama hasn’t taken his finger off the pulse of the Egyptian youth music scene for a moment, holding regular workshops for aspiring young musicians.
The mise-en scene, or rather ‘muse’ en scene, at El-Rawabit is that of a long-haired, strong-featured Salama channeling his energies into a wide range of young musicians, ranging from singers to percussionists, from flutists to accordionists.
So how did this young group manage to clinch a place in what, one could only hazard a guess, is one of the most popular workshops around? According to the most charming Mohamed Talat, artist and director of El-Rawabit, they used the networking website Facebook to advertise the workshop with the help of the advertisement company Tatweer.
“He used to do workshops on Emad Eldin, Talat told Daily News Egypt, “But he decided to get together with El-Rawabit and do a workshop here. We are all part of the Performing Artists Support network and work together to support independent workshops.
“As for these musicians, he continued, “they all auditioned but there was, of course, a basic standard they had to have reached. And Fathi had to choose musicians bearing in mind the type of music he wanted to create and the harmony between the different types of instruments.
Robby Peru, a Bavarian German who has lived in Switzerland, was one of the musicians honing his talents with the help of Salama, proving that the master musician practices his belief of cultural musical diversity.
“I’ve been in Cairo for a while – my wife works here in a Maadi hospital and we have a three-year old daughter, Peru told Daily News Egypt. “I originally studied biochemistry but also studied Jazz in Zurich. I played the violin for 14 years before teaching myself the piano three years ago.
But Robbie Peru wasn’t exactly going to be bowing during the concert; rather he was to be waxing lyrical in Arabic and rapping in English. “I’ve never rapped before in my life, but they heard me rap and they liked it!
Fathi’s band displayed both cultural diversity and physical diversity.
Wa’il El-Seed, 31, is blind as a result of Glaucoma, which is preventable, but not curable. He is also a professional accordionist who practices four hours every day. “It’s not enough, but it’s the least amount of practice you must do if you want to excel, El-Seed told Daily News Egypt. “I find music a form of escapism and relaxation from the hectic noise. It takes the pressure off things. I played the keyboard for 14 years and it’s only been one and half years since I took up the accordion.
Thirty is certainly a large number to work with, especially on a small stage. However, all the members of this mini modern orchestra, complete with its own singers, flute and several different percussion models, insist that working with such a large group meant they could learn more from each other.
