Mawaweel Festival brings old arts, new artists to Darb 1718

Mawaweel Festival returns with four events scheduled on the last two Thursdays and Fridays in Ramadan, featuring traditional folkloric arts, independent music, a contemporary art exhibition and a bazaar.
Hosted by Darb 1718 Contemporary Art and Culture Centre and co-organised by the Cairo Jazz Club Agency, this fourth edition of the festival presents a rich cultural programme on the weekends of 17-18 and 24-25 July.
"Mawaweel offers a culturally rich, alternative Ramadan experience in contrast to the typical shisha cafés and kheima concepts [marquees set up as a post-fasting entertainment cafés] around every corner," the organisers stated in their press release. "Cairo Jazz Club Agency and Darb 1718 have always shared a common interest in taking on any projects which generate a sense of culture and authenticity through art and music," they added.
The first weekend includes folkloric art performances of Tahteeb (traditional stick dance mostly performed by men) and Tannoura (trance-inducing dance involving the twirling of layers of brightly coloured skirts) as well as live music performances by: Tunisian talent Ghalia Benali, Hawirdo (Ahmed Nazmi's new afro-groove band), Sufi group Mawlawiya and Ashara Gharby performing world music.
The second weekend also features the Tahteeb and Tannoura performances. On Thursday 24 July, an interactive theatre performance entitled Taxi -- based on Khaled El-Khamissi's bestselling novel – will be performed by the Thousand Tongues. Music performances by the Mawlawiya group and the Meshwar reggae band are also set to take place.
Source: Ahram Online