Farida Fahmy: The Iconic Founder of “The Reda Folklore Ensemble”

With white hair that she did not try to hide with the colors of the dye, and with a face devoid of any cosmetics, Farida Fahmy, “the icon of the Reda Folklore Band”, appeared during her honor the day before yesterday (Sunday) evening, at the Cinema Palace in Cairo, and expressed her surprise when she did not find her date of birth. It is written in the publication honoring her, confirming that she is proud of her years of life, as she will be turning eighty-third at the end of this month, specifically on June 29, so that the audience will sing Christmas songs to the artist, born in 1940.

Farida Fahmy, who was nicknamed “The Dancing Butterfly,” founded with her husband, director Ali Reda, and his brother Mahmoud, “The Reda Folklore Ensemble.” United Nations, and the Olympia Theater in Paris.

During the honoring ceremony, Fahmy recalled the memories of the founding of the band, her artistic journey, and the enthusiasm of her father, the university professor, for sharing her dream. But she did not like what she called “the dance of the khawajat,” and her tendency was clear to folk dance, and when she married Ali Mahmoud Reda, and her sister married his brother Mahmoud, “the four gathered together the dream of founding a folklore troupe,” as she put it.

Her father, a professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Hassan Fahmy, supported and encouraged this dream. Fahmy says, “Her father turned the villa they lived in into classrooms for the band’s training, and he did not care about the criticism he was subjected to from the family,” noting that her sister was making the band’s clothes under the supervision of her mother.

In order to provide the necessary money to establish the band, Fahmy said that she “saved her wages for the first five films that she acted in before founding the band, which are (My Dream Boy, The Magician of Women, Jamila, The Big Brother, and Ismail Yassin Police Harbi) with a savings book at the post office,” noting that “Her husband used to save part of his wages for the benefit of the band, and so did his brother Mahmoud, until an amount sufficient to rent an apartment for the band was completed.”

In appreciation of her late husband, Fahmy asked that his name be honored with her, and indeed, director Hisham Atwa, head of the Authority of Culture Palaces in Egypt, and artist Tamer Abdel Moneim, director of the Cinema Palace, handed an honorary shield to Fahmy, the first in her name, and the second in the name of her husband. Fahmy said that she “does not want to stir up sorrows, but this is the first honor that Ali Reda has received, as he has not received any honor throughout his life,” expressing her surprise that his name was not mentioned at the Cairo Film Festival. In this context, Fahmy praised the Red Sea Film Festival for restoring the movie “Gharam in Karnak”.

Regarding the band’s music and melodies that are still being performed, Fahmy praised the musician Ali Ismail, who composed the band’s melodies and music, and said that “his charming music was one of the reasons for success,” noting that she “was feeling a terrible energy that pushed her to perform the most beautiful dances, as soon as she hinted at the signs of his hand while conducting the orchestra.

Fahmy touched on former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s encouragement of the band, and said that “her husband was looking forward to presenting the band’s performances to the president, which happened at one of the (City Lights) concerts,” noting that “President Abdel Nasser was impressed by the band, and he was asking her to perform. In front of his guests of kings and presidents ».

Fahmy added that “the troupe toured the world, and was shown on its largest theaters, and in a presidential conference in which more than 50 presidents, kings and emperors participated,” noting that Abdel Qader Hatem, the Egyptian Minister of Information at the time, assured the troupe that “President Abdel Nasser is interested in it, And he wants the band to fall under the banner of the government to support its artistic mission.” And she added, “With time, the band entered the corridors of government routine.”

Although dancing was her life, she retired from it early, and said that she “decided to retire at the age of 43, and her time was in America, and after her retirement, she obtained a master’s degree for a study entitled (Mahmoud Reda and Creative Development).”

In turn, Tamer Abdel Moneim, director of the Cinema Palace, said, “Just as Egypt has Naguib Mahfouz in literature, and Umm Kulthum in singing, it has Farida Fahmy in dance.” Hisham Atwa, head of the General Authority for Cultural Palaces, confirmed that “Farida Fahmy left an imprint.” in folk dance. The director, Adel Awad, who directed the honoring meeting, indicated that he “dedicated his movie (Crystal), which starred Sherihan, to the name of the late director Ali Reda, in recognition of his gratitude.”