Egyptian banker leads dancing folklore troupe to revive heritage

CAIRO: A banker in the morning and a folklore troupe leader in the evening, that’s how Egyptian Pinky Selim sought to keep her passion alive.

In the troupe named ‘AUC Alumni Folklore Troupe’, Selim uses old songs to recreate choreography that revives Egypt’s folkloric scene.

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Ever since she was young, Selim loved dancing as well as black-and-white movies. She began learning the art of ballet when she was four years old and continued to practice it for 12 years.

Selim then branched out into different types of dance arts such as contemporary dance and hip-hop dance, until she joined the folklore troupe at the American University in Cairo (AUC).

As a way to pursue her favourite hobby and also to spread awareness about the country’s heritage, Selim offered various dance lessons and later in 2013 founded a folklore dance group that started with AUC Alumni and has since attracted different people from all ages.

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“I was alone at the time, and now the troupe consists of 30 people, men and women, of different ages,” she said, as she spoke to Reuters after a training where she instructs her troupe in a studio in Egypt’s Giza city.

Selim hopes to expand her troupe and make her own music, but the lack of financial sponsorship or support of the Ministry of Culture remains a challenge.

“My dream is to find composers and compose music specifically for the troupe, so that I can record an entire session in a studio in the name of my troupe. This is my dream, but this requires a lot of money,” said Selim.

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The Egyptian dancer aims to make younger generations more aware of their culture and heritage.

“Folklore is the art of your country, an art that must be respected, loved, understood, and shown to people abroad,” she added.