By Ruba Hattar
Centre Rézodanse Egypte is the only cultural center that is fully dedicated to the promotion of dance in Alexandria since 2008. With the crisis of the Coronavirus outbreak, and the imperative of social distancing and close down of artistic and cultural organisations, they were imposed to close the place indefinitely since mid-March and to date which put the future of Rézodanse into jeopardy.
"As we are reaching 3 months of closure, the total suspension of activities has resulted in the loss of income for the organisation along the past period, as well as the accumulation of debts related to the running costs. As these losses are unlikely to be recovered, they are highly threatening the continuation of the work after the crisis. In other words, we are threatened to shut down permanently." the Center announced in a statement.
Rézodanse has always been in the heart of the Alexandrian cultural scene, with a record of many artistic projects and programs that contributed to the movement of arts and culture in the city, especially when it comes to dance. Now, they started seeking support to be able to recover from the current crisis, and keep the hope to be able to continue the work that has been on-going for 12 years. The center started a crowdfunding campaign online in the hope of getting out of this problem and secure its survival at this stage.
Along the past 12 years, and in collaboration with many local and international partners, Rézodanse has initiated, implemented, and co-organised numerous artistic and cultural projects that aimed to the promotion of dance in Alexandria; Nassim El Raqs dance festival (2011-2015), the one and only site specific contemporary dance festival in public spaces in Alexandria, the International Street Parade (2010) which was a street carnival outdoors that gathers performing artists from Egypt and Europe.
Additionally, the dance center took part in Mounirat Al Fan (2019); a program dedicated to the promotion of young Egyptian artistic talents, with focus on Hip-Hop dancers in this edition, and the Silsilah Dance Program, an annual training program for contemporary dance targeting young adults from Alexandria, along with its educational activities, as well as dance activities in the schools of Alexandria.
"Through our practice, we aim to promote the appreciation of dance on the local level, emphasizing dance as an integral part of the Egyptian heritage, contributing to the cultural diversity of our society and making dance available for different social classes," they explained in their online campaign.
Rézodanse has also produced many dance performances within the framework of these projects, which were presented in different venues in Egypt. The place has always been counted as an asset, and a source of support to local and young artists in Alexandria.
