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The Golden Years: Music, dancers and film in Egypt 

At its Madrid headquarters on January 27 and 28, Casa Árabe is offering a special schedule of activities about Egyptian cabaret, including a concert and the screening of the classic film “A Glass and a Cigarette” by Niazi Mustafa (1955). Tickets are now being sold online. 

Cabaret played a major role in the melodramatic films of the era known as the “golden age of Egyptian cinema.” Melodrama’s cinematic complexity and its ability to capture a wide range of aspects, recovering images and traditions from popular culture, characterize the cabaret genre on the Cairo scene, representing Egyptian nightlife while intrinsically linked to the world of dancers. Known in Egypt as awalim (‘wise women’), they were often well-learned women possessing amazing skills: they would recite classical poetry, were very talented at singing and music, and, of course, held a gift for dancing, as well. This tradition reached the peak of its popularity with personages like Tahiya Carioca (1915-1999), Sadia Gamal (1924-1994) and Naima Akef (1929-1966), true screen and stage superstars who gave the history of Egyptian cabaret an identity of its own. The format of their productions always highlights these superstars as characters who perform with the accompaniment of a large chorus of dancers and musicians.


Today, this genre forming part of Egyptian pop and folk music remains alive, but with less visibility due to the lack of appropriate spaces and film productions to make it shine. Nonetheless, it still enjoys major popularity, and many musicians and performers from younger generations continue to show admiration for this way of understanding the combination of music and Middle Eastern dance.

This event provides a fine opportunity to rediscover the genre along with Samir Elturky, the Egyptian musician based in Madrid who designed this special program for Casa Árabe with a concert (Thursday, January 27) and a film screening (Friday, January 28) that allows us to get a fresh look at the style marked by dance stars like Tahiya Carioca, and to bring the film “A Glass and a Cigarette” by Niazi Mustafa (Egypt, 1955, 112 min.), with Samia Gamal as the superstar, back to the silver screen.

  • The Golden Years  

    January 27, 20227:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62) 7:30 p.m. 7 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    6 euros if purchased online. Tickets sold on this website up to the day of the event at 2:00 p.m., or until sold out. Those tickets which have not been sold online will be sold as of one hour before the event at the entrance to Casa Árabe’s premises (in cash or by credit card) for the price of 6 euros (5 euros for officially unemployed persons, students of Casa Árabe’s Language Center and Youth Card holders. You must demonstrate this status by showing the proper document in order to receive the discount). Assigned seating with tickets. 
    We will be paying homage to the stars of Egyptian cabaret with this concert, featuring two dancers and three musicians who form part of the Neteru Ensemble. The event will be taking place in Madrid on January 27. Tickets are now being sold online. 
    Musicians: 

    Samir Elturky, darbuka and artistic direction
    Celina Molina Tin, dancer
    Cristina Gadea, dancer
    David Crespo, Arabic oud

    Silvia Romero Ramos, violin

    Samir Elturky (darbuka)
    An Egyptian percussionist born in Cairo, Elturky has spent his career as a musician and cultural producer all over Europe and Egypt. He specializes in instruments like the darbuka, tabla, duff, bendir, doholla, djembé and riq. Ever since he came to Madrid in 2017, Samir has collaborated with Casa Árabe on various cultural events: “Arab Blues,” which formed part of a day of events titled “Plural Mixed Europe,” accompanied by the singer Hind el Rawy; “The Spirit of Ramadan,” within the framework of the Madrid City Council’s Ramadan Festival; percussion workshops; a concert by Donia Massoud, and more. He is a performer not only interested in traditional Egyptian music but also in its modernization, experimenting with contemporary methods such as electric percussion. He is also currently running a gathering place located in the Madrid neighborhood of Lavapiés, the well-known Darbukabar, frequented by all lovers of Arabic percussion and, in particular, Samir Elturky’s most important instrument, the darbuka.

    Celina Molina Tin (dancer)
    A professional dancer and Middle Eastern dance teacher of Argentine origin, Celina graduated from La Suisse Cepec University. When she arrived in Madrid, she joined the American company “Bellydance Evolution,” with which she took part in a show called “Sheherazade’s Journey,”  along with the philharmonic orchestra of Morocco. With over 20 years of experience, Celina has taken her art to important stages across Europe and Latin America. The creator of her own training program for professional dancers, she has been teaching the art of Middle Eastern dance throughout Spain since 2014.

    Cristina Gadea (dancer)
    After a solid education in dance, music, Arabic language and culture, Cristina has come to work with two of the most important International Middle Eastern dance companies in the world: “Bellydance Evolution” by Jillina and “BellyQueen” by Kaeshi Chai. Puerto Rico, the United States, Thailand, England, Germany and Morocco are just a few of the countries where she has given workshops and performed with other companies and her own, the “Dream Bellydance Company,” which mainly works in Morocco and Spain. It was with this company that she prepared various projects for Morocco, promoting the fusion of flamenco with several Moroccan classical music orchestras. Since 2008, she has been running her own school in Madrid, where she contributes to several national festivals as a dancer and teacher.

    David Crespo (Arabic oud)
    With a deep interest in music of wide-ranging origins, David Crespo was initiated in the oud and Arabic maqams  years ago when he spent time in Jordan, Turkey and Greece. Since then, he has continued his education by self-teaching, holding an interest in Mediterranean modal music.

    Silvia Romero Ramos (violin)
    A violinist from Madrid who specializes in classical music, Romero studied at the High Royal Music Conservatory of Madrid and was awarded a scholarship for three seasons at Madrid’s Symphony Orchestra School. She has worked with orchestras in Holland and Germany and has trained with masters such as Mauricio Fuks, Radu Blidar, Mariana Sirbu and Stephan Picard. She founded the group Neteru Ensemble, whose members include David Crespo and Samir Elturky, to explore the world of musical fusion and unite Western music with Arab and Eastern Mediterranean musical heritage.     

  • Film: “A Glass and a Cigarette”

    January 28, 20227:30 p.m.
    MADRID
    Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62) 7:30 p.m. 4 euros: general tickets at the box office.
    4 euros: Tickets purchased online, the officially unemployed, Casa Árabe Language Center students and Youth Card holders, by showing the proper documentation. You may only receive one discount. Sales in advance at www.casaarabe.es up to the day of the screening at 12:00 p.m. Those tickets not sold online will be made available for purchase on the day of the screening at Casa Árabe’s headquarters, as of one hour before each screening (payment in cash or by debit/credit card). Assigned seats with tickets. Mask use is required at all times. 
    Films shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish.
    On Friday, January 28, our film screenings will be returning to Casa Árabe’s movie screen in Madrid, with this special homage to the golden age of Egyptian musical melodrama. Buy your ticket now so don’t miss out.
    A 1955 musical, Niazi Mustafa’s film has been called an enduring classic from the golden age of Egyptian cinema. Hoda (Samia Gamal), a well-known dancer, gives up her career when she falls in love with a handsome young man (Mamduh), a doctor in the early years of his medical career. The happy couple faces obstacles when Hoda suspects that her husband is not indifferent to the charms of his provocative Italian head nurse, Yolanda (future Dalida) who has set her eyes on Mamduh. This will have irreversible consequences in Hoda’s life, as she is dragged down into drinking and jealousy... The  doctor will have to choose between his wife’s love and that of the nurse who works for him. “A Glass and a Cigarette” is a classic Egyptian film melodrama, whose plot lines usually revolve around impossible loves and fateful events.

    The film stars Sadia Gamal, one of the shining stars of Egyptian melodrama and musical cinema in the 1950s. Born in the small Egyptian town of Wana in 1924, Samia’s family moved to Cairo a few months later and settled near the Khan El-Khalili bazaar. Many years later, Samia Gamal met Badia Masabni, who owned a large Cairo nightclub at the time. Badia offered Samia an invitation to join her dance company, where she would begin her career as a dancer, already under the stage name of Samia Gamal. Her career began in the wake of the great Tahiya Carioca. However, she soon became a respected solo performer with a style of her own, including ballet and Latin dance techniques in her solo acts. She was also the first to perform on stage in high heels. She played in dozens of Egyptian movies with major film stars like Farid el Atrash. In 1949, King Farouk of Egypt proclaimed Samia Gamal the “National Dancer of Egypt.”

    Technical information:
    Title: A Glass and a Cigarette
    Original title: Sigara wa kas
    Nationality: Egypt
    Year of production: 1955
    Director: Niazi Mustafa
    Production: Aflam Kouka
    Starring actors: Samia Gamal (Hoda), Nabil El-Alfi (Mamduh), Kouka (Azza), Dalida (Yolanda), Sirag Mounir (Omara)
    Screenplay: Abdel Aziz Salam, Niazi Mustafa and Hassan Tawfik
    Photography: Abdel Aziz Fahmi
    Editing: Sayyed Bayouni
    Duration: 112 minutes