CAIRO WEST MAGAZINE INTERVIEW
A New Voice
for Egyptian Heritage
Dina El Wedidi molds Egyptian folklore into modern styles
By Brian Wright
Rising in the ranks of Egyptian stardom is Dina El Wedidi who combines traditional words including poetry and the Sira Hilaliyya from Upper Egypt with modern styles such as Jazz and Bossanova . El Wedidi first began to hone her musical career when she was studying Eastern Languages at Cairo University , with a focus on Turkish and Persian linguistics . She joined El Warsha Troupe and delved into the depths of traditional Egyptian music , learning a whole range of local styles and musical forms .
In the last few weeks , El Wedidi has appeared on El Bernameg with Bassem Youssef , in the Culture Wheel and at the closing concert of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival . At D-CAF , she performed on the stage of the Qasr El Nil Theatre , which in the past served as the platform for some of the Arab world ’ s most popular classical artists including Umm Kalthoum , Farid El Attrache , and Abdel Halim Hafez . As she was preparing for the D-CAF concert , Cairo West Magazine sat with El Wedidi to find out more about her emerging musical career .
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