CWM : How did working with El Warsha help develop your music ?
DW : When I was in college I used to compose songs for myself and give them to friends in the underground scene who would take them out to the public . When I started working with El Warsha , it opened a lot of doors to artistic outlets . In El Warsha , you get to sing , dance , act , and learn a lot about traditional culture . It is also very intense in that you have rehearsals every day and are therefore forced to take everything very seriously . I spent a total of three years with them honing my skills . I focused most of my time on the stage , which allowed me to discover my love for music .
How would you describe your music ?
I don ’ t like the idea of classifications or genres , because it limits me to a particular style and I feel that as I continue to develop and change my music could become very different . It ’ s also not my job to determine what kind of music I am producing . I just produce it ! If you want to know what style I am singing you should ask a critic or a specialist who classifies music and can tell me who I am at this point !
For your D-CAF performance , you performed on the same stage as Umm Kalthoum . How has this experience been for you ?
I was very excited and even scared about performing in this place . It is an awesome idea because in our society today we are always looking for new , modern places to visit and venues to perform in which disconnects us from our history . But to see a place like Qasr El Nil , where so many famous voices have been , the soul and spirit of the place itself is so powerful that it completely changed the experience .
When I first agreed to perform and they told me that it would be at the Qasr El Nil Theatre I was actually afraid . This is not only an important place historically but is also [ a performance ] for 1,000 people , that is massive ! However , as soon as I got on stage I saw the crowds of people who had come from afar to see me and immediately felt that this was amazing . I really love Egyptian audiences ; it seems that they are one of the few in the world that can warm a place up and let us just have fun with the music .
The famous Brazilian singer Gilberto Gil chose to mentor you . How did this happen ?
Rolex , in addition to their business , also have a number of projects where they support emerging artists around the world . I found out that I had been nominated for the program and went to perform in front of the selection committee where Gilberto was . I had no idea that he was going to be there . He saw me perform and chose me as his student to mentor . Since then I have toured with him in the United States and spent a lot of time with him as my mentor .
What does Gilberto Gil provide as a mentor ?
Dina El Wedidi on stage
This is not a technical mentorship like where he is going to help develop my talent , but most importantly it is developing a personal relationship and he makes me stronger as a person . You sometimes just need somebody there to support you while you are trying to find out what to do in your life and he has done that for me . Also , when I toured with him it opened my eyes to a whole other world of people , ideas , and styles that I had never experienced before . Any type of travel will do this to a person ; so to have it in my field with one of the top singers in the world was truly amazing .
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