During these two weeks in Cairo, the artists had the opportunity to discover the D-CAF festival, as well as the architectural, political, social and artistic dimensions of Downtown district, to follow workshops and continue exploring their own project in studio spaces, in dialogue in the final 3 days with dramaturg Youness Anzane. Two workshops ere proposed, the first one by dancer, choreographer and healing practitioner, Shaymaa Shoukry, and the second one by Laila Soliman, an independent Egyptian theatre director and playwright.
9 October
The welcome brunch at D-CAF artists lounge was followed by a tour of Downtown Cairo offered by the Qahrawya organisation. The tour highlighted the history of the district, presented the different architectural styles in the neighbourhood and shared stories related to its inhabitants. Downtown Cairo is a hub for artists and cultural organisations and acts as an intersection of the city’s history and social movements. The group ended with and overview of Egyptian art institutions: cinema and radio, visual arts, photography and archives.
Qahrawya offers walking tours focusing on the city’s visual and artistic side, uncovering hidden gems and diverse cultural venues. From cultural centres and art studios to photography exhibitions and film studios, Qahrawya takes people on walking tours in Downtown Cairo, El Mounira, Garden City, and Zamalek.
10 October
Movement & Consent Workshop with Shaymaa Shoukry
Shaymaa Shoukry is a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, mother, experimental musician, martial artist and healing practitioner. She has conducted in-depth research focused on the origins of movement, repetition, and transformation, addressing various sociopolitical issues.
12 October
One day trip at Nawaya farm and project.
Nawaya built an active network of community-based organisations that preserve and promote Egyptian heritage food systems and sustainability.
14 - 15 October
Documentary theatre as a technique rather than a form workshop with Laila Soliman
Thinking about documentary theatre as a technique rather than a form; a means rather than an end. What is the nature of the documentary material? What is the basis for selection? How much of it is intuitive, planning and/or trial and error? How and why to not stop questioning the ethics and politics of making. These are a few questions that were explored. More specifically, issues related to the search for primary sources, interviewees, the various relationships between form and content, but also between the audience, the artists and the work were discussed.
Laila Soliman (born in 1981) is an independent Egyptian theatre director and playwright, based in Cairo and trained at the American University in Cairo (BA in Theatre) and at Dasart in Amsterdam. Laila Soliman has been relentlessly exploring the flux in the contemporary socio-political climate and its influence on individuals, relationships, and power structures. Drawing on collective memories and personal histories, her work is an attempt to bridge the gap between official versions and intimate and personal experiences.
17 October
A day-presentation of artists projects, in conversation with Virginie Dupray and dramaturg Youness Anzane.
18 October
Feedback session with dramaturg and playwright Youness Anzane.
Playwright and artistic advisor for theatre, opera and dance, Youness Anzane was associate playwright at the 2012 Aix-en-Provence Festival. In 2017, in Luxembourg, he conceived La Voce è mobile, a piece of musical theatre premiered at the Kinneksbond Cultural Centre and directed Mozart's Cosi fan tutte as part of the Académie Lyrique de l'Abbaye de Neimenster. Youness has worked with many artists, directors and choreographers, including Jean Jourdheuil, Victor Gauthier-Martin, Ghislain Roussel, Anne-Elodie Sorlin, Gurshad Shaheman, Thierry Micouin and Tabea Martin. Passionate about cultural practices, he founded in 1996 Naxos Bobine, a centre for artistic exchange and research in Paris. In the same spirit, since 2006 he has run Il faut brûler pour briller, a travelling platform for mobility and international artistic encounters (eight editions to date). He regularly accompanies emerging artists at the invitation of organisations such as Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf, Domaine de Boisbuchet in Charente, Les Rencontres à l'Echelle in Marseille, La Vignette Scène conventionnée in Montpellier and Festival TransAmériques, Montreal. 2025 marks his second collaboration with CommonLAB artists.
