CAIRO – 9 July 2018: Mazaher band performs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. for two hours at the Egyptian Center for Culture and Arts-Makan. The band performs traditional Zar music.
Zar is a community healing tradition that depends on drums and dancing and is mainly performed by women. The band consists of 10 members, where women play the leading roles and men play secondary roles in the performances.
The band is inspired by three different styles of Zar; the Upper Egyptian Zar, Abul Gheit Zar, and Sudanese or African Zar. Mazaher performed in several countries such as Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, Tunisia, Morocco, and Lebanon, among others.
“The concert in Morocco was one of my favorites as Morocco is actually one of the leading communities in terms of Zar music,” Umm Sameh, the lead singer of Mazaher ensemble, said in Scoop Empire website.
Their shows are built on interaction with the audience from different nationalities sitting on wooden chairs, pillows and colorful rugs and being served tea in the breaks; the atmosphere indulges people in a spectacular experience.
Mazaher was founded in 1999 by Makan owner, Ahmed el-Maghraby, and situated in Saad Zaghloul Street in Cairo. “We’re not just a platform for bands to perform but we’re also trying to organize workshops for different types of arts,” Ahmed, one of the coordinators in Makan, said.
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