Egypt
Gamal Seif was born in EL MAHALLA – Egypt, in a Bedouin community fully integrated with artistic and mystic culture. His origins gave the young Gamal a rich insight into the cultural origins of Middle Eastern music and dance and became the inspiration for many of his artistic directions.
His career began early. He started to dance at the age of 12 years old in Egypt. Gamal’s passion and huge talent for dance and music was noted by his family, many of whom where themselves involved in the arts as his famous brother Khaled Seif. Gamal was encouraged to master his craft and studied under leading Cairo dance teachers. Having learned with all the top teachers and dancers, Gamal became one of the youngest professional dancer in the whole of Egypt and he was performing in the Ballet of Egyptian Television, and also in the famous “Balloon” Theatre in Cairo. He was spotted by Hassan Afifi, the world’s leading Egyptian choreograph-dance teacher and producer who invited him to join his troupe of dancers when he was 20.
In 1985-86, Gamal has been dancing in Egypt very closely with an American modern-jazz Ballet. But as he began looking for new dimensions of dances, he found himself turning full circle back to his first love, the Egyptian sound, the Egyptian Folklore.
In 1989, Gamal came to Cologne (Germany), and enjoyed great success as a dancer-choreographer and oriental dance teacher, working with many respected Egyptian artists like Hassan Afifi, Khaled Seif, Aladin El Kholy, etc.
The last few years have the most educational years in Gamal’s life, he has been teaching all the finer details of the Middle Eastern music and dance, teaching what cannot be taught by a foreigner. This is what makes him who he is today.
Gamal has been touring the world, dancing, performing and teaching, reaching audiences and students from all over the world. His performance vary from classical to traditional folklore, to baladi to modern improvised dance to improvised live shows with his Egyptian troupe EL MAHALLA that features the top professional dancers from Egypt.
Gamal is known worldwide for creating and producing much choreography for the world’s leading artists of oriental dance. But Gamal Seif is not only an artist. He is also a Doctor of sport; specialized in Sport and Dance medicine and also dance therapy. Indeed, he has a particular interest in the therapeutic movements. He is in charge of therapy of sport, dance and movements, and also in Egypt in the field of the sporting rehabilitation. Gamal perfected the technique of the oriental dance and applies in his method the analysis of the movement and the influence of the dance to the health. He tries to make the dancers understand how the cultural mentalities can be structured by the language of the body and the symbolism based on the customs of the peoples. Having developed a big freedom through a personal vocabulary, Gamal Seif is now a master of the contemporary oriental dance. In Europe, he is considered as the pioneer of Zar’s ceremony and he is the founder of the Therapy Academy (AGT) in Cologne.
Dr. Gamal Seif Scientist of sports, educationalists for dance and choreographer
Dr. Gamal Seif Abo Zed works as a private lecturer for sports rehabilitation, sports psychology and dance medicine. He absolved additional training in the areas of Medical Training Therapy (MTT), Modern Dance and dance therapy. In Europe, he is regarded as the pioneer of Czar Ceremony and he is the initiator of the Integrated Academy for Physical Therapy. He brilliantly integrates his complex knowledge of the mentioned areas in his cherished educational work
