PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

The article translated below is a review from the 1930's about the show that was being presented at Badia Masabni's Casino that particular week. Unfortunately, I do not know what magazine it's from or the exact date of the article.

ABOUT THE PHOTO: The photo to the right shows Badia Masabni.

The dancer pictured in the center of the article shown below is Hekmet Fahmy.

Click on any image on this page to see more detail.

This week really ought to be called The Week Of Surprises at Badia's Casino because the surprises were many and each surprise was better than the other!

The Corps D'Or

This week we waited for the Corps D'Or [editor's note: Corps D'Or is French for "Golden Body"], AKA the Man/Woman, until he appeared on Badia's Casino stage Sunday night. We watched him and, just like many others, we marvelled at this artistic miracle.

The Corps D'Or's [onstage] appearance and form indicated that certain artistic men such as he are unusually brave. Although he's a man, he looked prettier than pretty women... and his figure was quite slim in addition to his charming voice. All of these and other advantages that the Corps D'Or has, made people like and applaud him greatly. They greeted him in a manner completely in accordance with his degree of artistry and skill.

Hekmet Fahmy

As we watched the Corps D'Or, we thought that this was the only surprise that Madame Badia Masabni had prepared this week, but we found that there was another surprise that we must mention.

We were surprised by the participation of the famous dancer Hekmet Fahmy in the program beginning on Sunday. We saw her dancing, and couldn't believe it, because just the day before she was in Beirut. So she arrived unannounced. Badia didn't let her stop to rest, but made her show up directly on stage.

Badia was tough [with her] as far as this surprise, but her toughness allowed us to see a new Hekmet Fahmy. She danced a beautiful Raqs Sharqi that made her stand out among the other Raqs Sharqi dancers of the troupe. This isn't the first time that Hekmet has appeared as the very best in Badia's troupe, and she has proven it time and again by both her dancing and her acting. 

British Dancers

The surprises weren't over yet! There was a third surprise. Two British dancers (Cheers). How pretty they were! And we musn't forget that this is the very first time that British dancers have appeared at our Egyptian casinos. 

Other Performers

Also in the program was a young girl (Danti) who did acrobatic tricks. She amazed the audience, who greeted her with a round of applause and asked her for an encore many times. Every time she came back for an encore she would amaze the audience with even more skillful tricks than the previous ones.

Before we finish our words about Badia's Casino program, we must say some final words about this week's plays and skits. It was a well selected program that was outstanding. The best of the solo shows were the monologues by Rafki and Abdallah. They fixed their feet on the stage this week* and we heard monologues that had interesting subjects, beautiful music, and outstanding performances. So why shouldn't they be successful? They deserve it!

All of this of course, is aside from the monologues of Madame Badia Masabni. She is a cut above the rest as far as her monologues and acting. We congratulate her for the great success that her casino achieved this week.

*"Fixed their feet on the stage" means they did exceptionally well onstage.

• Badia Masabni's Dancers and the Stage Names of Actresses. Group photo of performers at Badia Masabni's club in the early 1930's.
• Badia Masabni's Dancers in 1935. Group photo of dancers who were Badia's cast in 1935.

• Articles and Advertisements Featuring Badia Masabni and Her Businesses. An index to other resources about Badia Masabni on this web site.

Priscilla is a dancer of Lebanese heritage who enjoys researching the Golden Era of Egyptian dance. She owns a collection of more than one hundred classic black and white Egyptian films which is continually expanding.

Priscilla has also gathered a large library of dance related articles and clippings from Middle Eastern magazines and newspapers, many of which she has translated from the original Arabic to both English and Spanish.

Priscilla currently resides in Central America where she is a dance instructor.