Egypt’s first prima ballerina Magda Saleh dies at 79

Magda Saleh, Egypt’s first-ever prima ballerina, passed away Sunday morning at the age of 79. Magda left her mark in Egyptian art with a career that spanned decades.

Born to an Egyptian father and a Scottish mother, her fascination with ballet dancing started at a very young age.

In 1963, Magda was among five ballerinas to receive a scholarship to study at Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet Company.

She then joined Cairo’s Ballet Company, performing various times in Egypt’s Khedivial Opera House until 1971, when the Opera House burned down.

In 1979, she obtained a PhD on Egyptian ethnic dance traditions from New York University.

Saleh then became professor and dean of the Higher Institute of Ballet in 1983.

She also became the founding director of the new Cairo Opera House in 1987.

In the early 1990s, she moved to New York to live with her husband, where she acted as a patron for Egyptian artists.

Shortly after her husband’s death in 2022, she returned to live with her family in Egypt until her death.