About the teacher

Kamal Ballan was born in Syria, Suveid. He was born in really musical family. Kamal is nephew of national singer Fagid Ballan, popular in the whole Arabic world. From the early childhood he was keen on music, taught himself to play on oud (Arabic lute). Soon after he entered art club and began to study further, where he showed himself as virtuoso of this instrument. He began to compose music rather early.

After finishing school he went to study to USSR. He came there with his favorite instrument, but he entered Engineering-constructing university, from which he successfully graduated. Soon he returned to his native land. During five years he was taught music by his uncle. Being among famous musicians and singers of Arabic world, he began to combine Arabic and European music.Continuing to improve his playing on the oud, he decided to extend its potential and made 7-cord lute from 5-cord. It allowed extending repertoire and improving technique.

Nevertheless Kamal missed Russia, where he spent the most romantic years of his youth. From state construction Syrian company, building hotels, he went to Odessa by contract. In Odessa he communicated with many musicians, but he began his work in musical sphere only after his moving to Moscow. Short course of studying in the theatre of pantomime of Ury Popov and natural abilities allowed him to go in for studying bellydance with ease. Nowadays Kamal not only knows secrets of bellydance, but also successfully teaches it.

Kamal has his own choir. It consists of several talented musicians, playing on darbuka (Arabic drum), Arabic flute, trumpet, violin (Arabic as well) and even contrabass. Singers, also taught by Kamal, sing ancient Arabic songs, and dancers perform bright bellydance to the accompaniment of live (and undoubtedly spirited) music. His dancers repeatedly won first places on the main contests in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Moreover, Kamal has one more very unusual project: his own symphony orchestra! It consists of 20 graduates of Moscow Conservatory, soloist in the orchestra is Kamal Ballan. Orchestra performs traditional Arabic music in Kamal’s arrangement.

Kamal is famous in musical world as bright virtuoso, as musician, who is capable of momentary improvisation in any situation and in any musical collective.

Kamal, as musician, possess rare managerial abilities, that is why for every performance he defines membership of musicians, according to the topic, atmosphere of the concert and to expectant audience. It can be either classical Arabic music with ancient Arabic songs or red-blooded belly dance to oriental rhythms, or ethno-mix, including ethnical musicians of different cultures, or mix with blues and jazz musicians, jazz itself and even symphony orchestra.

Kamal performs with the most famous and professional musicians in the country: Givan Gasparyan, Anatoly Gerasimov, Rishad Shafi (drummer of legendary choir "Gunesh"), Gasan Mamedov (classical and oriental violin), Vyacheslav Gorsky, Sergey Voronov (Crossroads), Vladimir Volkov, Arkady Shilkloper, Alex Rostotsky, Uriy Parfenov, Keshab Chauduri (tabla, India). He took part in recording several disks, including disk with Sergey Penkin, Parfenov and Rostotsky. He played four compositions on the disk "Oriental Impress" and "Influence of the Orient".

Kamal Ballan is really spirited person; he is very cheerful, initiative and "restless". He easily finds common language with any person, and his communication with audience during the concert plunges everybody in atmosphere of kindness and unity of cultures.