Category Archives: Music and Dance

Abdessadeq Chekara

Morocco, Music and Dance, YouTube Watch


by Anouar Majid, Tingitana

The late Abdessadeq Chekara, the Andalusian singer and violin virtuoso from Tetouan, close to my native city of Tangier, almost singlehandedly embodied the rich Moorish musical heritage that united Spain and parts of Morocco over the centuries. His son, Jalal, is working hard and creatively to keep his legacy alive, but I have never seen anything approaching the power of this performance, including Tom Cohen and Rabbi Haim Louk, with the participation of Alfonso Cid, which took place in November 2011 in Montreal. Tom Cohen and Rabbi Louk are doing a heroic job introducing the world to Moroccan culture and its musical traditions. In all the shows I have watched on YouTube, Mr. Cohen is always light on his feet and playful with his orchestra and audiences, while Rabbi Louk is invariably joyful and utterly moving with his heavenly voice—the perfect image of a religious man who celebrates the beauty of life. The rabbi’s patriotism and loyalty for Morocco are unmatched. Just listen to this performance of another Chekara song, warning his fellow Moroccans to watch out for ill wishers and preserve their precious legacy—a legacy that has been enriched by the country’s small but vibrant and enormously creative Jewish community.

Egypt Week in New York

Conferences and Talks, Egypt, Film and Video, Music and Dance


Egyptian pianist, Mohamed Shams

EGYPT MINI-SERIES FEBRUARY 2013 
LINCOLN CENTER

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
BRUNO WALTER AUDITORIUM
(entrance @ 111 Amsterdam Avenue @ 64th street)



PROGRAM

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2 @ 2.30 PM
Opera in Arabic:
On translating opera into classical and colloquial Egyptian Arabic, with Baritone Raouf Zaidan, Bass Baritone Ashraf Sewailam and Kamel Boutros, piano – moderated by Nimet Habachy of WQXR Classical Music Station New York



SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 @ 2.30 PM
Music for Piano and French Horn:
Recital by Amr Selim (winner, Northeast Horn competition 2012), and Seba Ali, both winners of the 2012 Ackerman Chamber Music competition 2012 at Stony Brook, NY
And a choreographic offering specially created for Seba and Amr by Cherylyn Lavagnino with Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance (CLD) dancers Ramona Kelley and Justin Flores


MONDAY FEBRUARY 4 @ 6 PM
Music of Arab American composer Mohammed Fairouz
With the Cadillac Moon Ensemble, Ensemble 212 and the Mimesis Ensemble
Curated by Katie Reimer

 Continue reading Egypt Week in New York →

Ottoman Music

Languages, Music and Dance, Ottoman Empire, Poetry, Teaching Resources, Turkey


Ottoman ensemble in a Suleymaniye manuscript

For anyone interested in Ottoman music, or music as such, check out the nice webpage just uploaded in the Ottoman History Podcast.

Ottoman Classical Music: History and Transformations
with Mehmet UÄŸur Ekinci
74. Music of the Ottoman Court

While the Ottoman Empire was undoubtedly home to rich and diverse musical traditions, the subject of Ottoman music has often evaded historical analysis due to the scant nature of pre-nineteenth century sources on the subject. In this podcast, Mehmet Uğur Ekinci provides a general outline of the history of music during the Ottoman period along with its various waves of transformation and discusses his upcoming publication of Kevserî Mecmûası, an eighteenth century musical treatise that provides a rare glimpse of notation in Ottoman music before the nineteenth century. We also provide a number of recordings of Ottoman music composed during different periods.

Hakadha (Thus Spake Zahed Sultan)

"Arab Spring", Kuwait, Music and Dance, Terrorism Issue, YouTube Watch


Zahed Sultan Releases ‘Revolutionary’ New Song & Music Video

Watch Zahed Sultan’s new ‘Like This (ha-ka-tha)’ music video on www.youtube.com/zahedsultan

Sign up on www.mousemusic.org and download free ‘Like This (ha-ka-tha)’ wallpaper for your computer.

Zahed Sultan announces the release of his new song & music video entitled “Like This (ha-ka-tha).” The song pays tribute to the social frustrations that have plagued the MENA region prior to the Arab Spring. In classical spoken-word Arabic, Zahed calls upon the Arab people to stand in unity, against tyranny, with a sense of civic pride.

In his music video, Zahed gives a gripping account of the revolutions as they sequentially unfold in each Arab country through use of raw-footage (shot by protestors with cell-phones) and stop-motion animation.

Be an active part of the change happening around you and share Zahed’s latest song & music video with your network!

About The Artist

Zahed is a music producer and social entrepreneur from Kuwait. He released his debut album “Hi Fear, Lo Love” on April 1st 2011and attained success with his 2nd single “I Want Her But I Don’t Want Her.” Parisian Dj, Stephane Pompougnac, featured the single on the internationally acclaimed Hotel Costes 15 compilation, which was released on Sept. 26th 2011. Continue reading Hakadha (Thus Spake Zahed Sultan) →

Arab Love Songs

Egypt, Food and Drink, Music and Dance, Orientalism


The Library of Congress has archived many of the Gramophone recordings from the early part of the last century. This includes several vaudeville songs about Arabs. One of these, about Egypt, is “Arab Love Song” sung by Harry Macdonough for Victor Records, made possibly as early as 1908. My personal favorite is “Sahara (we’ll soon be dry like you),” a prohibition era song recorded by Esther Walker in 1919. There are also comedy routines, like the schtick by Charles G. Widden on “Peterson at the Turkish Bath”. Then if you want a one-step from 1918, try “Arabian Nights” by the Waldorf Astoria Dance Orchestra or the fox trot “Oriental Love Dreams,” recorded in 1924 by Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra or “Harem Life” recorded in 1919 by the Paul Biese Novelty Orchestra.

Dance at Alwan

Conferences and Talks, Egypt, Music and Dance, Yemen


Magda Saleh, “Giselle”, Studio Portrait, Cairo, Egypt, 1968, left; Magda Saleh in “Don Quixote”, Guest Artist, Bolshoi Ballet, right

Panel Discussion: Dancing Culture and Controversy: Professional Women Dancers of the Arab World
Monday, June 4, 2012 6:30 pm at Alwan for the Arts

Join renowned professional dancers Magda Saleh of Egypt, Leila Molaei of Arab-Iranian descent, and dance anthropologist Najwa Adra, for a panel presentation and discussion on women professional dancers of the Arab world and diaspora.

Dance by women is the most controversial of all performance arts, because it is the body, the basis for construction of gender difference, which creates it. Traditional or culturally specific dances especially embody cultural ideals and taboos related to the female body.

Panel Discussion 6:30-8:30

$5 at door (Free for members.)

Magda Saleh will share vignettes of her trailblazing career path of classical dance, becoming Egypt’s beloved Prima Ballerina with the Cairo Ballet Company. She will also present footage of her 1979 documentary film, “Egypt Dances”, highlighting women performers of Egyptian traditions such as zar, haggalah and others.

Leila Molaei, expert performer and teacher of raqs sharqi, Iraqi kawleya, and one of a handful of Arab professional dancers of these forms in diaspora, will speak to how she negotiates cultural challenges of performing female solo dances. Leila will also discuss gender issues in performance of dances such as kawleya and khaleegy, including demonstrations of relevant technique and issues such as costuming and context.

Leila will also be teaching a workshop on Iraqi dance and performing in NYC, presented by Mark Balahadia. For more information on the May 31 show, or June 2 & 3 workshop, visit www.markbalahadia.com.

Najwa Adra, cultural anthropologist specializing on dance in the Middle East region will serve as the panel respondent.

About the Artists: Continue reading Dance at Alwan →