One of the competing breakdancers, Khaled Sinjab, performs complicated dance
moves for his crew “Blast Boyz.”

By Fares Anam, Yemen Observer, Apr 26, 2008

An enthralling show performed by Arab youth was held Wednesday night at the Yemeni Center for Studies and Research. Enlivened by hip hop music, these students studying in Yemen competed to be recognized as the best dancers and singers in Sana’a.

The hip hop festival, titled “Common Ground,” brought this unique American art form together with Arab youth by offering music and dance to the capital. The hip hop party was organized by the French Culture Center in cooperation with the German House, under the control of the Arbitration Commission. The event was supervised by French dancers Romo, Gohen and Fred Burki, in addition to DJ Malik and the Yemeni-American singer, Haggagi.

As part of a cultural dialogue between young people in the Arab world and young people in Europe, French dancers and a German DJ traveled to Sana’a to perform their own music and dance at the show. “German DJ al-Jaro began working in Damascus, Syria,” said the Director of the German House, Guido Zebish. “France and Germany were enemies in the past, but now we are working and cooperating in many fields. The music is a common language between all of us.”

Fred Burki, one of the experienced French dancers, expressed his pleasure in coming to Yemen. “I am honored to respond to the French Cultural Center’s invitation to participate in this event. It is a good experience to come to Yemen and exchange experiences among talented Yemeni and Arab dancers,” he said. “I can now identify traditions of the country’s culture and the link between Asia and Africa. Thanks to hip hop, cultural, geographical and mental barriers are broken, allowing everyone to be free from prejudices.”

Yemeni-American singer Haggag was very happy to participate in the hip hop battle. “We want to bring the attention of Yemeni people to join the eastern and western hip hop culture,” he said. Haggag writes and records his songs, keeping in mind the important part of him that is originally from the Arabia Felix, Yemen. His music is composed of attractive melodies accompanied with oboe and lyrics of a mixture of Arabic and English. In addition to his singing performance, a group of al-Barra, Yemeni traditional dance music, played in the background.

“I first heard the announcement of the party, then I decided to participate as a rap singer. I participated in this kind of festival called Summer 2006 with my words and melodies,” said Akram al-Mouyad, one of the Yemeni rappers.

Al-Mouyad began write his songs at 17 years old when he was living in U.S. for ten years. “When I returned to Yemen in 1999, I noticed that the Yemeni art arena lacked this kind of singing, so I began to write my songs and melody about them,” he said.

DJ Malik expressed his happiness about the event, saying, “It is a new experience for us; it’s like an adventure. We worked together to make this party a success and hope to continue with this cooperation.”

A group of ten Arab youth were trained throughout the week under the French dancers. The participants included Saif al-Damen, Mohammed al-Mana, Yousef Mohtar, Khaled Hizam Sinjab, Nazar Nasher, Mohammed Gami, Baha al-Sudani, Ali al-Qrimli, Tariq, and Samir. The singers included Mohammed Sa’eed, Hassan al-Felestini, Omar Smooth, Di Ali and Mohammed al-Ameer, known as RPG.

As the crowd cheered during the competition and swayed their hands in the air, performers were energized to show off their best moves. By the judging of the French visitors, the three-man dance crew of Mohammed al-Mana (Iraq), Yousef Mohtar (Yemen), and Ali al-Qrimli (Iraq) were announced as the winners for the best dancers at the show. The professionals will go on to train a group of these dancers and travel to other cities in Yemen where they will put on more shows.

The art of hip hop has spread all over the world and has become a culture as much as a kind of music. Even amateurs of the art form can be recognized by the style of their clothing or the jargon they use to express themselves. Hip hop as a cultural movement originated in New York in the 1970’s and has spread to all nations, recently hitting the Arab world.