Interview with Nadia Ahmad, Co-Host of Kalam Nawaem كلام نواعم

Interviewing Nadia Ahmad https://soundcloud.com/arabology/nadiaahmad

Arabology is proud to share Dr. Ramzi Salti's interview with Nadia Ahmad who co-hosts the TV show 'Kalam Nawaem' (the Arabic version of 'The View') on MBC1.  The interview was conducted in English at Stanford on July 21, 2015.  Listen below or at https://soundcloud.com/arabology/nadiaahmad

Nadia Ahmad is an acclaimed Arab Media personality and actress whose experience intersects theatre, film and television. She has performed with great panache on stages in Kuwait, Beirut and New York, winning wide spread acclaim from theatre stalwarts and critics alike. As a producer and director, she continues to develop major musical theatre productions in association with the National Council of Arts and Culture and the Amiri Diwan in Kuwait.

As an Activist, Nadia helped co-found the non-profit organization, the Lothan Youth Achievement Center (www.loyac.org) in the wake of September 11, 2001 with her mother Fareah Al Saqqaf and other progressive and committed women from the Kuwaiti society.
LOYAC runs several programs for the youth to develop their professional skills, enhance personal growth and to help them find a sense of purpose, including the LOYAC Academy of Performing Arts (LAPA), a non-profit institution offering free classes in any of the performing arts for troubled or under privileged youth who may have talent but no means or support to pursue it. LAPA is the first academy in Kuwait that caters to all aspects of the performing arts such as music, dance and theatre.
A graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she earned her Bachelors of Science with honors, and a second major in Italian Language and Literature. Further education includes the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, where she earned her Masters of Fine Arts from the intensely competitive Peter Stark Producing Program. 

This December, Nadia will be starring in a new one woman show in San Francisco where she will be celebrating the untold, true stories of several remarkable Arab women. Written by ASF Associate Artist Jennifer Le Blanc, based on interviews with the women of Kuwait, ' We Made Bread' stars renowned Kuwaiti actress Nadia Ahmad and is directed by Louanne Moldovan.

PHOTOS OF NADIA AHMAD AT STANFORD:

Dr. Ramzi Salti Interviewed on AATV

Watch the video at https://youtu.be/VMgvU0Kaxqk

Dr. Ramzi Salti, Lecturer at Stanford + Radio Host of 'Arabology' on KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM, was recently interviewed by Suad Asfour (AATV) about his teaching, his publications and his radio show.  The taping took place on July 14, 2015 at the ABC TV News/CreaTV  Building in San Jose, California.

You can watch the video below or at https://youtu.be/VMgvU0Kaxqk

Tinariwen: The Best of Saharan Blues

Tinariwen solidifies Saharan Blues

Tinariwen is a Grammy Award-winning group of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. The band began in 1979 in Algeria and started to gain a following outside the region in 2001, leading to performances at such world festivals as Festival au Désert and the Roskilde festival in Denmark. They received global acclaim for the release of their Aman Iman in 2007. 

Tinariwen's sound features Berber music from northern Algeria, rai music, pop, and Egyptian music. They are also influenced by Dire Straits, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Kenny Rogers and Don Williams.  Their style sounds like a blend between the blues and West African music,

Here is one of their hits titled 'TOUMAST TINCHA' (https://youtu.be/bvFrCulCvgM)

Here is their entire concert at WOMAD (https://youtu.be/uUS0-0Fv7c8)

For more info:

Tinariwen YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Tinariwen

Tinariwen on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinariwenmusic

Tinariwen Web Site: http://tinariwen.com/

Silk Road Rising Receives ArtPlace America Grant

Silk Road Rising has been awarded ArtPlace America’s National Grant to support their civic engagement and new play project, Jamil Khoury's Mosque Alert! Silk Road Rising (formerly known as Silk Road Theatre Project) creates live theatre and online videos that tell stories through primarily Asian American and Middle Eastern American lenses. In representing communities that intersect and overlap, they aim to advance a polycultural worldview.

Mosque Alert is an artistic and civic engagement project that dramatizes the difficulties Muslims face across the country (see https://youtu.be/Ojvgm7r4KU8).  Last summer, Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani—the founders of Silk Road Rising—found the ideal site for their fictional mosque: The Old Nichols Library in downtown Naperville. Working with ten community partners in downtown Naperville, they plan to use Mosque Alert to generate community-wide conversations that will examine fears associated with the building of this fictional mosque.

The project also utilizes video plays, community discussions and live stage work. The final artwork will be a production of Mosque Alert at Naperville’s North Central College in Fall, 2016. The stage play will integrate comments and feedback gathered from upcoming community engagement programs. 

Silk Road Rising has been working in Naperville for the past two years on the theme of Muslim American integration. This video, by Naperville Community Television 17 (NCTV17), documents one of their most recent presentations at the Naperville Public Library. You can also read this article by Susan Frick Carlman of The Naperville Sun, discussing one of the presentations we recently conducted in Naperville.

You can watch the video below or at https://vimeo.com/122791461

NN17 032015 Mosque Alert from Naperville News 17 on Vimeo.

For more info see http://www.silkroadrising.org/video-plays/mosque-alert

ReOrient Forum & Festival 2015

Golden Thread’s upcoming ReOrient Festival in San Francisco is well known for innovative, spirited, and thought-provoking theatre from and about the Middle East. With short plays by playwrights from Iraq, Iran, Egypt, England, and the U.S., the latest ReOrient promises to be a one-of-a-kind exploration of this unique region and its theater, stories, and artists.

The festival will feature 8 short plays by leading and emerging Middle Eastern writers (see below). The month-long festival of short plays, which will begin on September 10, 2015, will conclude with a FREE weekend Forum, a convening of artists, activists and scholars aimed at expanding the dialogue on theatre and the Middle East .

THE PLAYS:

LOST KINGDOM
by Hassan Abdulrazzak, directed by Michael French

When a Lebanese-American FBI agent is called in to interrogate a fallen dictator, a twisted tango ensues that complicates black and white notions of good and evil.

PICKING UP THE SCENT
by Yussef El Guindi, directed by Evren Odcikin

Hisham, an archeologist, discovers an ancient perfume bottle in a war zone. As he digs deeper, his poet wife Nisrin questions if it’s worth risking his life for history.

COUNTING IN AL SHA’AB
by Emma Goldman-Sherman, directed by Erin Gilley

Life goes on for Mr. Hattab and a colorful cast of characters from his bustling Baghdad neighborhood despite a bomb going off in front of his grocery store.

BITTERENDERS
by Hannah Khalil, directed by Manijeh Mohamedi

Maha’s Palestinian family shares their East Jerusalem apartment with an Israeli family, until a surprising letter changes everything—or does it?

CEASEFIRE
by Ken Kaissar, directed by Evren Odcikin

Can a ceasefire allow Israeli and Lebanese soldiers patrolling the border to see each other as something other than enemy?

THE HOUSE (World Premiere)
by Tala Manassah and Mona Mansour, directed by Sara Razavi

Kamal, a Palestinian-American scientist, and his philosopher daughter Alia put on a play and take an imaginary trip to his childhood home.

When: September 10- October 4th

THE FORUM:

The month-long festival of short plays will conclude with a FREE weekend Forum, a convening of artists, activists and scholars aimed at expanding the dialogue on theatre and the Middle East .

This year, Golden Thread presents Theatre Between Home & Exile, a panel exploring the ideas of home and language for Palestinian theatre artists around the world. Panelists include Palestinian-American playwright and activist, Ismail Khalidi, University of Haifa’s theatre professor and professional Massoud Haman and Ramallah based, emerging playwright Dalia Taha.

Panel: “Theatre Between Home and Exile: New Palestinian Voices” (Oct 3)

Panelists: Massoud Hamdan (Israel), Yasser Abu Shaqra (Syria/Turkey), Hannah Kahlil (UK),
Ismail Khalidi (USA), Dalia Taha (West Bank, OPT)

This panel will bring five unique voices in Palestinian theatre together to discuss the complexity of telling Palestinian stories at home and abroad. The panelists will explore various identities and voices that make up Palestinian identity in the face of globalization.

Concert: ReImagined Folk Songs with Saosan Jarjour (October 4, 2:30 PM)

An afternoon of Syrian folk songs with award-winning Syrian American soprano, Saousan Jarjour.

For more info see http://www.goldenthread.org/

Arab Western Film about Sultan Basha Al Atrash

Syrian-American Director Faisal Attrache is currently working on a new short film that deserves much attention and support. Titled 'From the Mountain' this Arab western short focuses on Sultan Basha Al Atrash's fight for freedom against colonial oppression. Read about it below and consider donating at THIS LINK.

For more info, see the film's Facebook Page and this YouTube video/promo: https://youtu.be/wn9_VNE_7As

Malek Jandali Honored by The Carnegie Corporation of New York

Syiran-American pianist/composer Malek Jandali was honored today as a 2015 Great Immigrant - The Pride of America by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.  Established in 1911, the Carnegie Corporation of New York is honoring a distinguished group of accomplished immigrants who have helped advance and enlighten our society, culture, and economy. Both The New York Times and The Guardian will feature the 38 honorees and their accomplishments on Independence Day, July 4,2015.

The 2015 Great Immigrants come from more than 30 countries around the world and represent leadership in a wide range of professions. They include Nobel laureates Arieh Warshel and Thomas C. Südhof; Google Engineering Director Craig Nevill-Manning; Metropolitan Museum of Art Director Thomas Campbell; Atlanta Braves coach Eddie Pérez; Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin; Pulitzer Prize-winners Geraldine Brooks and Anne Telnaes; actress Sofía Vergara; singer Thalía and television game show host Alex Trebek.



Last month Malek Jandali released The Moonlight  طلع البدر, an original symphonic work for piano and orchestra recorded in Moscow with The Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. It is based on one of the oldest songs in Islamic culture, Tala Al Badru Alayna, dating back more than 1400 years. 

You can listen to this work below or at https://youtu.be/xPI-lf-oN8U

 

The Moonlight is now available on iTunes and CDBaby worldwide.



The Malek Jandali Trio performed in the UAE last month to sold out audiences in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Abu Dhabi Classic FM Radio featured Variations for Piano and Orchestra which is based on an ancient Syrian folk melody and is featured in the latest album Syrian Symphony.

Notes For My Homeland a short documentary film featured recently on National Geographic and premiered by the Newest Americans project at Rutgers University after the release of Syrian Symphony at Carnegie Hall.

BBC - NPR Music - VOA - NBC News - Al Arabiya TV - Fox News -
Al Jazeera - The Huffington Post - News 12 New Jersey - Al Hurra TV 

Santa Cruz Arabic Music Week

Check out this amazing event which is coming up on July 19-25 at Pleasure Point FDC in Santa Cruz, CA. Registration form and detailed schedule at THIS LINK.

This is a weeklong celebration of Arabic Music with instruction, workshops, performances in Arabic singing, instrumental music, percussion, and even a bit of dance. Instructors this year include Antoine Lammam for percussion, Elias Lammam, voice, maqam theory, ensemble, Arabic music history and subgenres, rhythms, improvisation and taqsim, Sarah Michael, assistant music director, Janelle Rodriguez, oriental dance, Carolé Acuña, flamenco, and Tina Enheduanna, oriental dance.

This year there will be two phases of the week-long event: a two-day Bootcamp for musicians new to Arabic music (less than 3 years experience) on July 19-20; and a four-day intensive for more advanced students of Arabic music. The week will end with an evening of performances for family, friends and the public. There will be additional performance opportunities in the evenings throughout the week.

Instruments: traditional Arabic instruments such as qanun, oud, riqq, rebab, etc., as well as traditional Western instruments: accordion, violin, bass, guitar & other strings, woodwinds, brass instruments, and keyboard; percussion instruments such as riqq (tambourine), tabla/doumbek, and various frame drums.

July 19-20: Intensive immersion program for musicians, drummers & singers who are new to Arabic music.
July 19 from 1-5 pm: Dancer-friendly overview of Arabic music including: learn to sing your first Arabic song, percussion, history, famous figures in Arabic music, & more.

July 21-25: A wide variety of classes in Arabic music, percussion & singing at a more advanced level.
Percussion-only track also available, afternoons from July 19-25. See registration form for details.

July 24: The participant ensemble will perform live music with dance performances by our dance faculty & workshop participants.

July 25: Full concert by the participant ensemble and our instructors (myself, Tony Lammam and Sarah Michael).

Both of the shows on July 24-25 are open to the public. Tickets just $5 adv or $10 at the door.

Evening Dance Program: Dance workshops with

Janelle Rodriguez, July 20-21,
Carole Acuna, Flamenco, July 22
Tina Enheduanna, July 23

Join the FB event page for updates:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1603223289894322/

Check out some new videos of our instructors on our Youtube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHYPKpehgeOX_32f_0NyaHw/videos?flow=grid&view=0&sort=p