Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World

Arab culture is rich and diverse.

That diversity is being showcased from February 23 to March 15 in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as the Kennedy Center presents Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World. Over three weeks, more than 800 Arab artists will perform on the Center’s stages and public spaces to showcase the diverse traditional and contemporary cultures of the 22 nations that represent the Arabic speaking world.

The festival includes performances of music, dance, theater, film, and spoken word as well as exhibitions featuring art installations, fashion, cuisine, a marketplace, and more.

I got a taste of this festival last Monday night during a private gala performance at the Center’s Opera House. The opening concert included selections by The Children of Al-Farah Choir; Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Bachir Attar and the Master Musicians of Jajouka; extract of various texts that have influenced the Arab world read by Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif; selections from Oman…O Man!, conceived and choreographed by Debbie Allen; and Marcel Khalife’s Al Mayadine Quartet.

I enjoyed all the performances and readings, which opened up a whole new world of artists for me. But two performances, I especially enjoyed: The Children of Al-Farah Choir and Oman…O Man!

The choir opened the concert with the girls dressed in flowing dresses with gold- colored embroidery and boys with dark pants and white shirts. They came down the aisles to the stage waving their right arms back and forth as they sang. They sang LoLolo, a Syrian folk song and a medley of other songs.

The choir was founded in 1977 by Father Elias Zahloui, in our Lady of Damascus Church in Damascus, Syria. It now consists of 500 volunteers aging between 7 and 80 years old, divided into 5 age groups and representing all Christian denominations. The group has traveled around the world spreading the message of peace and encouraging interfaith dialogue through music, according to the program.

Oman…O Man! incorporated the theme of prayer in an aesthetically-pleasing and spiritual way. As a young man dressed in a long white robe sang the call to prayer (known as the Adhan in the Islamic faith), other young men and women performed ablution for prayer or prostrated in prayer. On the background screen there was a slide show depicting scenes of desert sun rises and verses from the Qur an in Arabic script, attesting to the Creator’s ability to bring into existence the heavens and earth.

Debbie Allen – yes, she of the movie Fame and numerous other choreographed dances for film and theater -- spent three weeks in Muscat, Oman working with Omani and American youngsters. And now the Omani teenagers are here rehearsing over the next two weeks with their American counterparts from Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

From the Kennedy Center website:

At the center of the work are two young men--one Omani, another American--who meet at a military academy with cadets from all over the world. Though similar in age, these roommates don't really understand each other. However, through music, movement, song, and dance, they take a magical journey together and discover the similarities and the differences between their two cultures, and learn much about each other.

I am looking forward to experiencing more of this magic when I see the full performance of Oman…O Man! March 14. From the taste of I got, I don’t think Ms. Allen nor the Omani and American performers are going to let me down. Oh, by the way, did I mention the music is by trumpeter Arturo Sandoval?

I applaud those in the Kennedy Center’s international program who worked tirelessly over the last four years to make this a reality, providing a bridge between Western and Arab cultures through art, dance, music, literature, poetry and song.