KENNEDY CENTER CELEBRATING ARABS
How low can we sink in America? The Washington Times reports on an upcoming Kennedy Center festival:
When "Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World" became a major Kennedy Center project a few years ago, it appeared to be a look at a distant, exotic world. After three years of planning, the center announced its three-week festival last spring. By then, the timeliness of its Arabic theme seemed downright prescient.
"Arabesque" opens Tuesday, looking more relevant than ever, bringing Washington an in-depth, multifaceted look at a part of the world vital to our own.
As theatergoers enter the Kennedy Center's two great halls, they will be surrounded by a large exhibition of 40 wedding dresses from the 22 Arab countries, some exquisitely crafted from an earlier time and some modern.
Every night of the festival, diverse groups will present free performances on the Millennium Stage. Among them will be oud players from Bahrain and Tunisia; an orchestra playing Andalusian music and five Marrakech women performing traditional Berber songs, with both groups from Morocco; Palestine poetry reading; a Yemeni lute player; and a band from Algeria combining Western and North African rhythms.
Yep, orchestra playing Andalusian music. Only been planned three years but is suddenly timely? Highlighting twenty-two ARAB countries? Orchestra playing Andalusian music? Harmless enough some say. Others might suggest that this very sort of naive public display is nothing more than a self-created trojan horse gifting those who wish us harm, and as is usual in these very strange times, the natives remain characteristically clueless.
Read it all.
When "Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World" became a major Kennedy Center project a few years ago, it appeared to be a look at a distant, exotic world. After three years of planning, the center announced its three-week festival last spring. By then, the timeliness of its Arabic theme seemed downright prescient.
"Arabesque" opens Tuesday, looking more relevant than ever, bringing Washington an in-depth, multifaceted look at a part of the world vital to our own.
As theatergoers enter the Kennedy Center's two great halls, they will be surrounded by a large exhibition of 40 wedding dresses from the 22 Arab countries, some exquisitely crafted from an earlier time and some modern.
Every night of the festival, diverse groups will present free performances on the Millennium Stage. Among them will be oud players from Bahrain and Tunisia; an orchestra playing Andalusian music and five Marrakech women performing traditional Berber songs, with both groups from Morocco; Palestine poetry reading; a Yemeni lute player; and a band from Algeria combining Western and North African rhythms.
Yep, orchestra playing Andalusian music. Only been planned three years but is suddenly timely? Highlighting twenty-two ARAB countries? Orchestra playing Andalusian music? Harmless enough some say. Others might suggest that this very sort of naive public display is nothing more than a self-created trojan horse gifting those who wish us harm, and as is usual in these very strange times, the natives remain characteristically clueless.
Read it all.
Labels: Andalusia, Arab imperialism, Arabesque, Washington Times
posted by Gabriel Thy at 9:36 PM
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