Academy

Arabesque presents: JAMRA

Presented in association with Small World Music

our sponsors

JAMRA - Force of Spirit
Raw * Smoldering * Primordial
17 Dance Artists
11 Musicians & Vocalists

February 9-12, 2012
Fleck Dance Theatre,
Harbourfront Centre
207 Queens Quay West

$30-$45 - info & tix: 416-920-5593

Tickets from Harbourfront: click here

Arabesque

"Seduces Completely" The Globe & Mail

"Will go down in history as having redeemed Bellydance" The Globe & Mail

"Hipnotic ... artistry and passion" Dance International

"Extraordinary ... Evocative tapestry" CBC radio

"Intelligent and inventive choreography" The Globe and Mail

"has dramatic impact" Toronto Star

"Scorching, virtuoso" The Globe and Mail

" ... has taken Bellydance to another level" Bravo TV

"artistry and passion" Dance International"

"the most unique and beautiful choreography" Nagwa Fouad

"this choreography is proof that Bellydance is art" Randa Kamel

JAMRA Media Release

Harbourfront Centre and Arabesque in association with Small World Music present JAMRA, a joyful, colourful production inspired by the raw and passionate dance forms of the nomadic and gypsy (Rom) peoples of Egypt, Turkey, North Africa, Iran and Lebanon. JAMRA premieres at the Fleck Dance Theatre on Thursday, February 9, 2012 and runs until Sunday, February 12, 2012 as part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps 11/12 series.

JAMRA, an Arabic word for "embers", is a vibrant exploration of some of the Middle East's rich dance forms performed by seventeen dancers, as led by Arabesque's Artistic Director and Choreographer, Yasmina Ramzy, alongside a live 11-piece Arabian orchestra, with vocals by Arabesque's Musical Director, Bassam Bishara.

Alongside Choreographers Ferda Bayazit (Turkey), Sashar Zarif (Canadian, Iranian/Azerbaijian), and Khairiiyya Mazen (Luxor, Egypt) - the last remaining practicing Ghawazi dancer - Ramzy and Bishara have collaborated to distill the force of spirit and honest heart they discovered in the unrefined and unembellished dance and music styles of the Middle East.

With Ramzy, a pioneer in the interpretive expression of authentic Middle Eastern dance, at the helm, JAMRA is brought to life with the artistry of celebrated Composer, Vocalist, and Oudist, Bassam Bishara; Costume Designer Deborah Shaw; and Lighting Designer Arun Srinivasan.

Formed in 1992, Arabesque, formerly known as Arabesque Dance Company & Orchestra (ADCO) is Canada's leading Middle Eastern dance and music ensemble. The Company has thrilled audiences internationally with eight major productions featuring 14 styles of classical and folkloric Middle Eastern dance led by artistic director Yasmina Ramzy and musical director Bassam Bishara. The recipient of numerous merits for artistic excellence including the Canadian Arab Federation's Community Contribution Award and grants from the Canadian Council for Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council, Arabesque has performed alongside such artists as Alabina, the National Ballet of Canada, Bijan Mortazavi, Amr Diab, The Rolling Stones, Rageb Alema and Ben Harper. For more information, visit www.arabesquedance.ca.

Jamra
Guest Choreographer Biographies

Ferda Bayazit

Ferda's dance career began at age 4.Excelling in dance, she completed the Royal Academy of Dance ballet program with honours. She had her first bellydance lesson at 13 while visiting her Turkish father in the Bay Area of California. Since that first lesson, she has studied with renowned instructors such as Raqia Hassan, Yousry Sharif, Suhaila Salimpour, Hadia andJillina. Ferda has performed as a soloist in Canada, the US and Turkey, and as part of the popular troupe Earthfire in Canada and the US. She has taught ongoingclasses and has given workshops in Canada and the US.

Currently, she is living and dancing in Istanbul, Turkey where she has studied Turkish dance forms with various celebrated Turkish dancers. However, her favourite and speciality is the powerful Turkish Rom style of dance, for which she is now highly sought after for teaching workshops in Canada and Europe.

Sashar Zarif

Sashar Zarif, BFA, MA, PhD Cand. Middle Sex University, UK. (those studies currently on hold) Artistic director of SasharZarifDanceTheatre/ Joshgoon, The Canadian Academy of Azerbaijani Dance/ Dancers for Peace International Festival and Centre for Dance Studies. Inspired by a strong artistic family background, recipient of numerous awards for his excellence in arts, Sashar Zarif is an internationally renowned multi-disciplinary artist, educator, and researcher in the field of dance ethnology and ethno musicology based in Toronto, Canada.

He received his formal academic training in performing arts at the Azerbaijan Conservatory of Music and Dance where he was awarded the honorary title of "Artist for People of Azerbaijan". He continued his Bachelor (Fine Art, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Performing Arts) and Master (Arts-Dance), degree at York University in Toronto. Zarif has studied various forms of dance and music including Uzbek, Tadjeek, Persian, Georgian, Chechen, Afghan, Middle Eastern, Flamenco, Bharatanatyam, and Lezginka. He is a part time faculty at the Dance Department teaching "Fundamentals of Dance Performance" and "Introduction to World Dance Practices: Dances of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia" and Fine Arts Cultural Studies teaching "Performing Arts in Global Perspective" at York University.

Among many other fields, Sashar specializes in the filed of Sufi and Shamanic dance rituals of Near and Central Asia. Through many years of fieldwork and study he has been able to share the result of his research and creativity internationally by teaching and performing across the globe. His accomplishment in this field has brought him golden opportunities such as his collaborative project/performance with internationally renowned, singer, Alim Qasimov from Azerbaijan and Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, the prodigious nephews of legendary qawwali master, Nusret Fateh Ali Khan. He has collaborated with many well known artists such as Holly Small, Carol Anderson, Keiko Kitano, Soheil Parsa, Terrill Maguire, Anne Bourn, Suba Shankaran to name a few. Sashar and Susan Cash have been collaborating on a number of cultural, global projects that are revealing intriguing creative results.

Jamra
Arabesque Director Biographies

Yasmina Ramzy

Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dance Artist

Yasmina Ramzy is a visionary, a choreographer and a pioneer. Beginning her Mid East dance career in 1981, Yasmina spent the first 15 years performing throughout the Middle East, often for royalty and heads of state. Then Yasmina founded the critically acclaimed Arabesque Dance Company & Orchestra, Arabesque Academy and the International Bellydance Conference of Canada. She received her key training from leading masters in Egypt and Syria including Aida Nour of the Red Troupe and Mohammed Khalil of the National Folklore Troupe of Egypt. Her unique and highly creative choreographies have been commissioned internationally by universities, museums, ballet companies, figure skating teams and many Middle East dance companies including the internationally renowned Bellydance Superstars. She has been awarded numerous grants for her choreographies by all levels of arts councils. Yasmina is invited to teach, lecture and perform regularly in over 60 cities on five continents. She has produced 8 instructional DVDs, 7 performance DVDs and 6 CDs that sell worldwide. The "Ask Yasmina" column which is published in the world's largest Bellydance magazine is translated into several languages. Yasmina is well known for elevating the status of Middle Eastern dance as high art and conveying its relationship with Arab music and culture. She is a member of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists and has served on the Board of Directors for Dance Ontario since 1996.

Bassam Bishara

Musical Director, Composer, Oude, Lead Vocals

Prof. Bassam Bishara was born in Ramah village, upper Galilee, Palestine in 1954. He began his early training in Middle Eastern Oude at the Academy of Music in Hafia and at the University of Jerusalem. He eventually went on to teach in private schools and formed a Middle Eastern Orchestra quickly becoming sought after throughout Palestine. In 1983, he was appointed Music Director for Alhakawati Theatre in Jerusalem, where his concerts, music and songs were dedicated to the Palestine cause. He has toured extensively throughout Europe and the United States performing with an orchestra and as a soloist. Now living in Canada, he composes and records music for many artists including Arabesque Dance Company. He is the lead vocalist, oude and violin player as well as musical director for Arabesque and is professor of Midde Eastern Music at York University.

Suleiman Warwar

Percussion Director, Composer, Lead Dumbek

Suleiman Warwar was born in Nazareth, Palestine in 1977. He began playing Arabic Tablah or Dumbek at age 6. The self-taught musician was the lead Dumbek player in his high school orchestra in Nazareth and performed traditional and modern musical pieces around the country. Suleiman immigrated to Canada in 1995 where he was introduced to Latin American, African, Turkish and many other types of music. As well as traditional Arabic percussion including Dumbek, Duff, Katim and Riqq, Suleiman also plays Bongos, Congas and Djembe. His innovative style of drumming has led him to play with such artists as Bassam Bishara, George Wasouf and in various peace movement events. Suleiman is a sought after master dumbek artist who is invited around the world to teach. He is the lead dumbek player for the Arabesque Dance Company Orchestra and has composed many popular drum solos available on his CD entitled "Beyond Rhthym" and the Arabesque Dance Company CDs entitled "Nawaem", Asala 1, Asala 2, OUM and NOOR.