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After 4 years of preparation, Canada's very own Arabesque Dance Company and Orchestra is set to captivate Toronto audiences once again at Premiere Dance Theatre. The company's newest full length production is called ASALA which means "origin" or "roots" in Arabic. It is filled with traditional dance styles, flavours, sounds, costumes and character of the Middle East. For seven performances from November 27 to December 3, 2006, ASALA will leave the audiences with a sense of wonder and intense emotion.
From mesmerizing and mystical Sufi whirlers to the Port Said fishermen of the Suez Canal, from the veiled women of Saudia Arabia to the bold Bedouins of the Sahara, and from the breathtaking Bellydancers of Cairo to the proud Saiidi neighbours of Upper Egypt, Arabesque Dance Company presents an exotic array of rarely seen dances all accompanied by live traditional acoustic music and vocals.
Along with Arabesque's ensemble of traditional musical instruments such as the qanoon, oude, naye and dumbek played by masters Dr. George Sawa, Prof. Bassam Bishara and Suleiman Warwar, the company now introduces more musicians such as Ernie Tollar and Milad Daher and rare instruments such as the semsemeya and the mizmar. Most of the original music for this production was composed by the musicians above. Vocalist Najwa Tannus returns to work with Arabesque, singing a 30 minute version of Egypt's most famous and beloved song, Inte Omri, sung originally by Oum Kalthoum. Danced to by the full company, Inte Omri serves as the highlight choreography of ASALA as it pushes the realm of Middle Eastern dance to another level.
In the past few years, choreographer Yasmina Ramzy has traveled to and from the Middle East gathering inspiration and knowledge for this production. "I feel compelled to share with the West this rich, bountiful treasure of spiritual and sensual art I have discovered in the Middle East." says Ramzy. The dance artists of Arabesque have trained in these historic dance styles for the last two years in preparation for this latest creation. To help further the scope of richness embodied in ASALA, five male dance artists have been added to the company.
ASALA moves through dance and music of the Middle East celebrating the diversity and complexity of Arabic culture. Returning to the roots of Middle Eastern dance, this production serves to revitalize a now highly commercialized art. Artistic director Yasmina Ramzy says "All of the company's dancers and musicians are eager to restore these ancient arts to their original integrity and meaning while once again captivating our audience's heart with the intense emotion the Middle East embodies."