Palestine International Festival 1996
The Abbad As-Shams Choir was founded by Palestinians living in the Diaspora with their homeland imprinted in their memories. Their songs and chants tell of love and struggle and revolution. Abbad As-Shams first performed in 1988 with the assistance of the Egyptian musician Jamal Attiyeh, and in 1994 they were awarded first prize in the Arab choirs competition at the Cairo Opera House. The group has produced an audio and video tape of popular Palestinian songs and original compositions.
Established by Nazareth municipality's Al-Majd Club in 1993, Al-Majd's membership now numbers 35 young men and women. The group started out as a folk dance troupe and has developed into a popular arts group that performs traditional dabke dance, poetry and theatre. Its most recent production, 'The Old Man', is filled with folkloric and artistic images that reflect Palestinian rootedness in the homeland based on the experiences of those who remained on their land after 1948. The group has performed in nine local and international festivals and is currently preparing for a European tour.
Al-Andalus celebrates the Flamenco dance because it is a genuinely Spanish way of experiencing and interpreting Spanish life and culture. Interest in the study and preservation of popular traditions embodied in Andalusian dance led to the establishment of the group. The group's aim is to popularise the various styles which make up Flamenco dance whose origins lie in the various corners of Andalusia. The group, currently under the direction of Maria Del Carmen Bruxon, and comprising of dancers and musicians from Cadiz, have worked hard to make Andalusian music and dance better known through establishing closer links with other regions and countries of the world.
Al-Baath choir emerged in 1987 from the old neighbourhoods of Shafa Amr village in the Galilee, promoting the reconstruction of various traditional musical compositions with a contemporary vision. The group performed in various parts of the Galilee and at the 1994 Palestine International Festival. They return this year with a new original production, 'Heisa', directed by the well-known Palestinian director Radi Shehadeh.
Al-Funoun was established in 1979 by a small group of committed artists. Today Al-Funoun is acknowledged as one of the leading Palestinian dance troupes, both inside Palestine and in the Diaspora communities. Al-Funoun has achieved popular recognition and quite a few of the troupe’s songs are now household tunes. Since its early days, Al-Funoun has combined traditional and stylized dance and music to express the spirit of Palestinian folklore and contemporary culture. Al-Funoun has twice toured the US (1986 & 1991), presented its repertoire twice at the Jerash International Festival in 1994, performed in the United Arab Emirates in 1995, and the music group performed in France and England. In Palestine, the troupe holds an impressive track record of over one thousand performances since 1979, in cities, villages and refugee camps.
Chico, the founder of the world-famous Gypsy Kings, now performs with other singers and musicians to bring alive the spirit of the Gypsy (Roma) people. Their talent at harmonizing the guitar music with body rhythms and the sounds of their voices has made them one of the most renowned groups of our time. The group has travelled all over the world singing of peace, love, and their solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the world. Their famous song 'Hace me La'mor', from their album Tengo Tengo, touched people throughout the world for its humanitarian theme and global perspective, and the song was performed in several languages.
DNC - 'Defence of our Cause' - is a travelling music group from Lyon who, through their music, want to break historical and geographical boundaries. By mixing classical with contemporary music, Blues with Jazz and Latino music, and through their rap music, they aim to re-discover the music, culture and spirit of the countries they visit. DNC's strength comes from the rich and varied musical discoveries they have made on their travels.
The Egyptian National Folk Group was established in 1960 in Egypt and gave their first performance in 1963. Productions are based on folkloric material collected and compiled through field research. The group established a school to train new members in order to secure the group's future with well-trained performers. They have performed extensively in Egypt and in more than 85 countries. At the Palestine International Festival 30 dancers and musicians will perform 14 new dances designed by seven of the group's choreographers.
A Palestinian group established in 1988 in Kuwait, Jafra's members are university students, teachers and employees. From 1988 to 1990, the group performed for Palestinian audiences in Kuwait and participated in 1989 in the Nantes Festival in France. After 1990, the group moved to Jordan where it continued to delight audiences with its original productions, and they performed twice at the Jerash International Festival in 1993 and 1995. At the festival they will perform their most recent production, 'Folkloric Glimpses', which includes selections from Jordanian and Palestinian folkloric songs and dances.
Kitka, a Norwegian dance group founded in 1987, performs folk dances from Norway and other countries. Kitka's director, Lee Otterholt, is a professional dancer and choreographer, and its members range from 25 to 50 years. Kitka has represented Norway in folk dance festivals in Greece (1991-1992), Bulgaria (1993), and Turkey (1994). The group has also worked with choreographers in the countries it has visited to gain first-hand knowledge of other folk dance traditions for use in their own performances. Kitka’s repertoire includes dances from Norway, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, England, Russia, Armenia and the former Yugoslavia. As part of their performance, Kitka also teaches the audience an easy dance and dances with them.
Lutfi Boushnaq is a Tunisian singer who boasts more than 60 songs and musical compositions, five CDs and ten tapes. He is accompanied by 14 renowned Tunisian musicians who have played with him for over 20 years. He has toured the US, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Korea, Russia, England, and most Arab countries. He was awarded the first class presidential award for culture, and first prize at the Tunisian song contest in 1992. One of his most prominent ventures was the joint collaboration with an Italian classical group in the opera 'O Sole Mio'.
Mangrove Steelband brings to the Festival the spirit of Caribbean Calypso music. The group has 50 members ranging from 15 to 45 years, although only 10 artists are coming to perform. The band was formed in London in 1980, by people from the Caribbean community, mostly Trinidadians, who wanted to keep their music and culture alive and to pass on the tradition of pan playing to the next generation. Mangrove perform every year at London's famous street festival, the Notting Hill Carnival, and have won many awards, including winning first prize three times in the Panorama Championship for steelbands. They have performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London and at other venues throughout Britain and in France. Mangrove also toured Trinidad for one month.
Rabih Abu-Khalil is a Lebanese artist who now lives in Germany. His unique mixture of Arab and western music has made him famous throughout Europe, especially in Germany. He has adapted the music of the famous Arab composer Mohammed Abd Al-Wahab in several of his compositions to create his own style. He produced his first cassette in 1987, has made five other albums, and won awards throughout Europe. Rabih Abu-Khalil's performance in the Palestine International Festival will be his first in the Arab world. He plays on the oud and will be accompanied by Michel Goddard, Jamie Haddad, and Philip Nadolny who play several musical instruments including the piano, trumpet, saxophone, and Indian drums.
Shahrazad Dance Group is part of the Kufr Yasseef municipal cultural centre in the Galilee. The group consists of 20 dancers supervised by choreographer Irina Jammal. Over the past twelve years they have performed on more than 200 occasions. Linked to the group is a ballet, modern and traditional dance school whose most talented graduates join the group. Its repertoire consists of classical ballet pieces and popular dances to the music of Fairouz, Majida al-Roumi, and Palestinian folkloric songs. The group was given an award for original choreography at the Ukraine Dance Festival in 1994.
Established in the 1960's, this group was the highlight of Ramallah's at-Tireh festivals in 1964 and 1965. Following the 1967 war the group's activities were forced to a halt until it was revived by a group of young dancers in 1985. The group performs contemporary Palestinian dance to the music of renowned Palestinian musicians such as Said Murad and Odeh Turjman and to the lyrics of prominent poets like Hussein Barghouti and Wassim Kurdi. Their dances reflect a youthful and experimental vision of Palestinian dance and theatrical arts. Their most recent production, 'Souk an-Nabi Roubin' reflects exactly such a vision with a modern interpretation of a traditional ceremony. The group will perform part of this production at the festival this year.
A famous Greek singer, Takis Biniaris studied Arts and History of Theater at the University of Athens and graduated from the conservatory of Athens. His first appearance was at the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar", translated into Greek, in 1979 where he had the lead singing and acting role. In 1981 he received a prize at the Corfu music festival, and in 1985 he represented Greece in the Eurovision song contest which took place in Sweden with the song "Miazoume" (we look alike). Since then he acted with several famous Greek actors at the theater and recorded 7 LPs. He is accompanied by a team of young artists consisting of Dimitris Panagopoulos who is a composer and orchestra conductor; Daniel Pantazis who plays the bouzouki and has his own private school of music; and Ms. Efti Amaxopoulo, a young singer who already has a number of LPs.
Yoad began in 1982 in A-Rama village in the Nazareth area by performing songs by Marcel Khalifeh and Al-Asheqeen group. Later their 35 singers performed songs with music composed by their artistic director Nabil Azar. Yoad received first prize in the National Song competition in Nazareth in 1986, produced its first tape in 1987, and toured the UK in 1989. This year the group, in cooperation with the Nidaa music group and Shahrazad dance group, is working on a musical production of Samih al-Qassem's epic poem, 'Qatr an-Nada', to present a production that promises to be unique. Selections from 'Qatr an-Nada' will be performed at the festival.