March 6, 2008
Leila Haddad & the Ghawazee Musicians of Luxor Perform at Meany Hall
Leila Haddad & the Ghawazee Musicians of Luxor perform in Meany Hall at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 15. Recognized as one of the world’s premiere oriental dancers, Haddad has extensively studied the village dance forms of the Arab world and has fought to free belly dancing from its degrading associations as just a male-centric cabaret act.
Haddad is joined by the Ghawazee (gypsy) Musicians of Luxor who accompany her on a variety of traditional instruments. Together Haddad and the musicians explore the fascinating connections between the music and dance traditions of Upper Egypt and Rajasthan, India.
Haddad was born in Tunisia to a Berber family. At the age of 18 she moved to France, where she now lives. Haddad stopped short of earning her doctorate in English in favor of pursuing her passion for “raqs el sharqi,” commonly referred to as “belly dance.” She prefers the term “Eastern dance” to describe this art form whose roots are centuries old and stretch from India through Turkey, Greece, Iran, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Spain and Northern Africa.
While the main route of the Rom people was through the Balkans through Eastern Europe and ultimately to Spain, one branch found its way from India through the Arabian peninsula to Upper Egypt. You can see evidence of that migration in the instruments the Ghawazee musicians play: the rababa (two-stringed fiddle), arghul (double reed clarinet), mizmar (oboe) and tabla (drum). These instruments are remarkably similar to those played by the Langas, Kabelyas, and Manghanyars of Rajasthan, India.
In their performance, Haddad and the musicians create an intricate dialogue between the two ancient dance and musical traditions, balancing the trance-like nature of the music with inspired choreography that twists and turns in the spirit of the moment.
Tickets for the performance are $32 and may be purchased by phone at 206-543-4880, online at http://www.uwworldseries.org or in person at the UW Arts Ticket Office.
Ticket holders are invited to come early to learn more about the artists at a pre-show lecture. UW World Series pre-show lectures begin 45 minutes prior to curtain and take place in the Meany Hall west lobby.
