Dash Arabic Series Continues in London

Earlier this year Dash Arts, under the Artistic Direction of Josephine Burton and Tim Supple, launched the Dash Arabic Series: four major new commissions of work by artists from the Arabic-speaking world of theatre, contemporary dance and music.

The series which runs over two years has been created in collaboration with venues including Sadler's Wells, the Barbican, and the Roundhouse. Four years in the planning, these events of international significance are accompanied by a wider programme of talks, films, participation projects and cafes.

The Dash Arabic Series is a vital celebration of Arabic artistic identity which challenges pre-conceived notions of Arabic culture, offering new perspectives and unheard voices.

The series launched in May at Sadler's Wells with Babel(words), a new work by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet and Antony Gormley.

The Dash Arabic Series will continue with Lyrical Alliance Featuring Talib Kweli, a night of Arabic hop-hop at the Roundhouse on 16 October 2010, and at the Barbican next year with a major event in celebration of the unrivalled icon of Arabic song - Oum Kalsoum. The Series will culminate with an epic production of One Thousand and One Nights / Alf Layla wa-Layla, dramatised and directed by Tim Supple commissioned by Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts & Creativity, where it will have its world premiere in June 2011.

Dash Café is a free event held each month throughout the duration of the Dash Arabic Series. The Café is a place for artists and audiences to gather and network and features a varied programme of music, films, talks and discussions. Recent Café events have included a celebration of the publication of Beirut 39: New Writing from the Arab World - featuring readings from Lebanese writer Hyam Yared; an evening of traditional North African Rai music from a master of the genre, Abdelkader Saadoun; and a Pop Up Iraqi Dinner - an exploration of the culture and cuisine of Iraq through food, readings and live music.

September's Dash Café is a collaboration with Arab Media Watch held at Momo's Kemia Bar on Thursday 23rd September. Exploring the way that the Arab World is portrayed in the media, a panel of senior journalists will discuss their experiences answers audience questions. The panel will include Kelvin O'Shea: senior producer, Sky News, Tim Llewellyn: former BBC Middle East correspondent, and author of "Spirit of the Phoenix: Beirut and the Story of Lebanon" and Brian Whitaker; editor of the Guardian's Comment is Free section, the newspaper's former Middle East editor, and author of "What's Really Wrong with the Middle East".

Babel(words) at Sadler's Wells, London

The Dash Arabic Series began in May 2010 with the UK premiere of Babel(words), a co-commissioned new contemporary dance work conceived and created by Sidi Larbi Cherkoaui, Damien Jalet and Antony Gormley. The sell-out production explored visual, physical and spoken language and opened to great reviews and rapturous audiences and is currently touring internationally.

"the most fiercely resonant dance theatre of the decade" ***** Guardian

"Diversity and ethnicity are popular themes in the theatre but rarely are they treated with such ingenuity and humour, and such choreographic and philosophical erudition, as they are in Babel." **** Evening Standard

Lyrical Alliance Featuring Talib Kweli at the Roundhouse, London

Lyrical Alliance at London's Roundhouse on October 16 2010 features the premiere of work developed over months of collaboration between hip hop artists from the Arabic-speaking world and the UK. Taking as a starting point the legendary Mu'Allaqat poems and hosted by the producer DJ MK (KISS FM / Dizzee Rascal), the artists have been exploring the origins of the art form to develop a ground-breaking urban music event. The collaborators will join headliner Talib Kweli in a momentous finale to this inspirational hip hop collaboration. Collaborators include Rabah Donquishoot (MBS) from Algeria, Shadia Mansour and Tamer Nafar (DAM) from Palestine, Samm from Jordan, and Rayess Bek and VJ Jana Saleh from Lebanon.

Tickets are now on sale. www.roundhouse.org.uk

Link to track here www.dasharts.org.uk/lyricalalliance

A Tribute to Oum Kalsoum at the Barbican, London

Dash Arts and the Barbican will present A Tribute to Oum Kalsoum in 2011: an exploration of the artistry and continuing importance of the Arab world's most iconic cultural figure with specially commissioned musical collaborations.

Dates will be announced soon.

One Thousand and One Nights/Alf Layla wa-Layla

at the Luminato Festival 2011, Toronto

Dash Arts' production of One Thousand and One Nights / Alf Layla wa-Layla, dramatised and directed by Tim Supple, with stories adapted by the seminal Lebanese novelist Hanan al Shaykh, will premiere in Toronto in June 2011. Commissioned by Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, this ambitious production of one of the world's greatest folk story-cycles will be created with actors, musicians and designers drawn entirely from the Arabic-speaking world over a four year search.

UK and international venues will be announced soon.

The Dash Arabic Series is supported by Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, Garrick Charitable Trust, Westminster Arts, Trusthouse Charitable Foundation, Austin Hope Pilkington and its co-producing partners.

Sign up for further information, read the blogs, and book tickets for those events now on sale at www.dasharts.org.uk

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