Dash Arts Launches Dash Arabic Series, Kicks Off In May

In May 2010 Dash Arts, under the Artistic Direction of Josephine Burton and Tim Supple, will launch 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 will run 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 will be accompanied by a wider programme of talks, films, participation projects and cafes.

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

Beginning 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, a night of Arabic hop-hop at the Roundhouse, and at the Barbican with a major event in celebration of the unrivalled icon of Arabic song - Oum Kalsoum. The Dash Arabic Series will culminate in the autumn of 2011 with an epic production of One Thousand and One Nights / Alf Layla wa-Layla, dramatised and directed by Tim Supple, commissioned by Toronto's Luminato Festival where it will have its world premiere.

Babel(words) at Sadler's Wells, London

The Dash Arabic Series begins in May 2010 with the UK premiere of a co-commissioned new contemporary dance work: Babel(words), conceived and created by Sidi Larbi Cherkoaui, Damien Jalet and Antony Gormley, will explore visual, physical and spoken language and hold its UK premiere at Sadler's Wells on 18 and 19 May.

Tickets are now on sale: www.sadlerswells.com

Lyrical Alliance at the Roundhouse, London

Lyrical Alliance at London's Roundhouse on October 16 2010 is 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 led by the producer DJ MK (KISS FM / Dizzee Rascal), the artists, with creative input from Roots Manuva, will explore the origins of the art form and develop a ground-breaking urban music event. Collaborators include Rabah Donquishoot (MBS) from Algeria, Shadia Mansour from Palestine, Samm from Jordan, and Rayess Bek and VJ Jana Salehn from Lebanon.

Tickets for this event go on sale soon. www.roundhouse.org.uk

A Tribute to Oum Kalsoum at the Barbican, London

Dash Arts and the Barbican will present A Tribute to Oum Kalsoum. The artistry and continuing importance of the Arab world's most iconic cultural figure will be explored and celebrated by classical orchestras and the best performers of her music from the Arabic world. Alongside the specially commissioned collaborations, audiences will be able to enjoy a complementary programme of films, live music and talks.

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.

A UK venue will be announced soon.

The Dash Arabic Series is supported by Arts Council England, PRS Foundation, Garrick Charitable Trust, Westminster Arts, 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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