Middle East/Mediterranean Calendar for August 2004

[To learn about getting events listed, email the Calendar Editor. Send all photos as small jpegs or gifs. All programs free unless otherwise noted.]


August 8 (Sun.) 4:00 pm—Kan Zaman Arab Orchestra at Barnsdall Park

Don't miss some of the finest Arab musicians in the southland, as they perform their summer concert to an appreciative audience of 400, in a great refurbished theatre.

Classical and folkloric Arabic Music at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, Barnsdall Arts Center, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027  (Barnsdall Center is located on Hollywood Blvd. two blocks west of Vermont).
 
Tickets are on Sale Now, $25, $20 & $15 (VIP tickets are also available). Call 626.432.8235 or 323.957.9069.

Visit the Kan Zaman web site or email for further info.


August 8 (Sun.) 1:00 pm—Ali Heidari at the Getty (also 8/12, 8/15, 8/19, 8/22, 8/29)

Artist-at-Work at the Getty. Drop by as Ali Heidari demonstrates the art of Arabic calligraphy in conjunction with the Arts of Fire exhibition. Museum Courtyard, Getty Center, Brentwood.
310.440.7300.


August 8 (Sun.) 8:00 pm—"Beyond Words," Kurdish Sufi Documentary Screens in Irvine at UCI

"Sometimes the further you go away, the deeper you go within." If you haven't seen this intriguing film here's another chance. Beyond Words is a documentary on the ceremonies of the Ghaderi Dervishes in Kurdistan.  It took 8 years to shoot and 12 years to complete. So far it has become the Official Selectionat 6 major International Film Festivals in the US and Europe.

There will be two screenings, one at 6:00 PM and one at 8:00 PM. There will be a Q & A with director Jahanshah Ardalan following each screening.  

UCI Student Center  Crystal Cove Auditorium 116 Student Center  Irvine, CA 92697-5650.
Tickets: $10. For more information call 310.927.2727 or 714.838.1775 or visit the web site.


August 11 (Wed.) 6:30 pm—David Pine Back From Palestine & Israel

Discussion on the Middle East at the Workmen’s Circle. David Pine of Americans for Peace Now reports on his recent fact-finding mission to Israel and Palestine. Optional potluck dinner. RSVP. Workmen's Circle, 1525 S Robertson Blvd, LA. 310.552.2007.


August 13 (Fri.) 7:30 pm—"Mystic Iran: The Unseen World" With Producer/director Aryana Farshad

This Agape-sponsored film screening includes a Q & A afterwards.

"An exemplary documentary...a beautiful, stirring film." —Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

"A delicious documentary." —Michael C. Donaldson, Pres., Int'l Documentary Assn.

A modern woman’s mystical journey deep into the heart of her native country, Iran, in search of spiritual rites and rituals hidden for centuries. From the women’s chamber of the great mosque, opened for the first time to the outside world, to mystics in trance, and to the sacred dance of the dervishes, performed in secret in the remote mountains of Kurdistan, Aryana Farshad gained access to religious ceremonies and locations never before recorded.

Aryana Farshad is a Persian-born filmmaker who began her higher education at La Sorbonne and L’Institut Des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques in Paris. She received the ABU Award for editing the documentary “Immigrant Birds,” and worked with major award-winning filmmakers, including the two time-Oscar winner French director Albert Lamorisse. In 1978, Ms. Farshad moved to the United States and continued film studies at U.S.C. She joined the Editors Guild of America (I.A.T.S.E.) and worked in post-production at major studios, including MGM and Columbia Pictures. ‘Mystic Iran, The Unseen World,” is Aryana Farshad’s first full-length documentary and reflects her life-long passion for mysticism and spirituality.

In the Agape Sanctuary, Agape International Spiritual Center, 5700 Buckingham Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230. Tickets $20 non-refundable non-returnable. Purchase tickets at Agape, online , phone 310.3481260, ext 424.



Aug 26 (Thurs.), 8:00 p.m.—Atash, Free Sunset Concert at the Skirball

Fusing the ancient and the modern to create a soulful and uplifting sound, Atash (Farsi for "fire") draws from the improvisational elements of jazz, Indian, and Middle Eastern music-the raw energy of rock, and the intricacies of Western classical music. Atash features gifted musicians-of American, Iranian, and African descent-John Moon, Mohammad Firoozi, Roberto Riggio, Jason McKenzie, Dylan Jones, and Alseny Sylla, playing a wide array of instruments from around the world.

We recommend you arrive an hour early and call ahead for parking reservatins. Info/Reservations: 310.440.4500. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles , CA 90049. Take the Mulholland exit from the 405 and follow the signs.


Aug 27 (Fri.), 6:00-10 p.m.—Martiros Adalian Artist Reception and Exhibit Opens

New works from Adalian are inspired by Kobo Abe's 1962 masterpiece novel, "Woman in the Dunes"... The exhibition will stay open August 27-September 12. Says Peter Frank of Adalian's work, "What seem to be flowers metamorphose into bones, what seem to be ribs turn into fish, what seem to be butcher’s cuts of meat dance and levitate in a choreography whose vitality dispels rather than conveys a sense of the macabre. Adalian’s images have a dark magic to them, to be sure, but, for all their spiky forms and dour colors, their energy is peculiarly life-affirming."

Matiros Adalian notes, "Fundamentally, I am interested in the human body in all its manifestations. I am concerned not only with the myriad forms and movements of the human figure, but also, as importantly, its relationship with its surroundings, and its response to events and phenomena in nature."

Harvest Gallery, 938 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA. 91202. 818.546.1000. Click here for further info.

Sept. 2 (Thurs.), 8:00 p.m.—Andalusian/Middle Eastern Concert with the Anda-El, East-West Orchestra and the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble

Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble, led by Hicham Chami, and the Anda-El, East-West Orchestra will merge for a U.S. tour under the artistic direction of Dr. Avi Eilam-Amzallag from Israel. Joined by Moroccan Munshid Abrelfattah Bennis and Moroccan-Israeli Cantor Lior Elmalich and professional musicians from eight different countries (U.S. Morocco, Egypt, India, Israel, Palestine, Syria and France), the ensemble performs North African, Middle Eastern, Turkish and Armenian music, and focuses on instrumental pieces. The Anda-El, East-West Orchestra is an unequaled phenomenon in the field of classical music in the world.

Eretz-Siamak Cultural Center, 6170 Wilbur Ave., Tarzana, CA. Tickets $25-15. Order online at Ticketweb.


Special Announcements

Volunteer with Levantine Cultural Center's Programming Committee

Bring your ideas, enthusiasm and support to the Center by participating in a new Programming Committee, that will cooperate with our Board of Directors in creating new arts programs in the weeks and months ahead. To get on the reservation list for the next meeting, email us now!


Board of Directors Seeks Community Leaders

Levantine Center's Board of Directors is continually in formation, and welcomes inquiries—we are actively searching for more people with our passion and conviction! The board consists of diverse members of the community who are of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean heritage or who have a strong professional or artistic interest in furthering our mission. As directors, board members represent the organization officially, are responsible for its financial health, and make the priority strategic decisions, with counsel from Advisory Board members where possible. Board members work with activists heading specific committes, including the Film/Video, Literary, Education Performing Arts and Membership Committees.

Our Advisory Board is also in formation. Advisory board members are known professionally in their own communities and offer valuable counsel and services to the organization; they are eligible to attend the organization's annual retreat and receive other benefits.

Please contact us at 323.650.7010.

Submit your calendar listings to our calendar editor now.


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To join/support Levantine Cultural Center, simply go to our signup page and fill in the blanks, print and mail; or send your check for $120 annual membership dues (that's just $10 per month! you'll receive many discounts and a pair of free tickets to an upcoming event, a minimum $40 value) to: Levantine Center, 8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N. 789, West Hollywood, CA 90069.

LEVANTINE CULTURAL CENTER
Cultures of the Middle East & Mediterranean
8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N.789, West Hollywood CA 90069
323.650.7010, info@levantinecenter.org

Levantine Center advocates for, educates about, and in general promotes and supports Middle Eastern and Mediterranean contemporary arts and traditional cultures. We present or cosponsor programs of music, literature, art, film/video, publications, new media and more, often from educational and historical perspectives. While acknowledging the value of entertainment, we emphasize scholarship and substance. We are strongly multidisciplinary and non-sectarian, do not embrace any political or religious doctrine, and are committed to the principle of cross-cultural cooperation. We support the strengthening of ties between all cultural, ethnic and religious communities of the Middle East/West Asia/Levant, as well as between all peoples of Middle Eastern descent in diaspora.

 
See what Levantine Center has been up to and take note of other recent cultural events.

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LEVANTINE CULTURAL CENTER
Cultures of the Middle East & Mediterranean 2002
8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N.789, West Hollywood CA 90069
323.650.7010, LevantineCenter@aol.com