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From Athens, Greece, Mikelis is both an ‘ud and piano performer. He holds a B.M from Berklee College of Music in jazz studies (2003), a Masters in Jazz Performance from the William Paterson Universit... more
Diverse Traditions: Arab Folk Music in Regional Expression
Presented by BAC Folk Arts, Brooklyn Maqam Arab Music Festival is a rare opportunity to experience the remarkable variety of Arab music traditions that flourish throughout the metro area! WHEN: Sat... more
Diverse Traditions: Arab Folk Music in Regional Expression
Saturday, March 29 Alwan for the Arts 9:00 -11:00pm
One of the most creative and successful Irish dancers, Donny Golden, is a North American step-dancing champion and a National Heritage Award winner. He has choreographed shows for his troupe at Radio ... more
Eddie Soubhi Ibn Farjallah Kochakhi was born and raised in Brooklyn, in a Syrian Catholic family on Atlantic Avenue. His sister brought him his first dumbek from Aleppo when he was ten. He came to be... more
This drum and dance ensemble specializes in Bomba, Puerto Rico's oldest art form dating back to its colonial history. Bomba's musicality and aesthetics are a combination of African, Indigenous, and Eu... more
El Mostafa comes from the Atlantic port city of El Jadida, Morocco. He bought his first instrument, a Moroccan wooden flute called gasbah, as a boy. He was drawn to its sad, yet sweet sound quality, a... more
Brooklyn-based Palestinian vocalist Fahim Dandan grew up with exposure to the folk music traditions of Haifa and nearby villages. Dandan’s mother was respected for her musical ability and noted for h... more
BAC FOLK ARTS: WHAT WE DO See a merengue típico dance at a Dominican party in Bushwick; the elaborate costumes on Eastern Parkway at the annual West Indies Labor Day Celebration; moko jumbies danc... more
Artists from BAC’s Folk Arts in Education Program perform songs, stories and dances and discuss their traditions and cultural history.
The terms “folk” and “traditional” describe the artists and art forms that our programming supports. Few of the traditional artists we work with have ever received formal training; most learn by obser... more
The following is a list of useful websites: Here are some helpful links to folk arts research, grants, publications, organizations and information about specific artists and art forms. Americ... more
Artists from BAC’s Folk Arts program perform songs, stories, and dances, and discuss the history and traditions of their native countries and cultures.
Here are some helpful links to folk arts research, grants, publications, organizations and information about specific artists and art forms. American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress ... more
Folk Feet is made possible, in part, by Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and The New York Community Trust.
You Dance, We Pay! Organize your own traditional dance workshop through Folk Feet Dance Workshops. Use BAC's Folk Feet Dance Workshops to book your own class or workshop series with Brooklyn’s ... more
Frisner Augustin and La Troupe Makandal
For over 20 years, La Troupe Makandal and its Artistic Director, Master Drummer, and National Heritage Award winner, Frisner Augustin, have thrilled audiences with the exciting traditional dances, mus... more
Gaida Hinnawi is a vocalist and composer working at the intersection of the New York Arab and improvised music scenes. Her compositions draw on classical Arabic song, Syrian folk traditions, and impro... more
Brooklyn-based Shafik grew up in a musical family in Cairo surrounded by Egyptian popular, folk, and classical music that made his Shobra neighborhood jump. As a young boy, he practiced percussion on... more
George was born in Birzeit, Palestine, and pursued music from a young age. In 1986 he moved to the United States, where he has studied oud with Simon Shaheen and classical singing and voice with Youss... more
Born in Nador, Morroco, to a family that practices music traditions, Hisham began playing percussion at age 13. His first lessons in music came from his cousin and a close friend, both of whom played ... more
Canadian-born Gutwilik’s interest in music began at a young age when his aunt gave him a Perez Prado album and his own transistor radio. School offered him an immersion into the world of traditional J... more
Lebbos comes from Beirut, Lebanon and learned debkah – the celebrated social line dance of the Levant- in the rural areas where it has been danced into the earth for generations. Lebbos’ debkah pract... more
From Casablanca, Morocco, Bohsina bought his first keyboard at age 12, and – as he recounts – it grew with him. Today he is one of NYC vocalists’ most requested and respected keyboardists. By 16, Bo... more
By the age of 3 Jehan was already dreaming of becoming a bellydancer, having been introduced to the art form via the star dancers of Egyptian golden-age cinema. Pursuing the study of raqs sharqi or... more
Johnny Farraj has studied riq (Egyptian tambourine) and frame drum with Karim Nagi and Fairuz's percussionist Michel Merhej, both featured in Brooklyn Maqam. He also studied oud with Simon Shaheen and... more
Nagi, a native Egyptian, is an expert in Arab, Turkish and Andalusian hand percussion. He holds a Psychology degree from Skidmore College. Nagi has studied with Nabil Ata, Midhat al-Rashidi, Simon Sha... more
Kay Turner, Folk Arts Director
Dr. Kay Turner became the Director of BAC Folk Arts in October 2000. Kay works with Brooklyn traditional artists working in a range of disciplines—music, dance, material arts, narrative and foodways. ... more
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