ShowcaseAl Nujoom Troupe
Pages From BAC
Folk Feet Workshops: Arab Social Dance
Sunday, July 13th, 2-6pm Bay Ridge Arab American Bazaar, at Shore Road Park, (79th and Shore Road, Bay Ridge Brooklyn) click for map Sunday, July 20th , 2-6pm Arab American Heritage Park Festi... 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
Sherley St. Fort - Haitian dance
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
FOLK FEET ON FIFTH Celebrating Neighborhood Dance Traditions of Sunset Park and Bay Ridge Hoofin’ it in the Hood: Traditional dancing, discussion, and dishes with neighborhood dance masters incl... 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
Kaina Quenga - Polynesian dances
Kaina Quenga grew up in Hilo, HawaiI, where she studied and performed hula— “dance” in Hawaiian. She moved to Brooklyn in 2001, where she performs and also teaches Hawaiian cultural traditions and Tah... 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
Ladies Night: Solo Stars of Pop and Folk
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: Wed... more
LaUra was born in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and comes from a family of traditional artists. Her mother, a professional dancer, was the granddaughter of one of the greatest Uzbeki poets of all time, Hamza ... more
Layla began studying Middle Eastern dance at the age of 19 at Serena Studios in New York City. Her passion for Middle Eastern dance led her to study with such masters of the form as Yousry Sharif, Ram... more
Leonardo Ivan Dominguez - Dominican merengue and folk dance
Leonardo Ivan Dominguez has been working for more than 35 years as an educator of Dominican folk traditions. Born on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Ivan was learning to drum by ag... more
This dynamic, multigenerational ensemble of musicians and dancers presents Afro-Cuban folklore and Hispanic traditions through the tantalizing rhythms, choruses, and movements of the Rumba, the Mambo ... more
Malika Zarra was born in Morocco and raised in France, where she studied clarinet and voice. In 2004 she moved to New York City to develop her rich and eclectic style, drawing on gospel, funk and Sub... more
Dena El Saffar Dena El Saffar, of Iraqi and American heritage, was exposed to Arabic music in the suburbs of Chicago, where she grew up attending Iraqi gatherings with her family. She began learning ... more
To view images, sound, and video excerpts from Brooklyn Maqam programs click on an event title. Sunday, March 2 Brooklyn Maqam Begins Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College ... more
Arab Music and Dance Resources Iraqi Maqam Maqam World Music Website Najwa Adra The Oudman - Najeeb Shaheen Rashid's Music Sales Co., Inc Turath ... more
Maurice Chedid honed his oud playing at the Lebanese Conservatory of Middle Eastern Music, but comes from a family of musicians. His father was a highly esteemed cantor in the Maronite Church in Leba... more
Darrah Carr - Irish dance Tamara Chernyakhovska - Ukrainian folk dance Don Coy - American square dance Yasser Darwish - Egyptian folk dances Nadia Dieudonné - Haitian folklore Leonardo Ivan Domin... more
Melinda Gonzalez - Puerto Rican bomba
Melinda Gonzalez dances bomba, Puerto Rico’s oldest native art form. An Afro-Puerto Rican dance, bomba involves improvised steps and a live drummer. But in bomba, it is the dancer, not the percussioni... more
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