To understand a people, you must live among them for 40 days.~Arabic proverb
Read about the project, the book, documentary, music and show....
The Book
40 Days & 1001 Nights is a multifold project in which Tamalyn Dallal traveled to five predominantly Islamic countries and lived in each one for forty days. She sought to dig beneath simplified stereotypes, i.e. terrorists and women stuggling to remove their veils.
Ms. Dallal looked into the lives of every day people, finding vestiges of ancient cultures, the ups and down of globalization, music, dance, delicious food, and more. She wrote a book, made a musical documentary film, produced a music CD, and dance performance, available on DVD. Ten percent of the proceeds from the book and DVDs go to the 1001 Nights Fund.
40 Days and 1001 Nights, Dancing across the Lines
1 hour 45 minutes.
Dancing Across the Lines is a long distance collaboration in which Tamalyn Dallal sent music and costumes from each country she visited to dancers in New York, Buenos Aires, and Miami. In January, 2007, she returned to Miami Beach, gathered the dancers together and produced this sold out theatrical dance concert, featuring reknown dancers: Amar Gamal, Bozenka, Kaeshi, Elisheva, Bellyqueen, Hanan, Montserrat, Francesca, Poppers Hypno and Tiny Love, and Tamalyn Dallal. Copies of this DVD were sent to the groups whose music they danced to, to show how their music was interpreted and appreciated by dancers in the U.S.
This subtitled documentary is a sensory feast of sights, sounds, music and dance. There are examples of rarely seen and some never before filmed dances. Each section uses the local music and has a completely different feel. Indonesia explodes with vibrant colors and the Acehnise ethnic rock sounds of local superstar Rafly.
Egypt's Siwa Oasis features a rare glimpse of music and dance in the completely separate worlds of women and men. Zanzibar is splendid with rich musical traditions, village weddings, and fishing from wooden dhows. Jordan excites viewers with acrobatic dances and ruins from the Roman and Nabathean times. Lastly, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China portrays images of the ancient Silk Road fast forwarded to moder times.
Tamalyn Dallal produced this CD in Zanzibar. Founded in 1905, Ikhwani Safaa is Africa's oldest band. In the beginning, the Sultan sent musicians to Egypt to study and they came back playing classical Arabic music, which was later inspired by Egypt's Golden Age and Ottoman influences.
This disc features two bashrafs (instrumentals) and several taarab pieces (poetic love songs) that were adapted for Oriental dance. The artists use entirely acoustic instruments, and the performances possess such complexity and depth that they become more fascinating with each listen.
Ten percent of the proceeds from each book and DVD sale, plus voluntary donations go into this fund, helping support grass roots organizations and arts groups in each country Ms. Dallal visited.
The fund delivers direct support, aimed at accessing what each group needs to continue their mission, be it instruments, equipment, creative projects, or creating networks and promotional materials. This money does not get lost in administrative costs and is pesonally monitored by Ms. Dallal to make sure it only buys what will empower the people without fostering dependancy.
