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Dash Cafés
The Dash Café
Throughout the duration of the Arabic Series and beyond, we are hosting regular Dash Café nights. The Café is a place for artists and audiences to gather and network. There are opportunities to participate and see works-in-progress, as well as come along to a variety of events relating to the series.
This FREE series ties all our major shows together, allowing us to engage people in a continued exploration of the wider world of the Arabic Series and of our other future projects. Featuring music, films, talks and discussions, it is also a place to meet, chat and socialise.
The Dash Café also travels to each of the main performance venues as well as popping up in locations within specific communities to reach the widest possible audience.
Read about past Café events on our Blog
To keep an eye on developments at the Dash Café sign up for updates.
Listings
Live music from Téa and Mirella Hodžic, with Vanja Krawczyk
Wednesday 13th June | 9.30pm
Rich Mix, Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA | FREE
The Dash Café returns to Rich Mix as part of the East in East Festival, celebrating Eastern European culture during the Euro 2012 tournament, with the wonderful Téa and Mirella Hodžic. Born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, sisters Téa and Mirella Hodžic sing gorgeous close harmonies and haunting melodies. They will be accompanied by the Polish Roma virtuoso accordionist Vanja Krawczyk.
"Her voice haunted me for the rest of the day..." Clive Davies, The Times
Building on the success of the Balkan super-group Szapora, Téa and Mirella Hodžic create music that is intimate, passionate and irresistible.
The performance follows live screenings of two Euro 2012 matches
More details...
To let us know if you're coming, email corinne@dasharts.org.uk
Previous Events
Art & Conflict - The Case of Syria
Wednesday 4th April | Rich Mix, London
A conversation around Art and Conflict – the Case of Syria with live music from the dash cafe house band. In association with Literature Across Frontiers and Firefly International.
What is the role of art in situations of conflict? Can art convey the horrors of war, interpret conflict and reveal human nature caught in the middle of inhuman conditions in ways fundamentally different from journalistic reporting? How can art that responds to conflict empower both the makers and the viewers?
These and other questions will be discussed by a panel chaired by The Independent columnist and commentator Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in conversation with the author of The Road from Damascus Robin Yassin-Kassab, Al-Hayat journalist and prose writer Ghalia Kabbani, cultural activist and director of Reel Syria Dan Gorman and others.
Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi
Wednesday 7th March | Rich Mix, London
Born in Tunis, Emel is a songwriter, composer, guitarist and singer who is bringing an amazing new sound to Tunisian music.
Endowed with an outstanding voice, she evokes Joan Baez, Sister Marie Keyrouz and the Lebanese diva Fairouz. Her captivating style is lyrical, with powerful rock, oriental and trip hop influences.
Emel began her artistic career at the age of 8 on stage at the small amphitheatre in the Ibn Sina suburb of Tunis where she lived until the age of 25. She then moved to France to pursue her career as a singer. One of her songs “Kelmti Horra” (My Word Is Free) was taken up by the
Arab Spring revolutionaries and sung on the streets of Tunis.
Dash Café and Zenith Foundation present
Vanishing Spaces; short films from Syria and Palestine
Wednesday 1st February | Rich Mix, London
6 shorts from Syria and Palestine (total 80 mins) reflect everyday lives played out in extraordinary circumstances, and poignantly record places and peoples that have endured existential turning points. The historic events referenced are still playing out today and have lost none of their power or resonance. Vanishing Spaces was presented by Zenith Foundation in summer 2011 as part of the London wide Shubbak Festival to great audience and critical acclaim.
“These observational art-house films present a vital addition to intellectual thought and artistic production” Little White Lies Film Review Magazine
El-Andaluz
Wednesday 7th December | Rich Mix, London
El-Andaluz are the leading exponents in London of classical Arabic and Andalusian music. El-Andaluz take the audience on a journey around the Southern shores of the Mediterranean, often beginning with a poetic and reflective Andalusian Nuba, then travelling on to the trance-like Sufi music of the Sahara. They never fail to end the evening by getting the audience on their feet dancing to the celebratory Chaabi music of Algeria, or to a classical Egyptian belly dance; this night at Rich Mix will be no exception.
Seeds of Creation
Wednesday 2nd November | Rich Mix, London
Seeds of Creation were established in 1980 by Berber musician, Seddik Zebiri, who, after travelling around the world, sought to create a band to explore his multi-cultural influences. As a six-piece band, complete with sax, trumpet, drums and bass, Seeds of Creation play an intriguing blend of traditional and popular Algerian music, mixed with reggae, Sahara blues, Gnawa trance and a touch of jazz. Having played in venues including the Royal Albert Hall and the Hackney Empire, Seeds of Creation are bound to get Rich Mix dancing!
Hjaz
5th October | Rich Mix, London
Hjaz is an inspired blend of Middle Eastern Song and Western Jazz. Egyptian/German singer Merit Ariane Stephanos, jazz pianist/composer Alcyona Mick and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Hall are breaking new ground, exploring Arab and jazz traditions through improvisation and experimentation. They draw on material from Lebanese legend Fayrouz, Arabic and Andalusian Mwashshahat, Sephardic songs and perform their own compositions.
“Middle Eastern intonation, elegance and emotional intimacy … built to a cinematic depth” Vortex Jazz Reviews 2008
Director Tim Supple in Conversation
7th September | Rich Mix London
Fresh from the UK premier of Dash Arts' One Thousand and One Nights at Edinburgh International Festival, Dash Co-Artistic Director, Tim Supple will discuss the joys and challenges of dramatising Hanan al-Shaykh's adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights. The show is performed and created by actors, musicians and designers drawn entirely from the Arabic speaking world and reveals the true character of these ancient stories, Expect readings from Shahrazad, discussion about the origins of these tales and debate about why they are so relevant today.
Chaired by Marina Warner.
A Night of Live Music
3rd August | Rich Mix, London
Seeds of Creation will hit you with the Arabic, Afro-Blues Fusion sounds and get you dancing! Founded by local legend Seddik Zebiri in 1979, Seeds of Creation pull on the lead man’s Algerian roots, well-travelled background and life experience, along with his diverse collection of fellow musicians. The sound churned out by this six-piece band, complete with sax, trumpet and bass, is irresistably danceable with an urban edge deeply steeped in North African traditional vibes. Having previously performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Seeds of Creation brew an excellent blend of traditional Berber music fused with Afro-Blues, reggae, Jazz and raw Psychadelic sounds that will transport you from the East-end of London deep into the heart of the Sahara.
A Night of Films & Live Music: Phatwa and Slingshot Hiphop
6th July | Rich Mix, London
Part of the Mayor’s Shubbak Festival, our July Dash Café will be a night of live music and film, featuring a cinematic double bill of Phatwa and Slingshot Hiphop, plus live music from our Dash house band Fantazia Duo. Phatwa, (directed by Hala al Salam 2009) is a short music video based on Hala’s musician brother Yassin Al Salam’s personal experiences at the hands of US border control, and Slingshot Hiphip (directed by Jackie Reem Salloum 2008) depicts the lives of Palestinian musicians across Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The Dash Café at Rich Mix will also feature our house duo Fantazia. Fantazia play a breathtakingly rootsy blend of Gnawa, Chaabi and Dance which draws on the vibrant rhythms and rich musical tradition of North Africa. Built around the original compositions of Algerian oud player Yazid, Fantazia’s irresistible grooves create a sizzling party atmosphere that soon has any audience on its feet and dancing.
Adel Salemeh & Naziha Azzouz LIVE
1st June | Rich Mix, London
Please join us to hear Paris based Adel Salameh launch his new album Awda with the beautiful vocals of Naziha Azzouz. Palestinian oud player and composer, Adel Salameh was born in Nablus, Palestine, in 1966. He started performing as a soloist while still living in the Arab World, but immigrated to Europe in 1990. He quickly established a reputation as one of the finest performers of the oud. He has performed in more than thirty countries including Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, and numerous countries in North Africa and Europe.
