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Music Video Bridges Arabic and Deaf Cultures Video Premiere and Panel Discussion Feb. 22, at Madonna University
A unique music video produced in the Franciscan Studios at Madonna University transcends all language barriers to inspire, entertain and tug the heartstrings of people from many cultures simultaneously. Featuring Tunisian-born singer/songwriter Ridha Ibrahim and Madonna University sign language student Kaitlyn Mann, Kan Ya Makan or Once Upon a Time will premiere at Madonna University, Monday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Hall as part of the University’s Diversity Week Celebration.
The video also will stream live at www.madonnau.com/live.
People from around the world will participate in the event in the virtual worlds of Second Life. Questions can be posted on Facebook at Ridha Ibrahim’s site. Following the video’s debut, there will be a panel discussion regarding all the elements of its creation; including the learning process, technical aspects – video, musical, and sign language, as well as a behind the scenes look at the making of the video.
The impetus for Kan Ya Makan occurred when Ibrahim saw Madonna sign language students performing translations of their favorite songs. “I saw sign language as a way to reach out to the Deaf community with my music,” said Ibrahim, who works to communicate with all cultures through his songs. “Working with Madonna’s faculty and students was a great experience. Katie Mann did a beautiful job of artistically translating my words and melody into American Sign Language,” he said.
The song is a love story that blends eastern and western melodies with Arabic lyrics. “Due to my lack of knowledge of Arabic, Ridha and I spent over thirty hours translating the song to English,” said Mann. “This was an opportunity for me to dig deeper than the simple word-for-word approach of transliteration. Ridha explained the song’s deeper meanings and allegories,” wrote Mann in her study guide for the project.
In an effort to match Ibrahim’s musical poetry, Mann enlisted the talents of Dan McDougall, director of Madonna’s Sign Language Studies program to create a poetic American Sign Language interpretation of the song. “The creative nature of this project allowed Katie to explore concepts of ASL poetry taught in class, and to stretch them to their limits with dance. The end result is not uniquely hearing, nor uniquely Deaf – it’s somewhere in-between.” Each moment of the Kan Ya Makan video contains symbols – words, signs, images – all chosen and combined purposefully.
Sue Boyd, Franciscan Studios manager at Madonna, produced the music video with assistance from Madonna faculty and students in the Broadcast and Cinema Arts program. There was more to the video than just music and sign. The crew invested 30 hours filming. Then Boyd logged another 200 hours editing – painstakingly matching up frames filled with two languages that she didn’t know. “The result is a video that throws open the door to music for members of the Deaf community,” said Mann.
Sign Language Studies (SLS) and Broadcast and Cinema Arts (BCA), are among the more than 75 undergraduate academic programs offered at Madonna University (www.madonna.edu). SLS prepares students to communicate or to interpret within the Deaf community. BCA prepares students for careers in broadcast, film and new media industries. Both majors, grounded in the liberal arts, combine an integrated theoretical and extensive hands-on approach for professional preparation. Students gain a wide-range of skills and experiences that can be applied to career positions. Madonna University’s new “green” Franciscan Studios and production facilities provide students with the latest, high-definition, digital technologies.