OREGON

THE OBERON COMMUNITY MIDDLE EASTERN MUSIC & DANCE SHOW

The Blue Monk presents ARABESQUE every Wednesday at 8 PM. The band performs traditional Middle Eastern (Turkish, Arabic, Persian and Armenian) Music and features all of the hundreds of local/regional Middle Eastern Tribal and Belly Dancers.
Arabesque and the weekly show will celebrate 20 years in 2014. That means is it is the longest running Middle Eastern music and dance show with live traditional Middle Eastern music anywhere around the globe. Michael Beach started the show in 1994 at The Green Onion in Portland. Band members and venues have changed throughout the many years but the show remains the same:
A weekly show, any dancer can dance, they sign up many months in advance, they request the music they want and the band plays for them as they dance. This rotation of dancers gives everyone a chance to perform and the audience gets to see a different show every week. The band also plays lots of Open Dance music and the audience always dances.
Arabesque includes Michael Beach and Clark Salisbury from the Portland based 2008 Grammy nominated Brothers of the Baladi. Brothers of the Baladi are a national / international touring Middle Eastern / World Music band.
http://www.baladi.com/
Arabesque is: Brothers of the Baladi and Arabesque founder Michael Beach (lead vocals, doubek, drums & mizmar), Clark Salisbury (oud & saz), Carolynn Eaton (Arabic accordion & kanoon), Kevin Bayliss (clarinet & oboe), Roberta Gannett (violin), Jerry Fugate (saz, riq & def) and Albert McDonnell (acoustic bass).
The show was recently renamed for Oberon. She was Michael Beach’s partner and co-director in charge of all dancers from 1999 until 2011 when she passed on.