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The Multi-Media Middle-Eastern Extravaganza SAHRA is an Unprecedented Success
SAHRA, this year’s must-see event that united international artists, performers, celebrities, and dignitaries in celebration of Arab culture, has made its first unforgettable impression on worldwide culture. With its recent debut at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, the event drew crowds who watched personalities from across the globe come together onstage in hopes for a better future for our children, and a better world for all generations. All profits benefits ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) and NAAMA (National Arab American Medical Association), two leading charities known for improving the lives of Arab children.
“It was truly inspiring to see so many notable people from around the world set aside their differences for the evening,” says SAHRA’s artistic and creative producer Dawn Elder, remarking on the attendance of American world music lovers who watched alongside Algerians, Syrians, Lebanese, Afghanis, Egyptians, Sudanese, Palestinians, Iranians, Moroccans, Iraqis, and Jordanians, among many others. “We crossed every possible border.”
The extended event featured a series of innumerable highlights from performances from 150 musicians and dancers, mixing styles that ranged from Western pop fusion, to Latin and Middle-Eastern genres. On the palatial stage, dazzling dance sequences enlivened the evening throughout, courtesy of multi-Tele Award-winning Lebanese choreographer Adam Basma, whose thirty dancers cycled through 600 costumes during their time onstage. Iraqi singer Rida Al Abdulla’s gave a heart-wrenching rendition of “Iraq Al Kabir,” a tribute to the beauty of his native Iraq, while Syrian-born diva Assala Nasri delivered vocal improvisations that merged Arab music with jazz, Latin and North-African styles. But, Elder notes, “The night really came alive when Algerian superstar Khaled took the stage.” The undisputed king of “pop rai” music once again earned his title as he whipped the crowd into a frenzy, ending with a touching cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” He was joined by everyone including American pop producer K.C. Porter and Def Jam artist Karina Pasian, Khaled led the crowd to sing the classic cry for peace in every participant’s native language. “the audience went crazy, flying flags and singing along,” says Elder. “It was one of the night’s most moving moments.”
The night included a tribute to Moustapha Akkad, the Syrian producer/director whose work, including Mohammed, Messenger of God and Lion of the Desert, helped expose the world to Arabic culture and raise awareness to problems in the region. Akkad’s son Malek made a landmark appearance, his first since his father’s and sister’s death in a 2005 suicide bombing, to announce that the filmmaker’s work would continue.
SAHRA was attended by a crossover audience that included Ambassador Hussein Hassouna of the Arab League of States, and Egyptian actress Nabila Ebeed. But, as Elder says, this is just the beginning: “Thousands attended, but we hope millions will see it when the event is broadcast worldwide next March, with a full DVD release immediately thereafter.”
However, last month’s spectacle was only the beginning of a larger movement – the next SAHRA is already in planning. “We hope this is the beginning of a greater effort for our children,” says Elder, “because we want to give them hope, for a better world.” It is a testament to the power of global unity that when music and cultures can stand so proudly together as they did for our children with SAHRA, we can all see brighter days ahead.
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Worldwide broadcast and DVD release due next March, 2010
Next SAHRA performance scheduled for New York City