THE SPRING FESTIVAL<<<<<<<<<<

1. Present THE SPRING FESTIVAL<<<<<<<<<< Sunflower Theatre - Beirut

2. >> The Spring Festival • The concept • Summary The Spring Festival is a major multi-disciplinary art festival organized by two non-profit organizations: Culture Resource in Cairo and Shams Association in Beirut in May 2010. The Festival will attract a wide public that is curious, open minded and passionate about art and culture. It will present a number of international musicians, dancers, performers, and writers who rarely or never visit the region. Spring Festival will reflect an image of the region that is hopeful, creative, and, joyful.

3. >> The Spring Festival • The concept • Background and Rationale: The Spring Festival is a biannual celebration of contemporary creativity in all its forms and genres, especially those that come from the global South and East, and from Diaspora communities in the West and North. The festival’s target audience is primarily urban youth. The festival aims at attracting attention to contemporary artistic expression and changing long established perceptions of artistic creativity and its ability to contribute to social development and democracy. It is also a conduit for promoting understanding through dialogue and common experience using the universal language that art provides, probing into possibilities of interrelation among different cultures. The Spring Festival 2010 program will have a sub-theme around the notion of "Crossing Borders". This theme will be explored in its different manifestation; not just the immediate political aspects of it, but also in expressions of crossing social, cultural and physical limitations.

4. >> The Spring Festival • The organizers • Shams SHAMS – “The Cultural Cooperative Association for Youth in Theatre and Cinema” was founded in Beirut, January 1999. It is an independent Lebanese Cultural Association directed by Roger Assaf. Its mission is to organize and produce artistic activities and to give the young talents the opportunity to work and develop their proficiency. Shams aims to develop debates and cultural exchanges between Lebanese young people to overcome the confessional disunion and the social divisions left by the war. The association contributes in the vigorous regional cultureby developing regular exchanges, co-productions and encounters with the regional and international cultural bodies. Shams launched the cultural space “Sunflower Theatre” in 2005.

5. >> The Spring Festival • The organizers • Cultural Resource Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) is a regional, non-profit organization that seeks to support artistic creativity in the Arab region and to encourage cultural exchanges within this region and with the developing world. The work of Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) is based on an appreciation of the value of the Arab cultural heritage and an awareness of the need for a new Arab creativity that liberates the imagination and stimulates progress. Culture Resource also believes that artistic and literary activities are a social necessity that demands moral and material support by all active powers in the society.

6. >> The Spring Festival • The program • Music • Nodira Primatova (Uzbekistan) • Houmayoun sakhi (Afghanistan) Nodira Primatova from Uzbekistan is an impressive traditionalperforming singer with a powerful voice and presence. She sings the songs of her native land with gusto and obvious authenticity. she is also a Senior Teacher of ``Traditional Performing arts'' at the Uzbekistan State Conservatory. Nodira is going to perform with Homayoun Sakhi an afghan composer, vocalist, and musician born into a family steeped in musical tradition. Since the onset of his career Sakhi strived to maintain a link with his heritage by bridging the classical with the new. By learning from the old school masters and contributing to the development of modern styles of Afghan music.

7. >> The Spring Festival • Music • Baraná Quintet(Netherlands/Turkey) Since 2002, Baraná has gained international praise with a mix of Turkish tradition, exciting new compositions and playful Dutch improvisation. The band celebrates the vitality of the meeting. In these meetings, Baraná succeeds in combining the strength of tradition with the fresh approach of modern music. An interesting feature of Baraná is the broad taste of the leaders Behsat Üvez and Steven Kamperman. Their basic ingredients may be Turkish and Dutch, the resulting flavours surpass all categories. Especially striking is the exciting communication between the musicians

8. >> The Spring Festival • Music • Ras Nas (Norway/Tanzania) Ras Nas aka Nasibu Mwanukuzi, is a Tanzanian musician and poet from Tanzania based In Oslo,who blends African music and reggae with a dash of poetry. His Lyrics are both in Swahili and English . Nasibu started reciting poetry with Sayari, a group that combined poetry, mime, music and dance in Dar- es-Salaam, Tanzania, in early 80’s. Among the highlights was reciting one of his poems “June 16 – Memories of Soweto” for Nelson Mandela in Oslo in 1992. Among Ras Nas merits, is sharing stage with Bob Dylan , Van Morrison and Lou Reed at the Norwegian Wood Festival. Ras Nas has also warmed up for a number of reggae heavyweights like Luciano, I Jah Man, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Junior Delgado.

9. >> The Spring Festival • Music • IvaBittová (Czech republic) Iva Bittová is a Czech prominent musician. Iva studied drama, specializing in violin and ballet. While working full time in theater, she re-kindled her interest in playing violin, an instrument she had set aside in her younger years. In the intervening years the violin has become her life’s passion and the most inspiring musical instrument in her professional life. • Anwar AbuDragh (Iraq) Anwar AbuDragh is an Iraqi musician who graduated with a music master from the University of Baghdad in 1995.The last great master Munir Basheer played a major role in his musical formation. He currently works as music teacher at the Arab Cultural Centre in Brussels. He also performs solo playing Joza and luth and singing maqam. He also performs with other groups of different musical styles such as Jazz, Flamenco, Indian, Turkish and Greek music. Anwar will be acompanied by the Lebanese musician Mike Massi.

10. >> The Spring Festival • Music • Khaled Jubran (Palestine) Khaled Jubran was born in Galilee in 1961. After studying and teaching classical music , in 1994 he founded and headed the Arabic music department of the Palestinian National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah as well as being a member of its Oriental Music Ensemble. In 2000, he founded the Urmawi Centre for Mashriq Music, named after the Abbassid musician. An independent institution, the centre brings together Palestinian musicians, teachers and students, preserving existing or potential practitioners' knowledge of the musical heritage, producing contemporary music and putting on performances throughout the country. He is a virtuosic player on Oud and Buzuq, a music theorist and a prominent educator.

11. >> The Spring Festival • Music & poetry • Benjamin Zephaniah (UK/Jamaica) Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958, Birmingham, England) is a British Jamaican Rastafarian writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008. Zephaniah has said that his mission is to fight the dead image of poetry in academia, and to "take [it] everywhere" to people who do not read books. He writes that his poetry emerged from the rhythms for Jamaica and "street politics". His first performance was in church when he was ten, and by the age of fifteen, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.

12. >> The Spring Festival • Contemporary dance • Ziyah Azzazi (Turkey) Born in 1969 in Antakya, Turkey. Since1994 based in Vienna. From 1990 till 1994 worked with the State Theatre of Istanbul where he created his first choreographic works. In 1999 he was awarded a scholarship by Summer Dance Week Vienna (Dance Web), including an honorable mention by the Ballet International Magazine as “The Most Outstanding Dancer of the Year for Austria” In the same year he began to study the traditional dance of the Sufis (whirling dervishes) and has choreographed many interpretations on this theme as seen in his solos. His performances took place in many European countries as well as Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ecuador, Korea, Morocco, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Venezuela and the USA.

13. >> The Spring Festival • Contemporary dance • Del Vento (France/Italy ) Gaetano Battezzatooriginallystudied sculpture yethis passion isfocused on contemporary dance. Internationallypraised French- Italiandancer and choregrapher,Gaetanois anexcellent pedagogue and dance trainer. He also animated several master classes in Europe and in the Arab world. HE won theFirstPrize at TheBagnoletcompetition in1985.Sincethenhetook part in severaltheatre, opera and video art productions. He is known for blending the power of sculpture with the subtletyof pictorial approach and the raw energy of body movement.

14. >> The Spring Festival • Theatre • “The earth and the cycle” Directed By Zahra Sabri (Iran) “The earth and the cycle” is an adaptation extracted from three spiritual stories of the soufi poet Jalal Aldin El Roumi under the form of seven anecdotes. The show depicts Three beautiful women, with painted faces, playing with small wool puppets symbolizing: an impious cow, a suicidal bird, a bearded prophet and a simple shepherd. The performance won the jury’s special awards in the international puppet theatre in 2008. Zahra Sabri is a writer ,director, stage& puppet designer & maker of puppet theatre.She graduated with a BA in stage designing in 2002.

15. >> The Spring Festival • Theatre • “Full hands ” Directed By Toni Rumbau (Spain) TONI RUMBAU is a Spanish author- puppeteer that founded his first puppet company La Fanfarra In 1976. In1984, with his company, he opened the Malic Theatre in Barcelona , Spain 's first fringe theatre. The theatre received the Critics' Special Prize (1991), The Barcelona City Prize for Theatre (1992) and the FAD Prize (1993). He traveled the world from east to west with his outstanding puppet shows . In this new show Toni brings together traditional, popular puppet theatre and an extremely visual language of shadows, hands and objects.

16. >> The Spring Festival • Theatre • “The emigrants” directed by Samer Omran (Syria) Originally written in the late 1970’s as a critique of Soviet totalitarianism, “The Emigrants” is about two emigrants: the Intellectual and the Buffoon ,who share the basement of an apartment building “here,” in the country of exile. Bound together by isolation and, sometimes, nostalgia, they grapple with their need for companionship and their hatred for their own humiliation as reflected in the other. Samer Omran is a Syrian theatre director and scenographe.He got his PHD in Theatre studies in 1995 in Krakow (Poland) and specialized in Mime art .He teaches acting & mime art at the higher institute of dramatic art in Syria.

17. >> The Spring Festival • Theatre • “The End ” directed by Ezzeddine Gannoun (Tunisia ) Death comes knocking on Najma’s door telling her that it will come back to take her in an hour.what could she do? What could she say when she only has 60 minutes left to live ? The clock ticks are running into mortality. Najma is in deep hallucinations recalling her memories, looking for her past trough its people and images. Provoking her presence and preparing herself to the farewell moment. Ezzeddine Gannoun is a renowned Tunisian theatre director and Trainer. He obtained his diploma in theatre studies at la Sorbonne in Paris in 1980.In1985 he restored the oldest deteriorated cinema hall of the capital Tunis into a flourishing art space that he called Al Hambra .In this venue he has been directing his most creative and vivid plays until these days .

18. >> The Spring Festival • Theatre • “The last tape ” directed by Oussama Ghanam (Syria) Originally written by Samuel Beckett in 1957 ,”the last tape” depicts an old man in his 70ies listening to an old tape he recorded 30 years ago with his own voice. He mentions in this tape that he had just listened to another tape recorded 10 years before that. As if this man has nothing to do but to write his diary through his recordings. Oussama Ghanam is a Syrian Theatre director and curator, he is also a Professor of modern and contemporary theater at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Damascus .He got his PHD in theatre studies in Paris and has several publications in cinema and theatre.

19. >> The Spring Festival • The venue and the audience • Sunflower Theatre Capacity: 350 seats Area: 400 – 500 m2 Height: 8 – 10 m Relevant spaces and equipment : light, sound , projection A Multipurpose Hall (for training and workshops), Area: 100 m2 A multimedia space

20. >> The Spring Festival • The communication tools • TV: Under Negotiations. • Radio: radio spots, live coverage, interviews, announcements... The event will be both announced and covered by at least one major Arabic, one French and one English speaking radios. • Print: 5000 posters, 20.000 flyers, banners, and all kinds of printed communication material heavily distributed around the whole city 20 days before the event. The event will also be announced in and covered by leading Lebanese magazines and newspapers. • Internet: heavy e-mailing, special newsletter to be sent to targeted 5000 people, creation of a special “event” page on Facebook, etc...

21. >> The Spring Festival • Contact detail • General coordinator :Hanane Hajali h.hajali@mawred.org +961 (0)3 035.298 • Public relations : Mira Minkara mminkara@yahoo.com +961 70 126764 Sunflower theatre +961 (0)1 381.290