With most news agencies constantly focusing on the conflict and turmoil in Arab nations, unity in the region is something that is easily forgotten. But that is exactly what the United Arab Society wants to celebrate in their annual Arab Culture Show, which aims to unite both Arabs and non-Arabs through different forms of expression and art.
The show will take place on May 29 at 7 p.m. in Ackerman Grand Ballroom and will run for about two hours. The night will consist of a skit, titled “More Than A Game,” as well as cultural dances, classical Arabic music, an Arab-American hip-hop performance and poetry readings that will be interwoven in the show.
Admission is free, and there will be free Arab desserts and refreshments served, as well as vendors selling t-shirts and jewelry. The show is run entirely by UCLA students with about 35 people involved, both Arab and non-Arab, and an outside group will be brought in for the hip-hop performance.
“More Than A Game,” which is a predominantly theatrical piece, focuses on the story of an Egyptian soccer fanatic named Samer and an Algerian woman named Elissa.
“It’s sort of this story of how they put aside political differences or rivalry differences and she shows him another side of Arab culture that he wasn’t attuned to,” said Faisal Attrache, a fourth-year international development and environmental studies student and president of the United Arab Society, one of three directors of the event and a performer in the skit.
“My goal and what I hope this culture show achieves is that we’re able to share with the UCLA community and the general local community … and also to give Arab Americans a chance to either express themselves in dance and music or to just come and learn about it,” Attrache said.
His brother, third-year sociology student Ghaleb Attrache, will play Samer in the skit and is on the board for the United Arab Society. Although this is his first year being involved with the show, Ghaleb certainly does not downplay its importance.
“I feel like I am doing something that is both entertaining and at the same time educational,” Ghaleb said. “When you do cultural things, they’re non-controversial. You know, Arabs are always in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, but when you get to do something like this, it’s fun and it’s non-controversial and you just get to show the beautiful side of your culture.”
Third-year history student Mary Elserogy, one of the event’s directors and dancers, also expressed excitement about the importance of the event.
“I love the music and I love our Arabic language and I want to share that with other people that aren’t Arab. I want to have them experience what we celebrate, and our music, and our tradition, and our culture and how we interact with each other,” Elserogy said.
Besides the skit, one of the main focuses of the night will be dancing, which, according to Faisal, will be both part of the skit and in between different scenes.
Fourth-year sociology and Middle Eastern and North African studies student Juliana Darwiche, one of the event’s directors, choreographs and teaches the dances. She will also be performing in the dances and as part of the Near East Ensemble, a group within the ethnomusicology department.
According to Darwiche, there will be three main genres showcased: a Khaleegy dance from the Gulf region, a Saidi dance from Egypt, and a traditional Raqs Sharqi belly dance.
“The purpose of the dances is just to show that although we’re all Arab, each country or each region has its own dance,” Darwiche said. “There’s a lot that is not necessarily understood or thought about when people think about Middle Eastern dancing so we’re just trying to show that it is diverse but we’re all still one people.”
All three directors expressed excitement about the event’s potential to increase awareness of not only Arab culture, but also the United Arab Society in particular.
“I think people don’t really know much about the Arabs at UCLA, there hasn’t been much exposure to our club and I think this would be a great way to expose them to what we are and what we’re doing and how much fun we have. And if they want to come and join, they don’t have to be Arab, they can come and join and have fun with us,” Elserogy said.
After working on the culture show since winter quarter, the participants are excited to finally showcase their annual event to the surrounding community.
“I hope the community gets a taste of a culture that they probably don’t know anything about,” Ghaleb said. “If you’re just a typical UCLA student coming to the show you get to see numerous sides to the Arab culture. … It’s just a way for someone to get exposed to a culture that they can realize is basically a lot similar to theirs.”
Exposure and learning are key elements that the United Arab Society hopes to give the community access to with their culture show.
“We’re here to entertain you and make you happy and we hope that you walk away learning something new. Our whole purpose is to teach,” Darwiche said.