[Bilimsel Haber] EVENT- Kyrgyz Cultural Performances Project, March 6-10, Columbia University, NY City

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

From: Rafis Abazov <polra99@hotmail.com>


EVENT- Kyrgyz Cultural Performances Project, March 6-10, Columbia U., NY 
City

The Harriman Institute at Columbia University presents Central Asian 
University
Residencies: the Kyrgyz Cultural Performances Project in collaboration 
with the
Central Asian Cultural Exchange (CACE) and the Embassy of the Kyrgyz 
Republic in
the United States.

March 6 through March 10, 2006

Kyrgyz Cultural Performances is a series of residencies at U.S. 
universities and
cultural institutions. The participants are Dr. Helen Faller, an 
anthropologist
who specializes in Central Asia and international exchange, and two Kyrgyz
performers - Rysbai Isakov, a renowned singer of the Kyrgyz national 
epic Manas
and Akylbek Kasabolotov, a virtuoso folk musician.  During their 
residencies,
these two performers will teach audiences about Kyrgyz oral literature and
musical traditions, with Dr. Faller introducing their work and providing
interpretative contextualization.

Isakov and Kasabolotov will perform a concert at Columbia on Thursday, 
March 9th
at 6:30pm (Kellogg Center, 15th Floor, International Affairs Building). A
trilogy said to be over a thousand years old, Manas contains over a half a
million lines and is considered the longest recorded epic in the world. It
focuses on the lives - from miraculous birth to glorious death - of three
generations of ancient heroes: Manas, his son Semetey, and Semetey's son 
Seytek.
Episodes of Manas colorfully depict the valiant exploits of these and other
brave warriors - their magnificent feasts, weddings, and of course countless
glorious raging battles. This performance will enrich the mystical 
experience of
seeing Manas presented in a concert setting. While Manas is traditionally
performed without accompaniment, this production innovatively incorporates a
Kyrgyz folk musician. As the manaschy recites, employing a catalogue of 
gestures
and facial expressions to emphasize certain moments of the epic, the 
musician
improvises upon Kyrgyz musical themes, changing instruments and timbres
according to what the actions occurring in the epic evoke for him.

The Kyrgyz Manas Workshop will be held on Tuesday, March 7th at 6:30pm (Room
1219 International Affairs Building). It will be led by Rysbai Isakov, 
Akylbek
Kasabolov and Dr. Faller. Dr. Faller will provide the audience with 
background
on the Manas. Background topics will include a brief history of the Manas, a
description of the traditional settings in which it is recited, and a 
synopsis
of the episode the audience is about to hear. Isakov and Kasabolotov 
will teach
the audience some key gestures and recurring words used in reciting the 
Manas.

The core mission of Central Asian University Residencies is to use art 
exchanges
to increase cross-cultural understanding between people in the United 
States and
the culturally Muslim regions of the former Soviet Union. These regions 
include
the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in 
Central
Asia; Azerbaijan in the Caucasus; and Muslim regions of the Russian 
Federation.

The project takes a novel approach to teaching Americans about Central Asian
cultures. Using face-to-face contact with cultural ambassadors from Central
Asia, it exposes U.S. audiences to information about Muslims and Islam that
is sensational without being sensationalist.

For further information and for educational resources, please see
http://www.harrimaninstitute.org/programs/central_asian_events.html.

International Affairs Building, Mail Code 3345
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
USA

Tel: 212-854-9713
Fax 212-666-3481




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Studies