1. Middle Eastern and North African Performing Arts
An Overview

2. Major Performing Arts of the Middle East and North Africa
Music
Dance

3. Middle Eastern Music Major Characteristics
According to Islam, music was once considered “malahi”
Islamic philosophers like al-Kindi worried about its influence on behavior
Religiously acceptable uses of music include:
Calling Muslims to pray
Chanting verses from the Qu’ran
Hymns for special occasions and holy days
Dhikr

4. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Major Characteristics (continued)
The music is generally highly improvised, with a single melody played by all instruments simultaneously
Vocal and instrumental music is generally highly ornamented, featuring trills, glissandos, or short secondary notes
Vocal music predominates

5. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Major Characteristics
The primary instrument is the oud
The most common musical form is the suite, a grouping of individual pieces
The best music is thought to inspire a trancelike, higher experience of life
Maqam (or a system of scales) are used as the basis of all melodic creation

6. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Major Characteristics
There is a strict hierarchy observed between types of music and performers, with talented amateur musicians usually coming from a higher social class; professional or popular musicians are typically looked down on

7. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Major Instruments
Tar – 6-stringed long-necked, fetted lute
Santour – trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer
Darbucca/Dombak/Zarb – single-headed drum made from fired clay
Setar – 3- or 4-stringed small, long-necked, fretted lute
Kamancheh – 3- or 4-stringed spiked fiddle
Oud –8-stringed lute with no frets
Zornah – wind instrument

8. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Genres
Khandan – the highest form of Middle Eastern music, used primarily in chanting the texts of the Qu’ran
Musiqi – classical and folk forms of music that have less prestige than the religious Khandan

9. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Genres (continued)
Maqam – generic term for mode, or system of composing melody, in Arabic classical music (aka Dastgah and Gusheh in Persian and mugam in Azerbaijan
Dastgah – the mode or scale of a piece in Persian music

10. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Genres (continued)
Radif – in Persian classical music, the body of music, consisting of short pieces, memorized by students, and then used as the basis or point of departure from improvised performance
Gusheh – subdivision of a dastgah, and smallest constituent part of the radif, in Persian classical music

11. Middle Eastern Music (continued)
Genres (continued)
Rai – modern popular music developed in Algeria and Morocco that combines traditional singing styles and Arabic modes with Western-style synthesized accompaniments

12. Middle Eastern Theater
Arab theater did not fully develop until the 19th century CE
Arab Theater Genres
Khayal al-zill – shadow puppet theater that originated in the 10th century CE
Oral Storytelling

13. Middle Eastern Theater (continued)
Arab Theater Genres (continued)
Ta’ziyah - a passion play in Shi'a communities during the month of Muharram to commemorate the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussain, at the battle of Karbala in AD 680.

14. Middle Eastern Theater (continued)
Persian Theater Genres
Naqqāli - one of the oldest forms of the traditional theater, the performer recounts stories in prose often accompanied by music, dance and decorative, painted scrolls.
Ta'zieh - traditional religious theater in which the drama is conveyed through music, narration, prose and singing.

15. Middle Eastern Theater (continued)
Persian Theater Genres (continued)
Kheimeh-shab-bazi - traditional puppet theater.
Siah-Bazi - Iranian folk comedic theater that features a blackface, mischievous and forthright harlequin that does improvisations to stir laughter.

16. Middle Eastern Dance Genres
Raqs sharqi - it is more commonly performed by female dancers but is also sometimes danced by men. It is a solo improvisational dance, although students often perform choreographed dances in a group.

17. Middle Eastern Dance (continued)
Genres (continued)
Raqs baladi - many different folkloric dance styles, danced socially by men and women of all ages in some Middle Eastern countries, usually at festive occasions such as weddings.
Ghawazi - traditional performative dance of the Egyptian Dom people
Çiftetelli - Turkish folk dance found in the core territories of the former Ottoman Empire.

18. Middle Eastern Dance (continued)
Genres (continued)
Persian dance
Chain or line dances
Solo dance
War or combat dances
Ritual or spiritual dances
Assyrian folk dance
Khigga - a form of line dancing where individuals hold hands with the line following around the dance floor.

19. Middle Eastern Dance (continued)
Genres (continued)
Turkish Dance
Bar
Halay
Horon
Zeybek

20. Middle Eastern Dance (continued)
Genres (continued)
Al-Ayyala – a popular dance in Oman and the United Arab Emirates performed during religious and national festivals and weddings. It involves chanted poetry, drum music and dance, and simulates a battle scene.