—Salley Koo, American violinist
used to employ theater in his work as a psychologist. “Before we had psychiatrists we had storytelling and the theatre is a place where we can open up. It’s very therapeutic.” The department recently expanded its offerings to four sharply defined yet interdependent programs in performing arts, multimedia journalism, television and film, and communication. Festival NEXT, says Melki, reflects this multidisciplinary nature. The department’s new philosophy was also echoed in Reflections—IWCS’ collection of 22 cross-disciplinary events on equality and human rights that combined music, dance, theater, fashion and an art show, as well as panel discussions, workshops, and outreach and education programs. Spread over four months and ending in March 2018, the last of the four residencies, Salaam,
Watch full video: http://comm.lau.edu.lb
“Before we had psychiatrists we had storytelling and the theatre is a place where we can open up.”
— Hector Aristizabal, Colombian theater director and psychologist
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& alumni bulletin
suffered injustices because of their gender. “Women are always judged. Sometimes you feel you’re in a maze. A woman is always multitasking and must excel in all that she does,” Ali said. “With Sarah Fadel’s choreography and our LAU dancers, we were able to make the struggles of women more concrete to the audience.” Reflections also featured a genderfluid fashion show by LAU student Aniss Ezzedine that aimed at advocating diversity and equality, as well as an art show that incorporated paintings, photographs and ceramics, a gif and a short film. Such interdisciplinary events are highly instrumental in promoting a renewed appreciation for the arts undisturbed by commercialization, says Egyptian violinist Saeid Kamal, who ran a workshop on the Arabic violin and performed with fellow musician Amro Salah on the last night of the Festival NEXT. “Commercial music has its place and purpose, but I love initiatives like this one that bring people together to create and enjoy music with artistic merit,” adds Salah.
VOLUME 19 | issue nº 3 | Winter 2018
“As a musician, you are always trying to absorb and transmit different parts of humanity.”
will kick off in February with the Apple Hill String Quartet and world-renowned clarinet player Kinan Azmeh. Earlier, in the fall, whether from the alley ways of Shatila Camp or the red carpet and limelight of the university’s Beirut campus, LAU artists found a platform to fight social injustice and gender inequality under IWCS’ umbrella. “I believe that all the art disciplines complete each other and I wanted to have everyone on board as much as possible,” says IWSC artistic director, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Seba Ali Ali. IWCS invited internationally acclaimed American violinist Salley Koo, whose first trip to Lebanon took her to the Shatila refugee camp where she and Ali played for Syrian refugee children, in collaboration with the NGO Basmeh and Zeitooneh. “As a musician, you are always trying to absorb and transmit different parts of humanity,” Koo said of her visit to the camp. “I feel more connected to and sad about children. They are so happy and alive, but then they live in a displaced situation, which is heartbreaking.” IWCS’s Reflections concluding fall program included a music and dance performance by Koo and Ali, a tribute to female composers whose talents