JEDDAH, 25 November 2007 — Soorya, an international nonprofit organization with chapters in 22 countries, will hold a major cultural extravaganza here on Friday with the participation of prominent artists.
“A fusion of contemporary and traditional dance with focus on Carnatic, Hindustani and Western classical music will be the highlight of this year’s Soorya Festival in Dammam,” said Dr. Abdullah Al-Saihati, chairman of Saihati Group and chief patron of Soorya Sargam Saudi Arabia. “Integration through culture is the main motto of Soorya.”
Being the largest cultural society of Asia, Soorya’s programs are staged in many countries across the world including the Gulf. “Its programs include light and sound shows, plays and stage shows on subjects of social relevance,” he explained.
“The entire program in Dammam is supported by Kerala Tourism and the government of Kerala as part of their efforts to promote Kerala tourism and culture in Saudi Arabia,” Rafeek Younus, president of Soorya in Saudi Arabia told Arab News.
Samudra Dance Society of Thiruvananthapuram with Soorya Krishnamoorthy directing the program and M. Jayachandran as the musical director will present Friday’s musical and dance fusion. Mattannur Shankaran Kutty will be on the chenda (a typical Kerala percussion unit) while Attukal Balasubramanyam will be on violin. “The team will arrive in Dammam from Bahrain after staging a similar program in Manama,” said Younus.
The artists will then leave for Kuwait to conduct another program on Dec. 2.
“We are planning to issue permanent Soorya viewer membership and set up a Soorya viewer forum in order to organize future programs,” said Younus, adding that the forum would include prominent cultural and media personalities in the Kingdom.
Interested persons may contact [email protected] or mobile 050.217.8522.
