Lisa Urkevich. Ancient Music and Dance of Arabia: A Continuous Tradition

Bio

Dr Lisa Urkevich is a leading expert on music and heritage of the Arabian Peninsula and the author of numerous publications, including Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar (Routledge). She has lived in and undertaken fieldwork in the region for almost three decades. Urkevich is a professor and head of the Department of Music and Drama at the American University of Kuwait and also the General Editor of the College Music Symposium.

Ancient Music and Dance of Arabia: A Continuous Tradition

Music-making and dance traditions have been part of Arabian heritage since time immemorial, but research into the extraordinary age and continuous extant patterns of these arts has been neglected. The Arabian Peninsula is among the first inhabited areas of the world, as archaeologists have determined humans were in region at least 88,000 years ago, making Arabians among the earliest specimens of homo sapiens outside of Africa. Over these many millennia, throughout disparate communities residing in this immense land, music and dance, often featuring females, has played a significant role. This presentation will discuss instruments and performances, as depicted in images on ancient rock art, along with the extensive tradition of these art forms among Bedouin culture.