Celebration of CulturesCelebration of Cultures
2008 Showcases

The Celebration of Cultures announces its 7th season and invites Bank Group staff and families to participate in this popular performing arts series that showcases their cultures and talents . The series comprises of eight Regional Showcases and a final Global Showcase. The finale is a Global Showcase in early December in the MC Atrium in Washington with representative selections from each of the Regional Showcases.

SCHEDULE of REGIONAL SHOWCASES at the IFC (2121 Pennsylvania Ave, NW) and H Building (600 19th Street, NW) auditoriums, 12:30 to 2:00pm. All families of the WBG are invited to attend:

October 22 - South Asia Region (H Auditorium)

Among the performances are a fashion show of South Asian outfits by non-South Asian colleagues, an enactment of the Perehara festival from Sri Lanka, classical dances from India,- Kathak and Bharatnatyam. Instrumental music includes the rubab from Afghanistan and the South Asian drums- the tabla. Songs include folk song from Nepal, songs from Bollywood in Hindi, songs in Bengali, Bhojpuri, Kannada and folk song in Sindhi from Pakistan. From the India office the folk dance Bhangra by staff on DVD, from the Bangladesh office a music video of the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's song and poetry and from the Aghanistan office a video clip of a true incident illustrating Afghan hospitality enacted by staff. This is the first time that Sri Lanka and Nepal are represented through live performances.

October 29 -Latin America and the Caribbean Region - LAC(IFC Auditorium)

We will have a fashion show of traditional outfits from the region, a santur recital, songs in Arabic and Farsi, belly dancing with veil and cane, Khaleeji dance, dance from Iran by the Silk Road Dance Company, Tunisian folk dance and Farsi and Arabic poetry. There will also be a not to be missed performance of the dancing dervish from Egypt rarely seen in the US. This comes to us courtsey of the Egyptian Embassy.

The showcase is a partnership of the Celebration of Cultures Organizing Team, the MNA region, the Arab Club, the Iranian Community and the Embassy of Egypt, who have worked together to make this event possible.

November 5 - Europe and Central Asia Region -ECA (H Auditorium)

Among the performances are dances from Russia,Turkey and Central Asia and songs from Russia, Serbia, Spain and Turkey along with classical vocal performances, piano recitals and a fashion show of Central Asian jewelry and scarves by Pangea.

The opening performance is by a 30 member ensemble from the World Children's Choir(WCC). The Choir co-founded by a Bank spouse in 1990, brings children ages 4-18 together and teaches them to be citizens of a multicultural world by introducing them to music from around the world. It has several divisions including an opera ensemble, bella voce and a concert choir. The artistic director and co-founder is a Julliard trained soprano Ms Sondra Harnes.They are holding auditions and are looking for children from the Bank family to join. More information is at www.worldchildrenschoir.org. Parents interested in having their children join should check out their performance.

November 12 - Middle East & North Africa Region- MNA (IFC Auditorium)
November 19 – Africa Region -AFR (H Auditorium)
November 25 - Multiregional (IFC Auditorium)

FINAL GLOBAL SHOWCASE Wednesday, December 10, (MC Atrium); 4:00-5:00pm

To PARTICIPATE: Those interested in performing should fill in and submit the attached Registration Form to tsharafudeen@worldbank.org. Field staff should send in DVDs of performances. Certificates will be awarded to all participants.

To participate:

Deadline for entry to a particular showcase is a week before the showcase. Staff on mission, who cannot make it to a particular showcase can appear in any showcase or in the spillover multiregional showcase.

For information contact: Tara Sharafudeen at tsharafudeen@worldbank.org, or 202-473-2373. DVDs are to be submitted to her.