Angela Aldebs invites to an evening of art and discussion about the Middle East

25.10.2021 1 Like 0 kommenttia

Angela Aldebs is a Syrian dance artist who is currently working for the dance pedagogy master’s programme at Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy. She is one of the organisers of the Middle Eastern Evening, taking place 4 November, an event for those connected to or interested in the Middle East and Middle Eastern cultures. Read our Q&A with Aldebs.

Angela Aldebs is a Syrian dance artist who is currently working for the dance pedagogy master’s programme at Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy. She is one of the organisers of the Middle Eastern Evening, taking place 4 November, an event for those connected to or interested in the Middle East and Middle Eastern cultures. Read our Q&A with Aldebs.

Can you tell us about your background and how you ended up working at the university?

I’m an artist with a BA in dance from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in Syria where I graduated in 2018. I came to Finland in 2019 and got involved in a play directed by Jussi Lehtonen at the Finnish National Theatre called Undocumented Love. Through Jussi our working group had the chance to visit the Theatre Academy in 2020. An event on antiracism was organised at the academy where we talked about our experiences of living and making art in Finland. In that event I met Eeva Anttila who came up with the idea of creating a project about the Middle East, which I’m currently working on. The aim is to increase awareness about Middle Eastern art and culture in the university community and outside the organization, as well. The project also tries to give support to Middle Eastern artists in developing their craft and learning about Finnish culture, and to provide them information and opportunities for working in Finland. Corona made it difficult to organise any events or workshops for the project, but we finally got to create and set a date for the Middle Eastern Evening event.

What is the Middle Eastern Evening about?

It is a forum for those who are connected to or interested in the Middle East and Middle Eastern cultures to meet, to network and share artistic and life experiences. There will be a panel discussion on ways to develop the international art scene in Finland, as well as 2 plays, 4 musical events and 2 presentations. The artists and presenters involved come from Finland, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Palestine.

What other projects are you currently involved with?

Since March 2021 I’ve been involved with the Ella project where I help teach Finnish to children who are non-native speakers. It is a research project that investigates how we could teach language better with embodied language learning and through the arts, such as dance.

The Middle Eastern Evening takes place at Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy Thursday 4 November at 4pm. Free entry.