Festival Accès Asie, in collaboration with the Partenariat du Quartier des Spectacles, is pleased to present its outdoor event Wind of Asia, on Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26 th of May, at Jardins Gamelin. During these two days dedicated to discovery, we invite the curious and passersby to celebrate Asia with some exceptional performances, at Jardins Gamelin.
On Friday, May 25th , from noon to 2pm, music will be at the center of this daytime event. The percussionist Patrick Graham offers a solo performance inspired by Japanese percussion, immediately followed by Lamia Yared, singer and oud player, specialized in ancient Syrian and Ottoman repertoire, in collaboration with Nathaniel Huard and Patrick Graham.
On Saturday, May 26th , from 3pm to 6pm the stage is handed over to four dance troupes. The artistic troupe Phoenix (Hua Yun) – Chinese dance group – and PAMANA ngLuzViMinda – a Filipino music and dance group – will perform. Opening and closing, Ya Eshta – Middle-Eastern dance collective – and Simork – Iranian dance troupe – offer up their own performances as well as discovery workshops.
Come celebrate Asian Heritage Month and discover the richness of Asian communities from Montreal at Jardins Gamelin.
A native of Lebanon, Lamia Yared grew up in Montreal. Over the past ten years, she has travelled to Lebanon, Greece, and Turkey, where she has studied with music’s greatest masters and refined her practice of oral traditions from the Middle East, among them the oud and oriental singing techniques. Her musical journey simultaneously embraces influences from Sephardic, Ottoman, and Syrian repertoire. Since 2013, Lamia has founded l’Ensemble Zaman, returning to original sources of the traditional repertoire of the Levant. Recipient of several grants, she has performed at various festivals such as the Festival du Monde Arabe, Festival des Cultures Syriennes de Montréal, and Festival des Traditions du Monde à Sherbrooke, as well as in Montreal’s maisons de la culture. (www.lamiayared.com)
Nathaniel Huard discovered Arabic percussion over ten years ago. He learnt popular rhythms at the Darbuka (Arabic drum) with Trevor Salloum in British Columbia. He later discovered Riqq (Arabic tambourine) and classical Arabic music with the master Michel Merhej Baklouk, Libanese percussionist from the Rahbani Brothers and of the singer Fairouz. It is in Aleppo (Syria) that he heard for the first time Muwashahat, a form of sung poetry and learned Arabic music composed of rich and complex rhythms. Nathaniel Huard is active on the Montreal music scene, shifting from Arabic, to Turkish, to Persian, to Greek and Jewish music, with groups such as the Ensemble Zaman, Ensemble Al Zahawi, Essence Yéménite, Ana Masri and Amiri Amiri.
Patrick Graham, a Canadian based in Montreal for many years now, shares his art in multi-percussions with audiences. His playing combines a vast pallet of influences: from Japanese percussion to Mediterranean tambourine through Irish and Indian rhythms, all the while maintaining a constant fascination for new and invented sounds. Patrick played, toured, and recorded with numerous Canadian and international artists such as Trifolia, Small World Project, Autorickshaw, Trichy Sankaran, Ben Grossman, La Nef, Ensemble Caprice, Constantinople, Apollo’s Fire, On Ensemble, Kaoru Watanabe, Glen Velez, Ganesh Anandan, Carlo Rizzo, Kohei Nishikawa, and Tetsuro Naito, as well as with dancers Hideo Arai, Geneviève Martin, Tomomi Morimoto, and the dance company Sinha Danse. (www.patrickgrahampercussion.com)
Founded in 2000, the artistic troupe Phoenix (Hua Yun) is the largest Chinese dance organization in Montreal. Composed of over 50 artists incorporating different disciplines such as dance, singing, music, and martial arts, Phoenix unveils the wonders of Chinese culture and local Chinese communities throughout Canada. They have performed over a hundred shows in the greater Montreal area, Ottawa, Toronto, Sherbrooke, and Quebec. Their flagship event is the Chinese New Year’s Gala, presented each year in Montreal. (www.huayuntroupe.com)
Ya Eshta is a dance collective celebrating and showcasing the rich beauty of Middle Eastern dance arts. Based in Montreal, the group was founded by Angelica Jordan in 2013. The dancers perform for weddings, corporate events, parties, and Oriental evenings. They have performed at the Festival Libanais, Al Helm 10th Anniversary, Festival des Cultures, etc. In addition, they offer workshops and classes. Their choreographies have won gold, silver, and bronze medals at the AQDO (Association Québécoise de Danse Orientale) competitions in 2014 and 2015. (www.yaeshta.com)
Created in Montreal in 2015, the Simork dance troupe was established by Nimâ Machouf, who is also its choreographer. Together, they invite us to travel to Iran, the country of origin of the artists. Throughout Iran, the customs, costumes, food, language, music, and landscape varies. Through classical, folkloric, and Bandari (from the South of Iran) dance styles, Simork paints a portrait of this multiculturality, between tradition and modernity.
Founded in Quebec in 2005, this Filipino folkloric singing and dance company counts no less than 40 dancers and performers. Its multigenerational vision represents and shares the diversity of Filipino culture within Quebec and Canada’s cultural mosaic. The collective sensitizes its young members to their identity. With its strong, vibrant choreographies and remarkable costumes, PAMANA ng LuzViMinda hopes to pass on the rich heritage of its cultural origins through scenic and theatrical productions. (www.pamanacanada.com)
Lamia Yared – Singer and Oudist
Nathaniel Huard – Percussionist
Patrick Graham – Percussionist
Troupe artistique Phoenix (Hua Yun) – Dance Group
Ya Eshta – Dance Collective
Simork – Dance Group
PAMANA ng LuzViMinda – Dance Group