The Eastern Art club has helped bring music and dance from all over the Middle East to campus, such as Persian musicians Mohammad Nejad and Latif Bolat, as well as Saren GaoWa, a Mongolian dancer and vocalist. The group also helped bring a former governor of Herat, Afghanistan to give a lecture.
But celebrities have not been the only ones to entertain U students through the club.
In the past, members of the club have learned Middle Eastern cultural music and dances, donned traditional attire and performed at the U as well as other venues ranging from an elementary school in Sandy to audiences overseas.
Justine Sheedy, a graduate student in ballet, has performed in St. Petersburg, Russia; Beijing, China; and London, England, on behalf of the club. In London, Eastern Arts members organized two concerts: one for the Iranian community and one for the Afghan, said member Lisa Hoyt, a ballet graduate student. There, club members did not only share culture and entertainment around the world, but also lent a helping hand. After the Afghani concert in London, the club donated its proceeds to help build elementary schools in rural Afghanistan.
“I have such an opportunity to learn about other cultures,” through Eastern Arts, said Sheedy, adding that she had received “a better perspective about other forms of dance.”
On Nov. 8, the club will continue the tradition of spreading Eastern culture with its annual World Dance concert, a showcase for various members of the club as well as performers from the community. This year, Eastern Arts will help present Ahmet Luleci’s Collage Dance Ensemble, a Boston-based Turkish folk dance group, when they perform “Dances of the East” at Kingsbury Hall.
The event was organized through a partnership with the Associated Students of the University of Utah, Salt Lake County Zoo Arts and Parks Program, Utah Arts Council, Salt Lake City Arts Council and Western States Arts Federation.
Tickets for the concert cost $5, which is cheaper than the $35 a person would have to pay if they wanted to see a Turkish folk dance at an off-campus venue, said Eastern Arts club advisor Katherine St. John.
The Eastern Arts club charges students less because of its collaboration with outside groups, which contribute funds to make up the difference in pricing. Funding also helps pay for club events, which can cost $5,000. November’s dance ensemble will cost $10,000 because the club will be paying to bring 16 people from Massachusetts to Salt Lake City.
However, entertainment isn’t the Eastern Art’s only priority.
“We think it’s really important today that the general population learns about these parts of the world,” St. John said.
St. John said she feels that “there are a lot of stereotypes out there” and wants to bring a more realistic presentation of the Middle East. Hoyt said bridging the gap and clearing up cultural misconceptions between Utah and the Middle East is a major club contribution.
“In Utah, people have this modesty issue. When people think of (dancers in) the Middle East, they think, oh, belly dancers,” Hoyt said.
But from her experience in the club, Hoyt has found that many Muslim-based cultures can be just as modest, and shares that clarity with her fellow Utahns through dance performances of Eastern Arts.
The club, which has about 30 members, also holds lectures, workshops and other presentations throughout the year, sometimes collaborating with other student groups like the Muslim Student Association. Students interested in joining the club can call St. John at 485-5824.