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Over 750 Iraqis Participate in Unity 2008 Academies
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At American Voices' July 2008 Unity Youth Performing Arts Academies in Erbil and Suleimaniya, over 750 students were involved in our two 10-day programs and day workshops in Kirkuk
The Unity program in Iraq expanded this year to feature two ten-day programs in Suleimaniya (July 6 to 15) and Erbil (July 18 to 27). The results far exceeded our expectations as over 750 old friends and new faces came together over a three week period to work with a U.S. faculty of 10 in Music, Theater, Dance and Film courses designed for young performing artists. Significant was this year's expansion to include students from Kirkuk, Mosul, Khanarqeen and Basra in addition to increasing attendance from Duhok, Koya and other cities in the Kurdish region.
As in 2007, there were significant donations of music scores to eleven institutions ranging from Basra to Duhok, as well donations of over 25 musical instruments and boxes of supplies directly to needy students and their home institutions.
There were several gala public concerts in Suleimaniya, Erbil and on Zagros and Newroz television. All concerts were broadcast live throughout Iraq and on satellite. At the Suleimaniya gala, hundreds of prospective audience members were turned due to lack of seats in the hall and the four-hour concert was performed to a standing room only audience. In Erbil, over 1500 attended our music and dance galas.
The Unity Academy offered classes in Hip Hop, Ballet, Jazz and Step Dancing, Children's and Adult Theater, Classical music for strings, winds, brass and piano and Jazz.
American Voices would like to thank the Kurdistan Regional Government, the U.S. Embassy Baghdad, The Governorate of Erbil, KRG Ministry of Culture, Kurdistan Save the Children Foundation and our corporate sponsors: Austrian Airlines, Alfred Publishers, Zagros Airlines, Falcon Group Iraq. We would also like to thank the many supporters who donated to our Arts of Iraq drive in May.
For a complete record of our project, please visit our Project page: http://www.americanvoices.org/projects/2008/unity
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