Fez - 1200 years old and the celebrations continue.

The 1200th birthday of the city of Fez is being celebrated in places far from Morocco and in a variety of ways. There are conferences, dinners, lectures and even a musical production.

The Association For 1200 Years of the Foundation of the City of Fez will present a free event, the World Première of an original live music and dance spectacular, “FEZ: Queen of Cities,” at UCLA’s Royce Hall, 325 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, this Saturday, November 15, at 8:00 p.m. This event celebrates the 1200th anniversary of the city of Fez and the designation of the city as a UNESCO world heritage site. Kamal Oudrhiri, President of the Moroccan American Cultural Center of Los Angeles,who serves as Artistic Director of “FEZ: Queen of Cities,” said after the performance at UCLA’s Royce Hall, the show will embark on an International Tour, including stops in New York, Morocco and Paris.

Rehearsals for the music celebration

The full concert and musical, “FEZ: Queen of Cities” features a multi-ethnic and multi-religious cast including musicians from Europe, Africa and Asia with American dancers from diverse ethnic groups. The performance surveys the diverse history of Fez, the site of the world’s oldest University, and city that was founded by Muslims, Jews and Christians, Arabs, Sub-Saharan Africans, Berbers and Europeans. The show also reinforces the role that women play and have played historically in Islamic cities and culture.

The cast of master musicians will include: Fatah Abou of Aza, Momo Loudiyi, Abderrahim Amarani, Ali Alaoui, Moultaqa Salam and A.J. Racy and dancers from the Venice, CA based blue13 dance company with choreography set by Achinta S. McDaniel. Dancers include blue13 principals Kory Keith (of Los Angeles) as The City of Fez; Arun Mathai (of Hollywood) as The People of Fez; Marisa Cleghorn (of Venice) as Kenza; D. Valentine (of Monterrey) as Idriss and Erin Dwyer (of Studio City) as Fatima. Ensemble dancers include: Tammie Johnston, TJ Cruz, Kyrra Richards, Kelly Allen, Christopher Fox, Joelle Cosentino and Jade Haviland.

This event is presented in celebration of the 1200th Anniversary of the city of Fez, Morocco, considered the spiritual and religious center of Morocco. This event is made possible by grants from the Association 1200ième Anniversaire de la Fondation de la Ville de Fès and the Social Science Research Council. “FEZ: Queen of Cities” is being presented in conjunction with the conference, “Fez, Morocco, Crossroads of Knowledge and Power: Celebrating 1200 Years of Urban Life” being held November 14 – 15,at UCLA and UC-Riverside.

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news