To celebrate Arab American Heritage Month this April, Syracuse University’s Arab Student Association and Otto’s Empire Belly Dance Troupe have teamed up to organize the first-annual Middle Eastern Gala at SU.

The gala will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium and will feature traditional Middle Eastern foods and presentations on the region’s history and culture, as well as performances and music.

Mohanad Alsado, president of ASA, said he has wanted to do something like this large event at SU since he last traveled to Syria before the civil war there.

“When I was in the Middle East,” Alsado said, “every week at least there was always a gathering, and I wanted to bring that to SU.” That motivation led to the partnership between Otto’s Empire Belly Dance Troupe and ASA, including gala promotions through social media outreach and flyers on campus.

The gala will feature food including fattoush — a salad with toasted or fried pieces of khubz — hummus and pita, as well as catered desserts. Attendees will also see presentations about the history of the Middle East, view works from local artist Nada Odeh and watch performances from the traditional Middle Eastern music group, Layalina Band.

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“We want to embrace the stuff Arab Americans have contributed to popular culture,” Alsado said. He added he’s promising a music playlist featuring artists like French Montana, who is Moroccan.

For Lorena Kanzki, president of Otto’s Empire Belly Dance Troupe and co-host of the gala, the music is something she’s excited to see.

“It’s really a beautiful thing to hear music from my culture being played here at this large university venue and to see so many of my peers dancing to it,” she said. With celebrations like these, Kanzki and Alsado said they hope to unify all students on campus by sharing Middle Eastern culture.

Kanzki said it was important to her to promote the visibility of Arab and Arab Americans during Arab American Heritage Month and felt that this opportunity was a great outlet for that.

“When we realized that April was Arab American heritage month, then we realized that we didn’t see much programming being done to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month so it was very important that we did something,” Kanzki said.

Nada Odeh, a Syracuse art educator and artist originally from Syria, said she hopes the gala will shine a light on aspects of Arabic culture, including the food and music, among other elements.

After obtaining her master’s degree in museum studies at SU, Odeh said she feels there is more that can be done on campus for Arab and Arab American students.

“I feel like there should be a center,” she said. “There should be a center that people can have to display the artifacts, things from the culture.”

Members of ASA and Otto’s Empire’s Belly Dance Troupe said they hope that through ticket sales, the event can help create something like Odeh’s vision and expand their organizations. Alsado said one-third of the event’s proceeds goes to ASA, one-third goes to Otto’s Empire and the remaining third will be donated to the local refugee settlement organization, Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment (RISE).

With the money and the momentum from the gala, both Kanzki and Alsado said they hope to see the gala continue in future years.

“This is just beginning. Hopefully, in years to come, we will be able to do more, branch out more, get more departments involved and get the school more involved,” Kanzki said. “I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

Community members can buy tickets online through the event’s Facebook page, First Annual Middle Eastern Gala, or at Schine Student Center Box Office.

Published on April 24, 2019 at 10:14 pm