The Tambourine my partner in diplomacy and disruption

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[Laughter]

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so

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[Laughter]

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the wreck has been my best friend for

life we’ve been making music and

breaking stereotypes together

for decades now you know a best friend

should be diplomatic

they should comfort and encourage talk

to you but also listen

but a best friend should also disrupt

you

challenge you and make you examine your

actions

rick surprises people it is not as

simple as its reputation the

preconception of the tambourine is this

um

amateur accessory instrument played like

this

like this well this

is the arab classical

tambourine mine is made with the skin of

fish

mother of pearl brass symbols

it’s fine and thin like the arabic word

rick denotes and it’s capable of making

these

filigree level phrases such as

textures stocks stacks

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and rick is my tool for the craft of

music

music is our tool for diplomacy

and disruption diplomacy and disruption

i help give visibility and advocate

for arabs these are my people that are

often

misunderstood even vilified portrayed as

exotic sultanic fantasy

in films and movies or as erratic

dangerous and irrational fanatics in the

news

so diplomacy creates a dialogue

rec makes people curious and perhaps

they’re interested in

the technique or they are captured by

the music or maybe

they’re propelled by the rhythm that

dances you maybe like

like this

or like this or even

however they dance this is a

participation with

our culture and so they are becoming

familiar

with us and they are feeling our music

and our movement they can identify

with the performer this creates the

potential

for future advocates and allies

so diplomacy creates the dialogue

while disruption interrupts

a monologue

rick is bold and startling so jostled by

this

combination of sounds a person would

have to stop

talking and listen so their rhetoric is

paused

and they take in they absorb and listen

to the other statements

this creates a moment a moment when

they can reassess previous biases

and question these recurring stereotypes

like these uh alienating depictions that

we heard in

the news or the movies the the genie

the extremists the other

rick has given me a tool to advocate

for my culture a way to give positive

visibility to my people

i perform assemblies

in elementary schools i conduct dance

seminars

and dance workshops i record albums

and video tutorials giving college and

university lectures even writing a play

and all of this is to help disrupt

stereotypes all of this has helped me

diplomatically dissuade

xenophobia thanks to the rick

i’ve learned this art and this is the

true virtue

and power of art the art that makes

people curious

and fosters a dialogue and the art that

can

disrupt the rhetoric prompting people to

reconsider their biases

the tambourine it engages with the ears

and it resounds through the dancing body

and gives someone the chance to listen

past the preconceptions and

experience the the details

this diversity but also the uniqueness

of the fingers that are making the music

and this all creates the potential

for friendship

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the potential for friendship

thank you

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you