The Aegean Sea links southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia. It has been the cradle of many civilizations throughout the history and it enjoys a unique blend of European and Asian cultures. Turkey and Greece, that share respectively the eastern and western coasts of the Aegean, enjoy the remarkable historical and cultural heritage of the Aegean. Despite their many disagreements, Turkish and Greek people have a lot in common, including music and dance, thanks to their common heritage.
Boston University's Turkish Student Association (BU-TSA) organizes "The White Olive: Spirit of the Aegean Coasts" on April 10th at the TSA Performance Center in order to introduce the cultural heritage of the Aegean coasts. The event features musical and folkloric performances by three groups. Anatolia, a western Massachusetts-based group performs Turkish folk songs. Kemence, a Boston-based folk dance ensemble, performs traditional Anatolian folk dances. Terpsichore, a New York-based professional dance group performs traditional Hellenic folk dances and songs. The event also features a slide presentation of attractions from Turkey and Greece.
A similar show titled "The Musical Heritage of Asia Minor" organized by the BU-TSA last year had attracted more than 220 people including Greeks, Turks, Americans and members of various international communities in Boston. The event had received the "Best Event Award, 1996-1997" of the Boston University. BU-TSA is a strong candidate for the "Best Event Award, 1997-1998" with the White Olive. More than 400 people are expected to attend White Olive.
BU-TSA aims to foster interactions, mutual understanding, and friendship among Turkish, American and other communities of the Boston University through organized events and social gatherings.
For more information about the event, please visit our Web site at http://acs.bu.edu:8001/~tsa/whiteolive/