Syrian dervishes to miss sound Festival over visas

SOUND, Scotland’s annual festival of new music, has been forced to cancel a planned performance by one of its headline acts after a group of dervish dancers from Syria were refused entry to the UK.
The Dervishes were due to appear at sound. Picture: ContributedThe Dervishes were due to appear at sound. Picture: Contributed
The Dervishes were due to appear at sound. Picture: Contributed

Ensemble Al-Kindi and the Whirling Dervishes of Damascus had been due to appear at Aberdeen’s Lemon Tree on Friday as part of the month-long festival, which opens on Wednesday.

But the festival organisers today announced: “Sound regrets to inform that musicians and dancers from Syrian group Ensemble Al-Kindi have unfortunately been unable to obtain visas to travel to the UK for their performance during Sound festival on Friday.

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“Although this is disappointing news, we are pleased that Al-Kindi founder and kanun player Julian Weiss will still be performing at the Lemon Tree on Friday. We apologise for any inconvenience.”

Speaking earlier this week, the festival’s director, Fiona Robertson, told The Scotsman: “Amid the news coverage of the troubles there we can easily lose sight of the wonderful creativity that continues to flourish in Syria.”

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