When an Arab American community center brings an Egyptian poet to perform a 1000-year-old epic, sparks fly. The result is a familiar American tale: parents trying to pass on cherished traditions and language, while their children are at home in a world of McDondaldÃs and MTV. With mesmerizing imagery, humor and warmth, Tales from Arab Detroit blends voices, poetry, song and dance into everyday stories of cultural conflict and resilience within the largest Arab community in North America. Meet the storytellers and artists, old and new: from debkeh dancers to a hip-hop artist, from a fiddle-playing bard to an Arab American rapper. Attend the celebration of a Lebanese wedding, and enjoy the rhythms of Yemeni dancers in a neighborhood park. Hang with the Warren Street Boys and root for the Fordson girls basketball team, as you explore the often contradictory ways a community weaves new traditions with the threads of old.
