Today’s Enlightening Entertainment will be presented in Arabic, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Halo, peaceful viewers. On today’s Enlightening Entertainment, we invite you to enjoy the performances of the Iraqi National Troupe for Folkloric Arts. The Iraqi National Troupe for Folkloric Arts was founded by Mr. Haqi Al-Shibli, dean of the Iraqi Theater, in 1971. Since its establishment, the Iraqi National Troupe for Folkloric Arts soon became a popular international touring group and a real representation of Iraqi art.

The Troupe participated in shows in over 70 countries including in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North America. In 1980, they performed at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA and at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France.

Mr. Fouad Thanoon is the director and lead choreographer of this accomplished troupe. He won Iraq’s Innovation Award three times as a designer and director of folkloric presentations, among other Iraqi and international honors.

The Troupe was founded in 1971. Its goal has been to disseminate and deepen the folkloric arts inside and outside Iraq. It has participated in many Arab and international festivals, and visited up to 70 Arab and European countries. It achieved many successes on the Arab and global levels,

And also won many awards such as the award of Kroujentua Temple in Italy in 1981. The Troupe depends on the heritage Iraq’s original folklore encompassing all regions of Iraq.

I trust the art that Troupe presents – The National Troupe of Folkloric Arts, which is a symbol of culture that is fully eligible to be an ambassador of Iraq in this field. I am sure you will enjoy and know what expertise Iraq has, and the depths and mysteries that there are in the Arab conscience and Arab original art.

Now let’s enjoy a performance by Iraq National Troupe for Folkloric Arts. The first performance is “Arabic Dabkat.” This is the traditional Iraqi music and dance representing masculine characteristics. It originated in the southern, northern, and western regions of Iraq.

O family… Hey family… My beloved left. O family… My beloved left. The one our field was lit up by, O my beloved, Come back darling. My beloved My eyes watch him day and night. O Father O white gazelle in the field Lord of Heaven is above. I swear to be the server of your family, And all the higher land to be my darling’s. O white gazelle in the field Lord of Heaven is above. I swear to be the server of your family, And all the higher land to be my darling’s.

The next dances are called “Al-Mahafiif” and “Al-Hajal.” Al-Mahafiif describes the process of tea-making, and Al-Hajal is about the process of wearing the Khulkhal, one of the traditional Iraqi costumes.

This Iraqi National Troupe represents Iraq from south to north, because Iraq is a multi-ethnic country, including Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen people. These dances you've watched represent a complete image of Iraq from north to south.

I do really like it because I’m Egyptian, so the Iraqi culture is not that different from mine. We do share a lot of culture, traditions and we do share the language and everything, so I do like Iraqi culture.

Actually, we feel a very strong feeling for our country.

My name is Ali and I’m from Iraq. I’m in capital of Iraq, in Baghdad. And today was excellent about the Iraqi show. All kinds I love it, and I really enjoyed tonight, this excellent show.

This is of course to transfer the sympathy and to transfer the beautiful feelings and also the love to Iraq and to the people of Iraq.

Warmhearted viewers, it was a pleasure having you with us for today’s program. Please tune in to Enlightening Entertainment tomorrow, Wednesday, January 26, for part 2 of our two-part series featuring the Iraq National Troupe for Folkloric Arts. Words of Wisdom is up next after Noteworthy News here on Supreme Master Television. May your life be filled with joy and grace.