In May, 2019, Tiffany “hanan” Madera, Founder of Hanan Arts and the Director of the Festival and documentary, Havana Habibi, spoke at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies University of Chicago to present her film and work as part of the University’s Middle East History and Theory Conference.

Thomas E.R. Maguire, Ph.D. Associate Director for University of Chicago’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies explains the role of his department as supporting “interdisciplinary research, teaching, and outreach on the Middle East.” The annual Middle East History and Theory (MEHAT) Conference is the community’s largest scholarly event.  Maguire explained, “the Havana Habibi screening and workshop provided a refreshing arts and performance component to this year’s conference and allowed us to work with a variety of campus and community cosponsors:  Urbanity Dance Studio, Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality.”  He ended by saying, “The inspirational message of Havana Habibi showed us the depth, reach, and meaning of transnational cultural practices.”

Amina Dreessen, Department Assistant for the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, and bachata/salsa dancer described her experience of hosting Tiffany at the University of Chicago as, “illuminating.” Dreessen expressed that, “Tiffany is a very special individual in that she is able to operate expertly in multiple spheres: the intellectual, the physical, the spiritual, and the social.”  For the Conference, Tiffany discussed the history of Belly Dance and Cuban/U.S. relations with UChicago academics at a post-film discussion “as seamlessly as she demonstrated hip shimmies in her workshop the next day,” Dreessen mused. “She began her Beledi dance workshop by contextualizing it so that participants had an intellectual understanding of the dance, and she ended it with a social bonding exercise that allowed participants to connect with each other in the present moment.”  

Amina related further that, “As she told me, all of the spheres we move through have their own ‘languages,’ and each additional language we learn is a tool that allows us to connect to more people.  Ultimately, learning how to speak multiple languages allows us to be more effective in creating the positive change that we want to see in the world.  She is truly an artist and an activist who thinks on an enlightened and enlightening level.  I learned so much from Tiffany and am so grateful that she was able to grace Chicago with her presence!”

Ghenwa Hayek Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Modern Arabic Literature at University of Chicago offered these kind words from the visit: [Havana Habibi] is a profound meditation on the dynamism with which dance transforms individuals and cultures in ways they cannot anticipate and that continue to evolve, challenge – and move! – through time and space.