The Piano Is Her Weapon of Change in Saudi Arabia
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By Tania Bhattacharya
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WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
Abeer Balubaid is Saudi Arabia s first professional female pianist, rising at a time the kingdom is taking baby steps toward cultural reforms.
By Tania Bhattacharya
April30, 2021
Abeer Balubaid is Saudi Arabia’s first professional female pianist, rising at a time the kingdom is taking baby steps toward cultural reforms.
But can she and the students she’s training to follow in her stead truly break free of the social shackles that continue to bind women in the country?
A half-filled auditorium with socially distanced audience members was buzzing as Al Farabi, a local band, played in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a few months ago. Then, another musician was welcomed to join them. The only woman onstage, she sat at the piano and began to play, her face hidden by a fierce mane that danced as her hands flitted across the keys. The songs were her compositions one a