[slideshow]Photo by Goffredo Puccetti/The Gazelle;Photo by Goffredo Puccetti/The Gazelle;Photos courtesy of Goffredo Puccetti[/slideshow]

Students and families of faculty members gathered on the steps of the campus amphitheater, enjoying the cool evening breeze as they sang along to a faculty rendition of Pink Floyd's We Don't Need No Education. With Assistant Professor of Political Science Adam Ramey as frontman, the band Really Loud and Overly Educated led the university's Mardi Gras Carnival in a musical opening on Feb. 17.

The carnival was part of a ten-day series of jamming sessions, master classes and performances, featuring Artist in Residence Enrico Santacatterina from Italy. The celebration had Santacatterina and RLOE singing classics like Hotel California, Summer of ‘69 and Knocking on Heaven’s Door.

Ramey co-hosted the evening with Visiting Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Goffredo Puccetti.

“Madri Gras is celebrated differently everywhere around the world,” said Ramey, reflecting on NYU Abu Dhabi's take on the holiday. “Since [Santacatterina] was on campus, we thought it’d be great to host an event on this occasion, use the space around us and bring the different residential buildings, the staff and their family members together to have fun.”

“Previously, a professor used to host a small event in his apartment and other students would host their own celebrations,” added Ramey. “Goffredo and I thought it would be nice to do a big celebration and focus on the musical aspect of Mardi Gras.”

Mardi Gras, which literally translates into Fat Tuesday in French, is a Christian tradition stemming from Europe. It is a large celebration held before Lent, the 40-day fasting period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.

For freshman Marie Claude Hykpo, the celebration was a big part of growing up in a school in France.

“In primary school until middle school, we used to dress up in costumes,” said Hykpo. “With my family, we ate a bunch of different crepes and anything that was fat with a lot of meat. It was one of the biggest feasts of the year.”

The university event, which was a joint endeavor between Residential Education and the NYUAD music program, was well attended, with approximately 70 people in the audience. During a break between performances, the Capoeira Club did a short routine and an interactive dance session called Samba Johada, inviting the audience to learn a few Samba moves.

Freshman Natalie Kopczewski stayed throughout the concert and said that the atmosphere had a very positive vibe, but that the concept of Mardi Gras was not made clear to her.

“I thought Mardi Gras was just a random name they gave to the concert, I would love to have known more about the context of the celebration,” said Kopczewski. “But it’s nice to see so many festivals being held on campus. It just reminds you of the diverse cultural backgrounds that people here come from.”