Event
SELMADANSE Joanie Block and Dancers presents EMERGE DANCING
My name is Joanie Block, the founder and artistic director of SELMADANSE, a 501c3 Non Profit Boston based Modern Dance Company that seeks to inspire the creative and intellectual spirit through the experience of movement, music and film. Our work is driven by the belief that one small shift of perception can stimulate a ripple of insights with the power to change lives and the way we view our world.
Having witnessed a blanket of darkness descend on America over these last several months, my choreography has taken an urgent detour away from other projects. In their place is Emerge Dancing, a multi-media performance created and performed by Jewish and Muslim dancers, composers, writers and musicians, the goal of which is to highlight the beauty of our cultures and our shared desire for love and acceptance. Dance and music can reach us in ways that ordinary language cannot. When communication becomes difficult, when people stop listening and impenetrable walls begin to form, art can open doors. It is a way in.
The Jewish and Muslim artists who bring their enormous talent to this production have awakened me to our striking religious, historical and cultural parallels. Arabic and Jewish music, chanting, video art and stories from the Quran and Torah come together in a poignant expression of what is still possible at a time of fear and derision. If musicians, dancers and actors of both traditions appear on stage together (an unprecedented performance experience in Boston) there will also be Muslims and Jews in the audience witnessing, for example, an acrimonious conversation between Sara from the Torah and Hajar from the Quran which dissolves into mutual recognition as they discover the pivotal experience they share as mothers. In another dance, a Jew and Muslim sit on chairs back to back, apprehensive and unwilling to look at one another until a subtle and courageous evolution of trust unfolds.
I am very excited that 3 Syrian refugee dancers will be performing Dabke, a traditional Arabic form of dance in this production. In addition, Moroccan, Jordanian and Israeli artists will also perform.
In a Q&A following the performances audience members will have an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with each other and the performers.
Dancers: Joanie Block, Emily Bloomenthal, Julie Leavitt, Che Madyun, Soumaya MaRose, Melinda Rothstein, Debbie Stringham.
Musicians: Abdulkader, Ahmad, Anne-Marie Codur, Yoel Genin, Mahmoud, Mitch Gordon, Benyamin Lichetenstein, Khalil Madyum, Boujemaa Razguibou, Joel Segel, Layth Sidiq,Lorel Zar-Kessler.
Video Artist: Clarissa Duque
Playwright: Bernard Horn
Actors: Rena Baskin, Hamida Hirani
Lighting Design: Stephen Petrilli
Costume Design: Brooke Stanton
Conceived and Choreographed by Joanie Block
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LocationGreen Street Studios (View)
185 Green St.
Cambridge, MA 02139
United States
Categories
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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