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Dance or die?
In a precedent of this type, the festival will take place this year, through live transmission technology on the citerne.live platform, from today until December 1. It hosts shows from the theaters of Beirut, Geneva, Madrid, Berlin, Toulouse and Tehran, under the title Local Cities, Global Bodies, after the festival took off the stage of “Stern Beirut” (Karantina) in the previous session as a platform for host artists. Today, however, due to the lack of support and crises in the country, the “Stern Beirut” theater and its equipment have been dismantled and may be sent to Germany, after it was intended to remain a meeting place for artists, dancers and musicians, and a free theater space. Omar Rajeh, founder of the Maqamat Dance Troupe and the Baybod Festival, says that with the establishment of “Stern Beirut” in 2019, he came up with the idea of moving theater into virtual and webcast shows. Today the same conditions were imposed and the transformation of “Citrine Life” into a living idea, since the spectator from any part of the world will be able to reserve a ticket “online” (one euro only) if the Lebanese banking systems allow them to pay it. Otherwise, Rajeh ensures that the audience can communicate with the curators of the festival through social networks, to give them the opportunity to see the performances.
From the Noctiluca show, Yara Boustany (Nader Bahsoon)
The festival, which has hosted nearly two thousand dancers and choreographers in recent years, presented more than ninety shows by designers from different countries around the world, and produced around 41 shows, which the public will not be able to attend in person, without kisses, no guests, no lockers, no full seats, no moments. Silence reigns over the theatrical space that marks the beginning of the show. But the public will be able to see the opening show, which will be broadcast from Geneva, inside the houses of Beirut, on the rooftops of Singapore, the belts of Beijing, the neighborhoods of Tehran, the streets of Madrid … They will be able to see the shows live at the same moment, listen to the tired breath of the dancers and see their bodies. That floats in the space of the theater and floats in front of their imaginations, in a unified moment, desires, thoughts and questions get into the hearts of the spectators.
The insistence on the celebration of the festival carries in itself political dimensions that reinforce the idea of survival, continuity and culmination of the life process, and moving towards change through work, as confirmed by Rajeh, who adds: “In recent years we could having sat waiting for the support of a ministry or union, but we did it. It is that we put a specific vision before our eyes, and we worked towards it. Today it is being completed from France, so dance continues to be a language that reconstructs bodies from all cultures ”. He points out that seeing the festival as a “Maqamat” group is derived from heritage to translate it into contemporary forms at the level of dance. The festival honored Abdel Halim Caracalla in previous sessions as well as the late German contemporary dance teacher Bina Bausch, reinforcing the idea of modernity and heritage. Consequently, the theater’s orientation towards live streaming technologies and the digital world is itself a new trend in the art world. Is it possible to change the scene? In this context, Rajeh responds: “We really are on the edge of another world in representations. Either we destroy all the legacies in art or we build on what is currently underway.”
Presentation program
This is how Omar Rajeh wants this year to continue dancing despite the rubble that afflicted everything, including the bodies, and to raise issues about the body’s relationship with crises and disasters, and to ask about gender and ecological concepts, about the fall of the individual and then regeneration, as well as the routine life and the myths that are born with us and we live them. And the influence of the media. This year’s performances represent a springboard for all these concepts, within a busy schedule. The artists were chosen for this session, according to the criteria of openness to the directions and privacy of the dancer. Therefore, the festival has the theme: Architecture of a body in ruins, or theme ‘Building destroyed bodies’. In addition to the contemporary dance performances, there will be workshops, dialogues and film screenings “online”.
On opening night (today – Q: 20:00 Beirut time), the audience will have a date with the Swiss band Cie Alias and the show Normal, which presents the idea of everyday life and what it stores in terms of autumn and renewal. Before that, the performance will be preceded by a speech, led by festival directors Mia Habis and Omar Rajeh, accompanied by dancer Peggy Oleslgers, who together with Omar and Mia contributed to developing the plan and direction of this session, and also They are accompanied by 11 guests participating in the festival, who will share their concerns about culture, society, dance and human relations.
As for the twenty-sixth (Q: 20:00), I will broadcast from Tehran a presentation titled Maha. The latter is based on one of the Persian myths that considers a dancer still present in human souls today. The Iranian dancer believes that life always goes from the smallest to the largest, from the smallest virus to the largest huge explosion, always changing to steal stability and tranquility and transform humans into unknown creatures. After the presentation, there will be a panel discussion entitled “Mesa Cartes Sur” that will discuss the nature of the relationships these days.
On the third night (11/27 – 8:00 PM), we will have an appointment with the press program. According to the director of the show, Pierre Regal, the press plays with the image of modern man, both in his enormous insignificance and in his mysterious complexity.
The following night (November 28 – Q: 20:00), we attended the Manufacture Sérielle, presented by a group of artists and dancers from Berlin, dealing with a hypothetical idea that answers the question “What if we travel to Beirut? ? ” On the 29th, a session will be held to discuss the “theme” or theme of the festival under the title “Building the broken body”, and the theme of teaching dance in Lebanon with Nadera Assaf and others. The discussion opens a window on methods of inspiration, motivation and march towards new possibilities in the future. It will focus on answering “the questioning of the body in moments of crisis and disaster, questioning the remaining possibilities, weaknesses, resilience or rebellion”, followed by the dance of Oecumene.
It hosts shows from theaters in Beirut, Geneva, Madrid, Berlin, Toulouse and Tehran.
And since the hub is Beirut, the festival concludes with the Lebanese dancers, Yara Boustani and Khansa. Yara explores through her show Noctil 30ca (11/30 – Q: 20:00) the possibility of re-taking over a layer of wildlife on the surface of the earth, by forming a disciplined society, through force of life and dynamic sparks that penetrate the unknown Lebanese dancer, to reconnect with her body.
On December 1, the dancer Khansa performs her performance Oyunu, inspired by the forbidden culture of Kutchik that flourished from the 17th to the 19th century, within the “harem” of the Ottoman palaces. Through the gaze of a dancer, Khansa delves into a musical experience punctuated by traditional songs, electronic music and belly dancing, and explores controversial themes: masculinity, homosexuality and Islam.
Among the documentaries on the festival map, is the documentary Be Sideways, where dozens of contemporary dancers from Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Morocco form a team that undertakes a film tour that begins in the mountains. from Chouf, passes through Amman and Ramallah and ends in Jerusalem. Talal Khoury’s “El Mediterráneo” will also be screened.
The wave of change that hit the world was reflected in the participating works this year. There is sure to be something new that will be presented to viewers this time, what will the online dance experience be like? Will it build on this experience at the time of the pandemic, which sets a new concept for performances right now and enhances opportunities for dancers to spread their culture around the world? Questions that experience will answer.
new project
The founder of the Maqamat group Omar Rajeh moved to Lyon, France this year, with the aim of developing artistic, cultural and creative projects. The group, founded by the Lebanese choreographer in 2002 in Beirut, was born with the aim of promoting contemporary dance concepts in Lebanon and the region. In addition to creating the International Dance Platform BIPOD-Beirut, and Takween, which is an intensive training program, created the “Lemon Forum”, a performance platform that supports artists from various Arab countries.
After moving to France, Rajeh confirms the magnitude of the differences between the two countries on a technical level: “There is a theater crisis in Lebanon”, adding that the interest of those involved in France is very great and there is no room for comparison. As for future works, Omar Rajeh embarks on a new dance experience, whose focus will be the philosophy of love, based on the poems of the Sufi mystic Jalaluddin Al-Roumi. Moroccan artist Ghalia Ben Ali will accompany him on the show, and he is also preparing for a solo dance performance. “We are governed by action, change and dream. We have to work to dismantle the bodies and make them combine with each other,” Rajeh concluded. In “Pipod 2020”, we will see mangled bodies dancing, but they have no choice but to continue.
* “Beirut International Contemporary Dance Festival – PayPod 2020”: from today until December 1, through the citerne.live platform
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