The country’s first ever season dedicated to new performances from Arab artists will present a series of UK premieres from choreographers from North Africa and the Middle East, as part of the second International Dance Festival Birmingham (IDFB) in April and May.
Curated by Eckhard Thiemann, the Outspoken season will feature major figures on the international festival circuit like Nacera Belaza (Algeria / France) and Omar Rajeh (Lebanon). New discoveries from countries such as Morocco, Egypt and Iraq will also be presenting new works, many of which have never been seen before in the UK.
Many of the artists are highly influential in their home countries, working not just as choreographers but also as artistic directors of festivals, dance centres and international contemporary dance projects in their countries of origin, but most have never performed in the UK before.
Eckhard commented “There is a fast emerging dance sector in these countries representing the diverse, dynamic and cosmopolitan nature of contemporary Arab culture through movement based work, however much of this remains largely unknown about in this country. I was keen to work with IDFB to share some of this incredible work with UK audiences for the first time.”
Outspoken will present the breadth of dance work being produced in these areas of the world – from minimal, Sufi-influenced spiritual works, to challenging political commentary. The works are all very individual, neither conforming to conventional notions of life and art in Arab societies, nor confirming to Western styles and aesthetics.
Alongside the performances, which take place in The Patrick Centre at Birmingham Hippodrome and Ikon Eastside in Digbeth, a packed programme of debates, discussions and films will help audiences to contextualise the work and to delve deeper into some of the issues surrounding these works.
David Massingham, Artistic Director of DanceXchange and Co-Artistic Director of the Festival said, “I felt it was important to include some totally unique new work within the festival, and to offer a completely different view of diversity. I wanted to show a different side to these countries, which are so often in the media for difficult reasons, in order to challenge people’s preconceptions about the sort of work that might be made there.”
For more information on the Outspoken season, and to buy tickets, go to http://www.idfb.co.uk/
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