Mithkal Alzghair / Compagnie Hek-Ma (Syria/France)
Displacement
- Thursday Oct 11 / 20:00, Ponec – dance venue
The choreography of Syrian dancer and choreographer Mithkal Alzghair is set against a background of two conflicting emotions. On the one hand, the hope of salvation in the form of escape and, on the other, the depressing idea of the impossibility of return. This work, comprising two parts – Alzghair’s solo followed by the performance of three male dancers – grew out of an analysis of two dynamics, specifically forced movement and restricted movement.
At the same time, the choreographer asked himself several general questions: What does an involuntary movement look like? What happens to a body that is forced to remain stationary? The whole concept of the work is deeply rooted not only in Syrian cultural heritage and its traditions, but also in the artist’s authentic personal experience, in his story: “The wait before the departure, exile – these are things I experienced physically. I had to leave behind a territory that had been created by an entire community of which I was a member, which also meant leaving behind habits, relationships, and commitments. The change in the political and social context in my country led to accidents, extraordinary incidents, and catastrophes that forced me to move physically, emotionally, and intellectually.”
The choreographer used the footwork from the dabke folkdance, which is typical throughout the entire middle east, embellishing it with the use of real and symbolic gestures. In this way, he evokes all of the various aspects associated with the situation of migrants, and, at the same time, through the way he has transformed this traditional dance, highlights the themes of adaptation, building a new context, and regeneration. Displacement is based on a specific heritage, going beyond the boundaries of cultural differences, in order to explore the conditions of life in exile.
Mithkal Alzghair (b: 1981) is a Syrian choreographer and dancer. As a child, he was a member of an amateur ensemble in his native village. He later studied theatre at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Art in Damascus, where he started to attend the dance course that had just been opened. Later, in Beirut, he met European artists from the contemporary dance scene and started the master’s degree program for choreography at the Centre Choréographique National de Montpellier. Most recently, Alzghair has been collaborating with the Italian ensemble In-Occula on the European CRACK project. He created Displacement in March 2016, and received the first prize at the international Danse Élargie competition organized by the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and v Paříži and the Musée de la Danse – Centre Chorégraphique National de Rennes et de Bretagne.
No language barrier.
Duration: 60 min.