After two years of continuous training with a number of leading Egyptian and international dancers and choreographers, the Cairo Contemporary Dance Workshop Program presented the resulting project, “Open Doors, performed last Thursday at a packed Rawabet Theater.
The workshop was organized by Laurence Rondoni through Studio Emad Eddin, in partnership with L’association descent-danse. The aim of the workshop was to enhance the contemporary dance scene in Egypt by offering the young Egyptian artists tools and perspectives for development.
Thursday’s performance presented a group of short pieces by 15 artists. Each represented a journey into the personal world of the dancer/choreographer, offering a glimpse of their hopes and dreams, joys and frustrations, while highlighting their prowess and dance methods.
While many of the dancers/choreographers relied primarily on their bodies to translate their ideas, a few navigated through other elements, interacting with taped film projected on screen, or presenting their entire contribution in the video form.
They
Ahmad El-Gendy’s video piece “They stands out in both style and content. In it, a man and a woman dance together in a damp round arena. The slippery surface allows their bodies to interact in unusual ways.
The languid movement of the two bodies is filmed from three different angels, presented simultaneously on three screens. The three parallel presentations force the audiences to question as well as engage with the corporal stories. The fast moving screen on the left contrasts with the languid physical interaction in the other two screens which changes the beat and overall texture of the performance.
Submission
Mounir Saeed’s group piece “Submission shows six dancers attempting to revolt against the restrains and limitations of the physical body.
This two-movement piece starts with melodic music, and slow movement close to the ground. While leisurely advancing toward the audience, the dancers’ broken movements reflect their inner struggles and discomfort. In the second part, music erupts, lights blare, and movement takes on more vigor and intensity in trying to defy limitations and gravity, yet the struggle persists. They fail to break free from their bondage.
Lighting plays a significant role in expressing the inner tension of the performers, exaggerating their strain through their reflected shadows. Saad Samir’s lyrical lighting enhances the memorable final tableau: six backlit silhouettes reach the edge of the stage panting and staring at the audience.
The highly energetic dance piece ends in stillness and intense eye contact as if asking the audience: “What about you? What are you doing about your submission?
Nesf
Lighting also plays an integral part in Aly Khamees’ “Nesf (Half). The male dancer, who is softly lit, magically transforms when his arms appear, in shadow, with wings. Moving to the soulful music, he marches into a flow of confined movements. He appears to be waiting for some kind of divine hope that never comes. He approaches the audience and sits on a chair, in potent silence.
The splendor of Khamees’s performance is broken when he decides to articulate to the audience what he has already expressed more eloquently with dance. “It feels tight, he says, “I am cramped here.
Five Minutes?!
The biggest crowd-pleaser of the evening was “Five Minutes?! by Nadine Emile.
Emile and Mounir Saeed stand still on stage engulfed in projected television static. Emile speaks deliberately, asking the audience if they are expecting the performers to perform, and unhurriedly informs the eager spectators that she and her co-dancer “are not going to dance. The fundamental question of the performance revolves around creativity. It offers ideas for what would be considered “creative and what is cliché.
Emile is unapologetic about refusing to entertain the audience. They just stand with the static and their shadows for a whole five minutes. The stationary dance seems to end, yet the light changes and, instead of the television flicker, a live camera placed on the stage behind the performer reflects the audience’s reaction, engaging them more forcefully in the performance.
This original, seemingly straightforward, five-minute “static dance was the most technologically demanding piece of the set. Its ingenuity stems from challenging the expectations of the audience, and daring not to dance in a dance showcase.
Fifteen new technically competent dancers were officially born this week in Cairo. In addition to Emile, Saeed, Khamees, and El-Gendy, there is Mahmoud Vito Rabeay, Salah El-Brogy, Ahmad Ezz, Mona Gamil, Mohamed Fouad, Sherine Hegazy, Mohamed Hamdi, Ezzat Ismail Ezzat, Raafat El-Bayoumy, Maha El-Maraghy and Shaymaa Shoukry.
This new generation of dancers and potential choreographers has the talent and aptitude to reestablish the rather dry Egyptian dance scene.
“Open Doors was the group’s last performance in Egypt. Up next for the group is French festival C’est comme ca! in Picardie this October.
