TARAB
Atash / Ulduz Ahmadzadeh
In Arab and Iranian cultures, "tarab" is that moment of rapture where a body and music unite en route to ecstasy and delighted sensuality.
Ulduz Ahmadzadeh turns the spotlight onto the unexplored and sometimes forbidden dances of the pre-Islamic cultural heritage of the Middle East. This dance and music, the subject matter of this piece, have been subjected to multiple forms of Euro-colonial and Islamic translations, in the course of which the women, who were its performers, have been reduced either to sexualised oriental dancers, or completely erased.
Accompanied by the rhythms of percussionist Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, seven dancers embody this ancient movement and bring it into dialogue with contemporary dance, without overlooking the colonial dynamics between the two.
Presented by Kaaitheater x Les Halles
Production: عطش ATASH عطش
contemporary dance company|Co-production: Tanzquartier Wien.|Supported by: City of Vienna, Austrian Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sports| Residency: Dampfzentrale Bern| Concept & choreography: Ulduz Ahmadzadeh|Concept & scenography: Till Krappmann|Composition & live music: Mohammad Reza Mortazavi|Dance & choreography: Desi Bonato, Naline Ferraz, Flora Virag, Luca Major, Yiannis Tsigkris, Xianghui Zeng, Jassi Murad|Light design: Jan Wielander|Production: Mascha Mölkner|Scenography: in collaboration with Alice Ursini