TARAB

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.