Mosaic Dance Theater Company presents "Alhayat Raksa" (Life Is a Dance)
Company:
Mosaic Dance Theater Company
Mosaic Dance Theater Company’s (MDTC) world premiere production of “Alhayat Raksa (Life Is a Dance),” centers around an Arab woman who, at the end of her life, resolves her conflicting emotions and resentments of having had to follow the traditional path for a woman of marriage and a family, instead of pursuing a career as a dancer. The work underscores the fragility of women’s rights and choices that we often take for granted. The story is told as a flashback of the woman’s life. The different scenes, through the music composed for them, present different styles of Middle Eastern dance: traditional folklore, elegant raks sharki (oriental dance), popular shaabi (street dance), and contemporary interpretive Middle Eastern dance.
Adapted from an original story idea by Tashira Wadiya, “Alhayat Raksa (Life Is a Dance” is directed by Morgiana Celeste Varricchio (MDTC’s Producing Artistic Director) and choreographed by Samara Adell (MDTC’s Artistic Director for Dance), with a commissioned score of original Arabic music composed by Maurice Chedid. The commission was made possible through a grant from the New Music USA Organizational Fund.
Performing are: Samara Adell, Morgiana Celeste Varricchio, Nina Brewton, Kendra Dushac McCarthy, Heather Panikkar, Kaitlin Hines-Vargas, and Tashira Wadiya.
Made possible by funds from the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and supported by New music USA's New Music Organizational Development Fund.
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