And then, everyone dances. Dance People—the new piece by Omar Rajeh and Mia Habis (seen at the opening of the Kunstfest Weimar as its German premiere)—was billed as an interactive dance performance. When, halfway through the show, over a hundred people begin dancing within a square marked out beforehand with red tape, that billing becomes reality. The nine members of Company Maqamat—founded in Beirut in 2002—bring the dancers together: first in a circular dance sequence featuring minimalist choreography, and then in a wild, chaotic scramble, while Rajeh calls out: "We are in a different space—a space that belongs to no one." It is a dialogue with oneself, and with everyone else, all at once.
DJ Mathias Delplanque provides the accompanying electronic soundscape. Alongside oud player and ...
