Dancing in Palestine: Samar Haddad King in conversation with Katie Baer Schetlick
Katie Schetlick interviews Samar Haddad King, artistic director of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre, a New York dance theater company. They discuss King’s exploration of Palestinian identity and family history in her new work, which is being made with a group of dancers at [...]
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I sit here waiting in Jordan for my flight that departs in five hours. Waiting, waiting-the perfect time for reflection if you don’t let too much expectation get in your way. It is a time to let other things soar despite feeling static. So, I just sit here and let my thoughts and [...]
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Last year a musician and friend Diego Alamar approached me about conducting a dance workshop at the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center, a school for children with special needs.
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The other side.
I arrived in Palestine late on Tuesday night. After entering and exiting the doors of nine different means of transportation (subway, AirTrain, elevator, plane, taxi, bus, van, mini-bus, taxi), I was glad to walk through the final door to find Samar. We sat [...]
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Since Samar’s departure in December many things have changed: almost all of the dancers now have smart phones, which facilitates us watching videos or reading emailed notes during rehearsal; everyone has downloaded Skype- for both social and professional reasons- where we hang out in a new sort of virtual apartment; Samar has become [...]
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This is the time of year in Palestine when contemporary dance companies from around the world come to participate in the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival. The festival is part of a network of contemporary dance festivals that for the past five years have taken place in Lebanon, Syria*, Jordan, and [...]
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The spices I brought back from the Middle East while on tour last Spring have not been enough to satiate my hunger for the experiences I had while in Ramallah. Their aroma fills my mind immediately with the memories of welcoming faces, passionate dreamers, and open spirits…
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“a terse history resonates with an inner tuning, filling me with the reflections of all listening ears”
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The Huffington Post
Read Jennifer Edward's feature about YSDT's newest work, Bound, featuring interviews by Samar Haddad King and Zoe Rabinowitz.
