Yaa Samar! reaches to west through modern dance

By: Dina Al-Wakeel Translated by Nyla Jabaji and Nadia Haddad King

Can language of the body produce a dialogue between people of different cultures willing to break the barriers put up between the east and the west? This has been tried by YAA SAMAR! Dance Theatre, who emphasizes the importance of finding a method to communicate between the cultures of east and west.  With this vision you will notice modern movement executed by the company members who are trying to correct the image of Muslim women in the Western mind and to insist that they live normal lives.  This company from the United States joined the Amman International Modern Dance Festival. The director of this company, Samar Haddad King, is an American with Palestinian/Jordanian descent. In Amman she presented different works to an audience roared in response to King’s portrayal of an everday woman cleaning her house, eating her breakfast then getting ready to go out. The dancer places layers of fabric on her body, the last being the hijab (muslim woman head cover).  Ms. King said afterwards, “The purpose of this piece is to show that the girl is the same from the beginning to the end, she never changed, even when she put the hijab on.” Also ,”When I was college bound, I chose an artistic path instead of a political one. I have tried to present Arabs in my dances in their daily living and tried to change the distorted image the West has that tends to be one-sided and borders on negative.” King also pointed out “A discussion is going on in the United States about the hijab.  They are saying that women are not free if they wear the hijab, but I have friends that wear the hijab and they live as I do with the same freedoms as I have.” In another piece, the company presented a portrait between people of different religions and how faith is a common denominator that brings them all together.  In this dance the audience sees three dancers who represent many religions.  Every dancer is carrying a bucket of ice, struggling with their faith alone and their faith related to the others’ throughout the 17 minutes.  However, at the end the dancers reach a state of understanding. “Because I have roots in the Middle East, I am very aware of the religious conflict that is happening right now. I’m also aware that in the past these religions have lived harmoniously. That is the impetus behind creating this work, that there is an understanding between the three religions of the Middle East.” And Ms. King added that the message this company is a call to all people to focus on issues that might bring them together rather than pull them apart.   This company that is composed of 9 members is trying to touch on subjects that are educational by using different media to explore storytelling.  The company is heading to Ramallah to perform the same show.  The Amman Dance Festival began Thursday, April 19^th to May 5, 2007.  It was coordinated by Haya Cultural Center with the help of the Ministry of Education.  There will be 12 countries presented and 17 performances and some of the companies for the first time this year are Britain, South Africa, Serbia, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Brazil, and others. They are all here to celebrate international dance.  They are trying to join the different countries and artists