Al Ayyam

Long before founding her company, Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre in 2005, Samar Haddad King had been devoted to representing Arabs in contemporary dance. Ms. King, born of a Palestinian mother and American father, knew she wanted to use dance as her medium because she felt that Arabs were in need of positive representation in the West through arts and culture. She is adamant about redefining the Arab image in the West. Ms. King, states, ‘after 9/11, I had to choose between studying politics or contemporary dance. I chose dance because it is closer to the people… it has the ability to reach them because everyone has a body and thus has the ability to express themselves through movement.’ After 9/11, many Americans were focusing on the Arab world, especially on “extremists and terrorists”. At this moment there was an even more urgent need to portray the humanity of Arab culture, which King achieves through incorporating Arabic text, dress, themes and music within her choreography. Ms. King continues, ‘I saw the way Arabs were being treated in the United States… I felt like any of my family could be accused of being a terrorist, simply because they were Arab, so I decided to focus on changing this widely held misconception. Through dancing, and through the work I create and the themes I discuss, I believe that I have succeeded thus far.’

Because of her mother’s Arab heritage and close ties to the region, Ms. King was especially interested in performing and working here in Ramallah. Of her time here, she states ‘The essence of contemporary dance is built on the idea of freedom, of breaking barriers and boundaries and jumping beyond them... the Palestinians are craving this artistic exchange, they are hungry for it. This contemporary dance festival in Ramallah is an expression of the restlessness of their circumstance and their victory for life and freedom. The occupation did not kill their will, and this is the most important thing… Seeing how things are here has impacted all of us immensely. We are most definitely going to carry these stories back to New York and the United States; we want to share these stories with the world.’

Though she has traveled regularly to the Middle East her whole life, visiting family and staying once to study Arabic, Ms. King acknowledges that she could never claim to represent Arabs as a whole. While her personal scope of understanding of the Arab culture continues to expand, she hopes to continue to share this experience with her company, who’s mission it is to perform and teach regularly in the Middle East.

In her work, Ms. King stresses the importance of dialogue between religions and cultures, and brings together dancers from varied backgrounds to form her company. Alongside this successful combination Ms. King has a confidence that garners the faith of all of those who work with her- from dancers, heads of theaters, directors and other dance companies, to the public and the media.