"an uncommonly deft combination of dance and verbal theater."

- Brian Seibert, The New York Times

non-static-photo-by-Antoine-Repesse.2 SMALL

Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT)'s mission is to create invigorating performance and education programs that expand access to - and promote understanding through - the arts.

yaa | ya (y+AH): to call or attract; often said before calling someone’s name to get their attention.

samar (‘sum’ + ‘are’): evening conversation, sleepless night, night of entertainment

VISION

YSDT believes art should be liberating, transformative, and accessible to all. The company operates out of the United States and Arab World and is committed to uniting diverse artists and audiences in the creative process.

HISTORY

Since 2005, YSDT has taught and performed in ten countries across four continents, and fostered the careers of over 50 emerging artists, with a repertoire of more than 30 original performances including solos, small ensemble and group works. New York City area performances have included venues and festivals such as: Baryshnikov Arts Center, Downtown Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce SoHo, Harlem Stage, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Queens Museum of Art, Teatro LATEA, and Whitewave Festival. Following eight years of NYC programming, YSDT established a secondary base in Palestine in 2012. The company has since developed groundbreaking methods of working across cultural and geographic borders which have been covered in Dance Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Hyperallergic, among others. Abroad, the company has taught and performed at international universities and festivals, museums, UN refugee schools, and site-specific locations throughout Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Jordan, Palestine, South Korea, and Tunisia.

Board of Directors

Abed Awad
Tohfe Beidas
Kristine Covillo (President)
Samar Haddad King
Ryan King (Treasurer)
Jessie Mandel
Sana Odeh
Zoe Rabinowitz (Secretary)
Nathan Trice
Dave Welty

About

Years

Cities

Countries

Continents

“Samar Haddad King deftly melds styles from hip-hop and ballet to social dance and acrobatics.”
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

People

Samar Haddad King

Artistic Director

Samar Haddad King, Artistic/Founding Director of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT), graduated cum laude in choreography from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program under the tutelage of Kazuko Hirabayashi. With YSDT, King has created over 30 original works which have been performed in 10 countries across 4 continents. Awards and commissions include: Hubbard Street 2 – National Choreography Competition; Palest’In & OUT Festival (Paris, France) – Prix des Jeunes Créateurs Palestiniens pour la Diversité des Expressions Artistiques award; and the Palestinian Museum (Palestine) among others. In 2018 King was awarded La Fabrique Chaillot residency at Chaillot – théâtre national de la danse (Paris, France) for the development of Last Ward. She regularly lectures on her work at institutions including TanzKongress (Hanover, Germany), University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia), and Columbia University Center for Palestine Studies (New York, New York), and co-authored a chapter on dance in the Arab World with Sandra Noeth for the 2nd edition of Contemporary Choreography (Routledge, January 2018). Samar recently finished choreographing the musical theatre production We Live in Cairo; Book, Music and Lyrics by Daniel Lazour and Patrick Lazour and produced by American Repertory Theater and is currently a Fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU.

Location: New York City + Palestine

Zoe Rabinowitz

Executive Director/Performer/Teacher

Projects with YSDT: 3 x 13 film, Last Ward, The Playground, Against a Hard Surface, bound, Frozen Belief, Hiyaat Noor, Lahom fil Hiyaat, Layered Identity, Liquid Renaissance, Skirt Dance, The Store, Still/Moving, Ummi

Zoe Rabinowitz graduated from the Walnut Hill School for the Arts before earning her BFA in Dance from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, with additional studies at De Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in the Netherlands. As a freelance performer, Zoe has worked with artists and companies such as INSPIRIT, JoAnna Mendl Shaw/Equus Projects, Kristina Isabelle, MBDance, The Movement Party, Nia Love/Blacksmith’s Daughter, Urban Bush Women, and Anne Zuerner. She was the Associate Choreographer for We Live in Cairo (2019, American Repertory Theater, Boston), and her own work for stage and film has been presented throughout the US, and abroad in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico, and South Korea. In recognition of her work as a leader in the non-profit field, Zoe was awarded a 2020 NYFA Emerging Leaders Fellowship and selected as a New York Community Trust Leadership Fellow in the same year.

Location: New York City

Yukari Osaka

Performer/Teacher

Projects with YSDT: Against a Hard Surface, Among the Ruins, bound, Frozen Belief, Hiyaat Noor, Layered Identity, Skirt Dance, The Store, Last Ward, The Playground, 3 x 13 film

Yukari Osaka is originally from Kobe, Japan. Yukari began her dance career at Sadamatsu-Hamada Ballet in Japan. She has danced for Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre as a founding member since 2005. Osaka has appeared in various dance/theatre festivals and productions including Dance Biennale Tokyo (Japan), Downtown Dance Festival (NY, USA), Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival (Palestine), opera Les Contes D’Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera and musical Phantom among others. She is also a Director of ENTERART a dance performance project based in Kobe, Japan. Yukari recently co-directed a performance at the renewal opening ceremony of the most traffic-filled Sankita Plaza in Kobe, Japan.

Location: New York City + Japan

Mohammed Smahneh

Performer/Teacher

Projects with YSDT: bound, The Playground, Against a Hard Surface, Last Ward, 3 x 13 film, Gathering:{Jenin}

Mohammed has won various break-dance battles in Palestine and been involved in many international and local projects including: Badke, a co-production between KVS, le ballets C de la B & A.M. Qattan Foundation and directed by Koen Augustijnen, Rosalba Torres & Hildegard De Vuyest (2013-16 Brussels, Belgium and international tours); Nomads Dance Camp directed by Dina Abu Hamdan with choreographers Jorge Crecis, Taoufiq Izzediou, and Samar Haddad King (2014, Jordan); Naji alli with Botega Dance Company directed by Enzo Celli (2009, Italy); Floor wars Battle champion (2012; Copenhagen, Denmark); The Playground by YSDT directed by Samar Haddad King (2013, Palestine and 2018, Belgium); and festivals in Spain and Greece touring Palestinian traditional dance (2004-2005). Mohammed is currently touring with B by Koen Augustijnen and Rosalba Torres Guerrero.

Location: Palestine, Askar refugee camp

Kristin Clotfelter

Perfomer

Projects with YSDT: The Store, Frozen Belief, Skirt Dance, Penelope, Lahom Haq, 3 x 13 film, Last Ward

Kristin Clotfelter co-directs Studio C Projects, a collaborative investigating intersections of movement, design and performance; is Associate Artistic Director of Barriskill Dance Theater School, and teaches dance at Duke University. Kristin has been a member of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre since 2005 and Susan Marshall & Company since 2011. Additional performance credits include: The Metropolitan Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, State Theater of Kassel in Germany, and Punchdrunk’s off-Broadway show, Sleep No More (as Lady MacDuff). She has been awarded residencies through Durham Independent Dance Artists, Tobacco Road Dance Productions, and Dance Omi. Kristin holds a BFA with honors and a minor in Visual Arts from the Alvin Ailey/Fordham University program and an MFA from the University of the Arts. http://studiocprojects.com/

Location: Durham, North Carolina

Samaa Wakim

Performer/Teacher

Projects with YSDT: non/static aesthetics, bound, Against a Hard Surface, Last Ward, 3 x 13 film, Losing It, Gathering:{Jenin}; teaching

Samaa Wakim graduated from acting department in Haifa University. She has performed in various local and international plays such as I am Yusuf and This is My Brother a co-production of the Shiber Hur -a Palestinian theatre group- and the Young Vic theater in London 2009; The Beloved, a co production of Shiber Hur and the Bush Theater in London, 2012; Exit, Khashabi ensemble Palestine, 2011-2012; acted and choreographed movement for Cabaret show at Khashabi theatre 2018; She also has acted in various film projects such as the social media video If I Go Back in Time, 2013 and In your absence 2014. Badke, a co-production between KVS, le ballets C de la B & A.M. Qattan Foundation and directed by Koen Augustijnen, Rosalba Torres & Hildegard De Vuyest 2012-2017; bound, with YSDT directed by Samar Haddad King 2014-2016. Samaa is currently working with theatre director Bashar Murkus on their first co-directing theatre dance piece.

Location: Palestine, Mi’ilya village, Gallilie

Arzu Salman

Performer/Teacher

Project with YSDT: 3 x 13 live, Last Ward

ARZU SALMAN Born in Izmir, Turkey, Arzu Salman grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina where he received his primary performance education from Piedmont School of Music and Dance. In 2018, Salman graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Ailey School & Fordham University, where he received a BFA in Dance and a minor in Communications. Salman received summer intensive training from The Juilliard School, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and The San Francisco Conservatory. Salman has had the pleasure of performing works by choreographers such as Clifton Brown, Tsai Hsi Hung, Monica Hocan, Evelyn Joy Hoelscher, Jiemin Yang, Sommer Ulrichson, among others. Salman joined Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre in 2019, where they participated in Samar Haddad King’s NYU CBA Fellowship. Salman is proud to be a teaching artist with YSDT and is looking forward to their performance debut with YSDT in Last Ward.

Location: Queens, New York

Yousef Sbeih

Perfomer/Teacher

Projects with YSDT: Against a Hard Surface, The Playground, Last Ward; Gathering: Jenin,teaching

Past: Yousef Sbeih is a Jerusalem, Palestine based dancer. He received a BA degree in Marketing & Business from Birzeit University (2015), and participated in Yante Youth, Art & Levante, I-Can-Move training of trainers program to become a Community Dance Trainer in 2014-15. In 2016 Yousef worked as a dance teacher at Sareyyet Ramallah as well as a trainer and Staff member in the production of AJAL performance in Berlin. He has performed in several productions including: Maqamat Beit El Raqs Dance week in chouf, Lebanon (2016), Intifada#3 (2016), Opening of the Palestinian museum (2016), Sideways Rain (2016), Smoked Fish (2015), Serendipity (2014). Yousef was an apprentice with Carte Blanche–The Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance in 2017.

Location: Jerusalem, Palestine

Amir Nizar Zuabi

Director and Writer

Projects with Samar Haddad King: Against a Hard Surface (YSDT), Last Ward (YSDT), Opening of the Palestinian Museum, Dry Mud, a visual concert (Shiber Hur); Azza (Shibur Hur) and The Lanterns of the King Galilee and Asmahan (Palestinian National Theatre el-Hakawati);Hoota (Sard)

Amir Nizar Zuabi is an award winning Theater writer & Director and Artistic Director of ShiberHur theater company, an associated director of Young Vic London, and a member of the United Theaters Europe for artistic achievement. Writing and directing credits include I am Yusuf and This is my Brother, In the Penal Colony, Alive From Palestine, Oh My Sweet Land, The Beloved,(co-produced by ShiberHur/Young Vic) Azza, West of us the sea, Mid Spring Musical, Dry Mud (ShiberHur), and Against A Hard Surface (YSDT). Directing credits includes: Samson and Delilah (Flanders Opera, Antwerp) Jidarriya by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (Edinburgh International Festival, Bouffes du Nord and world tour). Forget Herostratus, le Mallade Imaginer, War or More, Sneeze, Deep Sorrow, Fall Tale, When The World Was Green, The Lanterns Of The King Of Galilee, Taha, Comedy of Errors (Royal Shakespeare Company). Current: Currently Zuabi is writing a play for the National Theatre London and Artistic Director of The Walk.

Location: Yaffa, Palestine

Frequent Collaborator with YSDT

Muaz Al-Jubeh

Lighting Designer

Project with YSDT: bound, Against a Hard Surface, Last Ward

Muaz Aljubeh is a Jerusalem based, Palestinian lighting designer who has been working in the field since 1995. He was the technical director for Al-Kasaba Theatre and Cinematheque for almost 20 years and is currently the technical director for the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival since its founding in 2006. He has created light for more than 30 local productions, which have toured nationally and internationally. His work has been seen in notable theaters and festivals such as Tokyo Art International Festival (Japan), Carthage theatrical Days Festival (Tunisia), Young Vic Theatre (United Kingdom), The Avignon Festival (France), and the Institute De La Monde Arab (France). Currently, Muaz is touring Taha, Azza, Where Can I Find Someone Like You, Ali?, and Against a Hard Surface.

Location: Jerusalem, Palestine

Frequent Collaborator with YSDT

Devi Penny

Marketing Manager + Production Manager

Devi Penny is a brand+marketing strategist and creative producer with a formal fine art background. As a creative, Devi’s style is inspired by her New York City roots, as well as her aptitude for exploring world culture beyond the city limits. She has worked with both established companies and emerging brands to find their voice, and amplify their message through design that connects back to their most passionate consumers. She aims to help tells stories that celebrate and shift culture.

Location: Brooklyn, New York

People

“The YSDT dancers move like this often, tender yet aggressive; tenacious yet desperate. The body subverts itself, becoming both weapon and wound.”

- Cleo Abramian, Hyperallergic

Current works

Last Ward

Gathering: {location}

Losing It

When fear is a raging bull

3 x 13 Film

When the Waves Have Come and Gone

The Playground

Against a Hard Surface

bound

"Samar Haddad King’s propulsive choreography [is] equal parts rave stomping and sensuous writhing."
- Bob Verini, New York Stage Review

Programs

Online

In-person

“The process the dancers went through creating Getting there, staying here was transforming. I watched Samar push the [Hubbard Street] second company both physically and emotionally. There was a visible growth of artistry.”
- Taryn Kaschock Russell, The Juilliard School

FALL 2022

The Walk (with Little Amal)
When fear is a raging bull (new production)
October 1 @1PM
Charging Bull Statue, New York, NY
Tickets: Free and open to the public
More information

YSDT Artist Talk
October 27 @ 4PM ET
Arab American Family Support Center
Free and open to the public
Brooklyn, NY

Losing It
Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival- DCAF
Rawabet Arts Space Theatre
October 27 and 28 @8:30 PM GMT+1
Cairo, Egypt
More information

Pop up performance
Brooklyn Museum- First Saturdays
November 5, 7:30-8:30PM
Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: Free and open to the public
More information

Losing It
A.M. Qattan Foundation
November 26 @ 7PM GMT+2
Ramallah
Tickets available at Garage and Mattal

YSDT Repertory Masterclass
The Ailey School
December 9, 2022
New York, NY

WINTER 2022/23

Losing It
Tandem Scene
December 15 & 16 @ 7:30PM GMT+1
Arras, France
More information

ISPA Congress
Panel: Arts and Borders
Kaye Playhouse
January 23 @ 10:00-11:45
New York, NY

Last Ward
The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
February 10, 2023 @ 7:30PM
Abu Dhabi, UAE
More information

SPRING 2023

Losing It
Oster Festival
April 4
Hall in Tirol, Austria
More information

Losing It
Nova Villa
April 7 @2:30PM GMT+1 and Apil 8 at 11:00 AM GMT+1
Riems, France
More information

Gathering: New York (new creation)
Dance Place Residency
April 11-15, 2023
Washington D.C.
More information

Gathering: New York (new creation)
CUNY Dance Initiative Residenc
Snug Harbor Cultural Center April 16-30, 2023
Staten Island, NY
More information

Upcoming

“King's choreography is dynamic and athletic"
- Nancy Grossman, Broadway World

Gallery

“[YSDT] defines the space within which human relationships take place. They shape the landscape of expectation and hope.... What ensues is unique, free of easy classification, and beautiful."

- Sara J. Hart, Explore Dance

Yaa-Samar!-Dance-Theatre-Photo-by-Ahmad-Alrifaee-AAHS-Fida-CROPPED-SMALL

PERFORMANCE

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, USA (2022)
DCAF, Cairo, Egypt (2022)
The Walk, New York, NY, USA (2022)
Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Zurich, Switzerland, (2022)
Gibney, New York, NY, USA (2022)
The Walk, Marseille, France (2021)
Theaterformen Festival, Hannover, Germany (2021)
Nuit Blanche Festival, Brussels, Belgium (2018)
Palest’In & Out Festival, Paris, France (2015, 2018)
Theatre der Welt Festival, Hamburg, Germany (2017)
Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival, Ramallah, Palestine (2007, 2010, 2014, 2017)
Palestinian Museum Opening, Bir Zeit, Palestine (2016)
Spring Festival, Tunis, Tunisia (2016)
Seoul International Dance Festival, Seoul, South Korea (2015)
Qalandya International Festival, Ramallah, Palestine (2014)
Joyce SoHo, New York, NY, USA (2005, 2006, 2012)
Zakharef in Motion Festival, Amman, Jordan (2007, 2010)
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Queens, NY, USA (2008, 2009, 2010)
Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA, USA (2009)
Harlemstage, New York, NY, USA (2005, 2009)
Queens Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA (2007)
Tribeca Performing Arts Center (2005)

RESIDENCIES

CUNY Dance Initiative Residency (2023)
Centre des Arts de la Rue, Marseille, France (2021)
Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, New York, NY (2020)
Jacob's Pillow, Becket, MA (2019)
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT (2019)
Chaillot - théâtre national de la Danse, Paris, France (2018)
Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY (2018)
Dance Initiative, Carbondale, CO (2018)
Palestinian Museum, Bir Zeit, Palestine (2017)
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Queens, NY (2008/9 & 2010/11)
Queens Museum, Queens, NY (2007)
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, NY (2005/6)

Woman standing in front of large group behind her leading a movement threading her right hand through a space that her left hand has created. The left hand is moving down and this picture captures the moment it is about to meet the right hand, which is extended in front of her chest. The students behind her are mimicking the movement. The teachers is dressed in a bright orange shirt and navy blue exercsie pants with orange pants down the side. Her legs are spread apart and bent with the left heel cocked off the floor; her body is in a slight contraction forward and her focus is down.

TEACHING/LECTURES

The Ailey School, New York, NY, USA (2018-2022)
Recess New York, NY (2022, 2021)
New York University, New York, NY (2020)
Kobe Art Village Center, Kobe, Japan (2015, 2018, 2019)
University of Massachusetts Boston, MA, USA (2019)
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, USA (2019)
Fordham University, New York, NY, USA (2017)
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA (2016)
Tanzkongress, Hannover, Germany (2016)
Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, South Korea (2015)
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA (2014)
Staten Island Youth and Justice Center, Staten Island, NY, USA (2012, 2013)
Lou Conte Dance Studio, Chicago, IL, USA (2009)
Dance International NY, Burgos, Spain (2006)
Mountain Star Rehabilitation Center, Surda, Palestine (2006)

Highlights

“The combination of the dramatic subject matter and the technical ability and experience of [King's] dancers makes for an undeniable explosive combination.”

-Amanda Keller, idanz

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YSDT

New York + Palestine

New York + Palestine

"an uncommonly deft combination of dance and verbal theater."

- Brian Seibert, The New York Times

Years

Cities

Countries

Continents

“Samar Haddad King deftly melds styles from hip-hop and ballet to social dance and acrobatics.”
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

“Samar Haddad King deftly melds styles from hip-hop and ballet to social dance and acrobatics.”

- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

“The YSDT dancers move like this often, tender yet aggressive; tenacious yet desperate. The body subverts itself, becoming both weapon and wound.”

- Cleo Abramian, Hyperallergic

Current works

"Samar Haddad King’s propulsive choreography [is] equal parts rave stomping and sensuous writhing."
- Bob Verini, New York Stage Review

"Samar Haddad King’s propulsive choreography [is] equal parts rave stomping and sensuous writhing."

- Bob Verini, New York Stage Review

Programs

“The process the dancers went through creating Getting there, staying here was transforming. I watched Samar push the [Hubbard Street] second company both physically and emotionally. There was a visible growth of artistry.”
- Taryn Kaschock Russell, The Juilliard School

“The process the dancers went through creating Getting there, staying here was transforming. I watched Samar push the [Hubbard Street] second company both physically and emotionally. There was a visible growth of artistry.”

- Taryn Kaschock Russell, The Juilliard School

FALL 2022

WINTER 2022/23

SPRING 2023

“King's choreography is dynamic and athletic"
- Nancy Grossman, Broadway World

“King's choreography is dynamic and athletic"

- Nancy Grossman, Broadway World

Gallery

“[YSDT] defines the space within which human relationships take place. They shape the landscape of expectation and hope.... What ensues is unique, free of easy classification, and beautiful."

- Sara J. Hart, Explore Dance

“The combination of the dramatic subject matter and the technical ability and experience of [King's] dancers makes for an undeniable explosive combination.”

-Amanda Keller, idanz

Gathering: {location}

New York + Palestine

New York + Palestine

"an uncommonly deft combination of dance and verbal theater."

- Brian Seibert, The New York Times

Years

Cities

Countries

Continents

“Samar Haddad King deftly melds styles from hip-hop and ballet to social dance and acrobatics.” - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

“Samar Haddad King deftly melds styles from hip-hop and ballet to social dance and acrobatics.”

- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

“The YSDT dancers move like this often, tender yet aggressive; tenacious yet desperate. The body subverts itself, becoming both weapon and wound.”

- Cleo Abramian, Hyperallergic

Current works

"Samar Haddad King’s propulsive choreography [is] equal parts rave stomping and sensuous writhing."- Bob Verini, New York Stage Review

"Samar Haddad King’s propulsive choreography [is] equal parts rave stomping and sensuous writhing."

- Bob Verini, New York Stage Review

Programs

“The process the dancers went through creating Getting there, staying here was transforming. I watched Samar push the [Hubbard Street] second company both physically and emotionally. There was a visible growth of artistry.” - Taryn Kaschock Russell, The Juilliard School

“The process the dancers went through creating Getting there, staying here was transforming. I watched Samar push the [Hubbard Street] second company both physically and emotionally. There was a visible growth of artistry.”

- Taryn Kaschock Russell, The Juilliard School

FALL 2022

WINTER 2022/23

SPRING 2023

“King's choreography is dynamic and athletic"- Nancy Grossman, Broadway World

“King's choreography is dynamic and athletic"

- Nancy Grossman, Broadway World

Gallery

“[YSDT] defines the space within which human relationships take place. They shape the landscape of expectation and hope.... What ensues is unique, free of easy classification, and beautiful."

- Sara J. Hart, Explore Dance

“The combination of the dramatic subject matter and the technical ability and experience of [King's] dancers makes for an undeniable explosive combination.”

-Amanda Keller, idanz

Gathering: {location}

“Samar Haddad King deftly melds styles from hip-hop and ballet to social dance and acrobatics.”
- Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times

"Samar Haddad King’s propulsive choreography [is] equal parts rave stomping and sensuous writhing."
- Bob Verini, New York Stage Review

“The process the dancers went through creating Getting there, staying here was transforming. I watched Samar push the [Hubbard Street] second company both physically and emotionally. There was a visible growth of artistry.”
- Taryn Kaschock Russell, The Juilliard School

“King's choreography is dynamic and athletic"
- Nancy Grossman, Broadway World