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Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre views technique as a means of furthering our bodies as instruments for creative expression. By pushing the exploration of physicality, space, and relationship (to people and objects) and how our thought process guides these physical manifestations, technique allows us to better articulate emotion in the service of narrative.

نحن ننظر للتقنية كوسيلة لتمكين وتعزيز أجسادنا كأداة للتعبير الابداعي. من خلال الحث على استكشاف الجسد، المساحة، والعلاقة (نحو البشر او الأغراض) وكيفية قدرة طريقة التفكير على توجيه التعبير الجسدي، التقنية تسمح لنا بتحسين مهارات التعبير وصياغة المشاعر لخدمة السردية.

Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre offers experiential, process-driven classes and workshops rooted in the following core values:

Facilitating an environment of imagination/play in order to help participants make connections and find new solutions for problems inside and outside of the classroom.

Validating the individual through empowered choice-making.

Modeling the power of collective action by honoring diverse perspectives and a multiplicity of bodies, abilities, and experiences while working together as a group.

Centering the power of storytelling in pursuit of social justice. 

نحن نقدم ورشات عمل تجريبية ممنهجة تعتمد على المحاور التالية:

تفكيك المساحة المتخيلة او اللعبة لمساعدة المشاركين على بناء روابط وإيجاد حلول جديدة للعقبات داخل وخارج غرفة التدريس.

 تعزيز مكانة الفرد من خلال تشجيع اتخاذ القرارات.

تسليط الضوء على قدرة القصص على تحقيق العدالة الإجتماعي.

 استعراض قوة العمل الجماعي من خلال التأكيد على أهمية وجهات النظر المتنوعة والمختلفة خلال العمل في المجموعة.

 استكشاف الأفكار والصور والجمل الحركية المعروضة بتمعن ودقة.

If the class requires any additional items (pen and paper, chair, towel, etc.), it will be written in the specific class. All you need is your self and comfortable clothing to move in. Classes are adapted to fit in a variety of spaces large and small.

إذا كان الدرس يتطلب أي عناصر إضافية (اقلام اوراق، كرسي، منشفة، إلخ…)، فسيتم ذكر ذلك بكل درس بشكل محدد. كل ما تحتاجه هو حضورك وملابسك المريحة للحركة. تمت ملائمة  الدروس لتناسب مساحات متنوعة الكبيرة والصغيرة منها.

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 18 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. King is a 2023 Creative Capital Wild Futures: Art, Culture, Impact awardee. King is a composer, writer, and choreographer, and frequently lectures on her transnational, cross-disciplinary work. Location: New York City + Palestine
 Mohammed
Smahneh Performer/Teacher Projects with YSDT:  bound, The Playground, Against a Hard Surface, Last Ward, 3 x 13 film, Gathering: New York City, Noah

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); B by Koen Augustijnen and Rosalba Torres Guerrero (2016-2018 South Africa, Italy, Germany, Belgium, and France); 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 also a puppeteer for the Walk with Little Amal. Location: Palestine, Askar refugee camp   Samaa
Wakim Performer/Teacher Projects with YSDT: non/static aesthetics, bound, Against a Hard Surface, Last Ward, 3 x 13 film, Losing It, When the waves have come and gone, Gathering: New York City

Samaa Wakim is a performer, choreographer and cultural manager based in Haifa. Graduated from Gaton Dance School and the acting department of Haifa University. She has performed in various local and international performances such as: I am Yusuf and This is My Brother a co-production of the Shibir Hur and the Young Vic Theater (London 2009); The Beloved, a co production of Shibir Hur and the Bush Theater (London, 2012); Exit & Ble Ble Bel, Khashabi Theater (Palestine, 2011); Badke a co-production between the Palestinian A.M.Qattan foundation and KVS Theater in Brussels and Les ballets C de la B (Belgium 2012-2017); Bound a co-production of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre and Sareyyet Ramallah (Ramallah 2014); Against a Hard Surface by Yaa Samar! Dance Theater and Amir Nizar Zuabi (Palestine 2017); Modern Curses, co-directed and choreographed by Bashar Murkus and Wakim, and produced by Khashabi Theater (Haifa 2018); Last Ward by Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (Paris 2018); The Cabaret by Khashabi theater (Haifa 2018); The Father by Al Jawal theater (Haifa, 2021); Losing it, co-directed with Samar Haddad King, produced by Theaterformen, (Hamburg 2021). She is a production manager of Haifa Independent Film Festival 2019 & 2023 and member of Yaa Samar! Dance Theater (since 2014) and Khashabi Theater (since 2008). Location: Palestine, Mi’ilya village, Gallilie Shahd
Jabarin Teacher Projects with YSDT: non/static aesthetics, Palestinian Museum opening

Past: Shahd Jabarin is a dancer and artist from Nazareth. She graduated from Aida Dance School for Ballet and Contemporary Dance in Nazareth, after taking part in many courses, workshops and dance intensives she chose to continue studying dance and graduated from “The Maslool for professional dancers” in 2022. Throughout her studies- in the years 2019-2022- she was a dancer in Shaden Dance Company and took part in the company’s works; “Trilogy”, “When the body remembers” and “On the Way”.After graduating she continued working as a freelance artist, now based in Jerusalem. She is a Founding member of “Studio collective- an initiative by palestinian dancers and artists aiming to organize various dance events and create a platform for dancers and artists to connect and create for and in their community. Her work in Studio Collective includes the participation in choreographing and performing improvisational shows that focus on the connection between improvisational dance and music, as she took part in: “Sahab”(Clouds) 2022, “Waraa Ayunena”(Behind Our Eyes) 2023, “Huduo Murakab” (Complex Silence) 2023, and “Ala Atharek”(On your Trace) 2023. Furthermore, she works as a project coordinator in Studio Collective. Additionally, Shahd aims to develop and strengthen the role of dance in her community through the practice of teaching. She teaches improvisation in “Sukoun”, Jerusalem and “Oshak”, Jerusalem. Location: Jerusalem, Palestine 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 Arzu
Salman Performer/Teacher Projects with YSDT: Last Ward, When fear is a raging bull, Gathering: New York City

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 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, When the waves have come and gone, Gathering: New York City

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. Yukari is currently a puppeteer with the Walk with Little Amal. Location: New York City + Japan
 Zoe
Rabinowitz Executive Director/
Performer/Teacher Projects with YSDT: Frozen Belief, Hiyaat Noor, Lahom fil Hiyaat, Layered Identity, Liquid Renaissance, Skirt Dance, The Store, Still/Moving, Ummi, bound, Against a Hard Surface, Last Ward, The Playground, 3 x 13 film, When the waves have come and gone, When fear is a raging bull, Gathering: New York City

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
 People Headshot of Japanese woman smiling, wearing a black tank top and looking at camera. She has short black hair and is smiling while looking directly at camera. Yousef headshot Samar small headshot Closeup headshot of Japanese woman smiling and looking at camera. She has short black hair and is smiling while looking directly at camera. Yousef small headshot

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