Meet and Greet | Saturday, April 15 at 5pm | Polinger Foundation Lobby
During this Residency, Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre will be workshopping a new participatory performance titled Gathering. Part staged work, part improvisational score, the piece utilizes technology, storytelling, sound design and play to examine what brings people together in celebration, conflict, protest and sport. Inspired by her experience as a Palestinian of the diaspora – an identity simultaneously defined by cultural and political acts of convening, and the fragmentation of a scattered refugee community – Choreographer/Director Samar Haddad King asks why and how we gather, and when we choose to act alone or as a group. Featuring an original multilingual script developed in collaboration with the international cast, the work uses technology to unite performers and participants by offering interactive prompts that impact the experience (lighting, music, movement) and empower participants through creative choice-making. This project follows workshops at Center for Ballet and the Arts (NYC, 2020) and Freedom Theatre (Palestine, 2021).
The Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency honors Alan M. “Mike” Kriegsman, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism in 1976, the first Pulitzer for writings on dance. While he belonged to the entire world of dance, Mike was a special friend to Dance Place and the artists presented here. This program was established by Sali Ann Kriegsman and Dance Place in remembrance of “Mike” Kriegsman’s passionate support of artists and their commitment to research and discovery. The five day residency offers focused time for the early development of new work by established choreographers.
About Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre
Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT) creates invigorating performance and education programs that expand access to – and promote understanding through – the arts. Founded in 2005 by Samar Haddad King in NYC, YSDT has a repertoire of 30+ original works performed across NYC at venues such as Downtown Dance Festival, Gibney, Harlem Stage, Joyce SoHo, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Queens Museum and more; regionally; and abroad in 11 countries across four continents, including festivals such as Nuit Blanche (Belgium), Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival (Palestine), SIDance (South Korea), Spring Festival (Tunisia), Theater der Welt and Theaterformen (Germany). Since 2011, the company has worked transnationally between NYC and Palestine, and is committed to uniting diverse artists and audiences in the creative process. For more information, visit: www.ysdt.org.