PROGRAMME: 7th Nassim El-Raqs brings dance to Alexandria

Ahram Online , Sunday 30 Apr 2017

Performances of the 7th Nassim El-Raqs will be held between 4 and 10 May

nassim 7
Nassim El-Raqs 7 (Photo: part of promotional material)

The 7th Edition of Nassim El-Raqs will take place across Alexandria’s streets and venues between 4 and 10 May.

Nassim El-Raqs is an annual dance festival produced by Momkin - Espaces de possibles and Nout for Art and Media Production, in partnership with B’sarya for Art.

Other collaborators and organisers include the Egyptian Centre Rézodanse, Gudran for Art and Development, Wekalet Behna, the Cairo Contemporary Dance Centre, the Lycée Français in Alexandria, CerCCa and Houna.

The first Nassim El-Raqs Festival was held in 2011, seeking to extend the cultural and artistic parameters of the city of Alexandria.

Olivier Dubois, a well-known choreographer and director of the Ballet du Nord troupe, who has worked at opera houses in both Cairo and Vienna, will open the festival 4 May with his performance Wild Descent.

Wild Descent is performed by 20 dancers from Egypt selected by Dubois through an open call.

The performance is an adaptation of The Afternoon of a Faun by renowned choreographer and dancer Vaslav Nijinsky in 1912, with music by Claude Debussy composed in 1884. Both the dance and the music were inspired by the poem L'Après-midi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé written in 1876.

Dubois’ piece is divided into three parts, performed over the course of two hours.

This edition also includes several events by Ici Meme a French collective, organising urban sonic-based interactive performances through different art forms including choreography, video, sound and radio art, among others.

Those include a Night Walk, Exploratoring Camp, and a sound art performance.

The Egyptian Silsilah Dance Group from Centre Rezodanse will present ‘Poem of The Salty City,' and on 9 May, audiences will see a performance from SHAPERS, a longterm international cooperation project between dance venues, festivals or choreographers.

The project started in April 2016 and runs till 2018, bringing eight dancers from Egypt, France, Spain and Morocco to be trained while working on a dance piece.

The festival will also present a performance held in collaboration with Ex Nihilo from Marseille, featuring eight Mediterranean dancers that include two Egyptians.

The site-specific work questions the dancers relationship with public space and the city, and evolves as the project travels around the Mediterranean region and Europe and is placed in different contexts.

Programme:

Thursday, 4 May

Wild Descent by Olivier Dubois
4.45pm - Descent 1
5.15pm - Descent 2
6pm - First gathering - Cornish
6.45pm - Descent 3
7pm - Final at Mahatat El-Raml

Friday, 5 May
Time to be announced

Poem of The Salty City
Silsilah Group by Mohamed Fouad
Location: Cavafy Museum & street & garage

Saturday, 6 May
10pm to 6am, all night

Night walk, Rendez-Vous Marché
Ici Meme
Location: Departure from the French Institute
Registration is required (come with comfortable shoes)

Sunday, 7 May
Starting 10am, all day & all night

Exploratoring Camp
Ici Meme
Location: French Institute

Monday, 8 May
6pm-10pm

Sound Art Performance
Ici Meme
Location: French Institute

Tuesday, 9 May
4.30pm
Performance by SHAPERS, with Ex Nihilo & 8 Mediterranean dancers
Location: Abu El-Abbas Mosque

7pm
Closing Party
Location: Le Boudoir

Wednesday, 10 May
6pm

Exhibition & Discussion: The Art of Getting Lost in The City
Location: Wekalet Behna

Venues:
French Institute, El-Nabi Daniel Street, off Fouad Street, Raml Station, Alexandria
Cavafy Museum,  6 Sharm El-Sheikh Street, off Istanbul Street, Raml Station, Alexandria
Wekalet Behna, 1 El-Kenisa El-Maroniya Street, El-Manshia, Alexandria

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