On its third day, Saturday 4 November, D-CAF’s Arab Arts Focus program will showcase a stunning selection of performances, artworks and panel discussions from across the Arab world.
The day’s activities will kick off with the second round of the panel talk Festivals and Audiences in the Arab World, in which speakers will map out the geography of festivals in the region, along with the challenges and opportunities facing this rich cultural scene. The panel will be held at the AUC Tahrir Cultural Center from 10am to 2pm.
From 2pm to 10pm, The Factory will host Syrian artist Mey Seifan’s groundbreaking How Am I Here? an artful blend of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and dance, raising questions about Syrian refugees’ longing for home; unfolding to the dreamy musical composition of Shady Ali.
At 3pm, The Factory will also showcase the spectacular BIRD, performed by Sofiane Ouissi and co-created by Selma Ouissi. On stage, Sofiane immerses himself in a magical bond transcending species – his connection with the titular bird invites spectators to reflect on questions of being, creation, and connection; pondering the meaning of consciousness, coexistence, and the limits of the human body.
BIRD is performed by Sofiane Ouissi and two doves, with musical accompaniment by Jihad Khamiri and with technical support from Mohammad Attia and Akhtar Ali Khan. The show is produced by Virginie Dupray, in co-production with the Sharjah Art Foundation, the 15th Sharjah Biennial; and with support from L' Art Rue Tunisia, and Libr'Arts France.
Next on the agenda is a spectacular double-bill comprising two Egyptian shows: 205 Questions About Dance and Smell of Cement, which will be shown at Rawabet Art Space at 8:30pm.
In 205 Questions About Dance, dancer and choreographer Eslam Elnebishy invites viewers on a journey of perception and interpretation: if we can ask questions through dance, the answers remain literally in motion, but what is left unquestioned at the end? How do our preconceptions, visual habits and patterns of movement condition how we perceive dance?
Meanwhile, in Smell of Cement, choreographer Eman Hussein and musician Youssra El Hawary draw an unexpected parallel between dancers and construction workers: both uninsured for their bodies at work; suffering from physical pain and unstable salaries, and working with the repetition of movement – a powerful performance sparking reflection on the mechanics of labor and the body.
At 8:30pm, the AUC TCC Falaki Theater will host a third performance of director Ahmed El-Attar’s newest play, The Discreet Charm of the Pillars of Society, at the AUC TCC Falaki Theater at 9pm.
The Discreet Charm of the Pillars of Society is a Swedish-Egyptian co-production, produced by the Royal Dramatic Theater in Sweden (Dramaten), where it made its world premiere. The play stars Adel Darwish, Alexandra Johnson, Charlotta Akerblom, Duncan Green, Helen Al-Janabi, Issa Ouifa, Linnea Filin, Muhammad Ismail, Monica Stenbeck, Nanda Muhammad, Natalie Farley, Ola Hassamo, Srdjan Nadjibowski. The show is co-written by El-Attar and Swedish writer and dramaturg Felicia Ole, with set and costume design by Hussein Beydoun, music composed by Hassan Khan, and lighting design by Charlie Astrom.
The evening will come to a close at 10pm with the French-Moroccan poetry performance Nini Ya Momo at Beit El Sennari. In this heartrending reading, Soukaina Habiballah interweaves the voice of a grandmother suffering from colonial trauma and her granddaughter who battles postpartum depression. The two women speak to each other through the absence of the mother, in poetic verse intertwining the Arabic and English versions of the cycle of poems.
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