Posts Tagged ‘Salah El Brogy’

Vertical Road

For Akram Khan fans, his new company production, Vertical Road premieres at the Curve Theatre in Leicester on Thursday 16 September.

This is what Akram had to say about his latest production:

Vertical Road also features two IDFB 2010 veterans – Ahmed Khemis and Salah El Brogy, who were involved in our Outspoken Weekend with their solo works.

We caught up with Salah and here are his thoughts on his Vertical Road journey so far:

To watch the Arabic version, click here.

Ahmed shares his Vertical Road experience:

To watch the French version, click here.

Vertical Road is Khan’s first ensemble work since the critically acclaimed bahok in 2008. The performance is inspired by the idea of vertical ascension – a common motif in several different religions, and the journey that the soul takes after death. These ideas will be explored in a ground-breaking work of contemporary dance, choreographed by Khan and performed by eight hand-picked world-class dancers from across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Performances at the Curve Theatre in Leicester will be between 14-18 September with the world premiere on 16 September. Tickets start from £8.25.

On 5 September, there are two workshops being held at the Curve. Workshop 1 (11am-1pm) will be a masterclass for experienced dance practitioners and Workshop 2 (2-4pm) will be aimed at experienced dance students. To book tickets or workshops, call the ticket office on 0116 242 3595.

The Leicester performances kick off the Vertical Road tour – the dates are below:
29 Sep – 2 October 2010: Geblasehalle, Duisburg (Ruhrtriennale Festival), Germany
5 – 9 Oct 2010: Sadler’s Wells, London, UK
19 – 23 Oct 2010: The CUB Malthouse, Merlyn Theatre, Melbourne (Melbourne International Arts Festival), Australia
28 Oct 2010: Brighton Dome, Brighton, UK
11 – 12 Nov 2010: Halle Kalk, Cologne, Germany
15 – 16 Nov 2010: Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea, UK
19 – 20 Nov 2010: DanceEast, Snape Maltings, UK
24 Nov 2010: Nuovo Teatro Comunale, Bolzano, Italy
2-4 Dec 2010: de Singel, Antwerp, Belgium
26 Jan 2010: Stadsschouwburg, Amserdam, Netherlands
29 Jan 2011: De Warande, Turnhout, Belgium
1 Feb 2011: Schouwburg, Tilburg, Netherlands
3 Feb 2011: Stadsschouwburg, Groningen, Netherlands
5 Feb 2011: Cultuurcentrum, Hasselt, Belgium
8 Feb 2011: Stadsschouwburg, Brugge, Belgium
4-13 March 2011: Theatre de la Ville, Paris, France
17 – 20 March 2011: Teatre Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona, Spain
25 – 26 March 2011: Teatro Central, Seville, Spain
16 – 17 May 2011: Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
20 – 21 May 2011: The Hellerau, Dresden, Germany
23-24 May 2011: Le Grand T, Nantes, France
27 May 2011: Teatr Wielki, Poznan, Poland
29 – 30 May 2011: Teatr Wielki, Lodz, Poland
7-11 June 2011: Kunstencentrum Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
24-25 June 2011: Montpellier Danse festival, Montpellier, France

Vertical Road is sponsored by COLAS and co-produced with Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, Curve Theatre, Leicester, Sadler’s Wells, London, Theatre de la Ville, Paris, National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona and supported by Arts Council England.

Outspoken Highlights

Curated by Eckhard Thiemann, IDFB 2010’s Outspoken Weekend saw an array of new performances, talks and workshops by Arab artists from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Morocco.

The weekend kicked off with a diverse Triple Bill at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, featuring works from Ahmed Khemis, Salah El Brogy and Muhanad Rasheed (Iraqi Bodies). We managed to catch up with Ahmed and Salah to have a chat about their work and a bit about their dance history.

Next up, we welcomed The Assassination of Omar Rajeh, a piece covering the political killings of journalists in Lebanon. Dancer/choreographer Omar Rajeh of Maqamat Dance Theatre talks about his work in the video below:

A Double Bill at Ikon Eastside featured Meryem Jazouli’s Kelma (The Word), based on the life and poems of famous Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, followed by Iraqi Bodies’ Insomnia, created in Iraq in 2005.

Aataba (The Threshold) was performed at The Patrick Centre and below, Moroccan choreographer Taoufiq Izeddiou talks about this work.

Nacera Belaza’s Le Cri, a physical and emotional tour de force and combined Arabic chanting, Maria Callas vocals and disco beats, and Les Sentinelles , an exclusive preview prior to its premiere in Paris, brought the weekend to a thrilling close.

To see the photos, visit the IDFB Flickr Page or join us on Facebook.

Our IDFB Outspoken Weekend was supported by The British Council. It was also one of the outstanding projects granted the London 2012 Inspire mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games. Find out more about the Inspire Mark here.

Outspoken Weekend

The Assassination of Omar Rajeh | International Dance Festival Birmingham

Outspoken is programme of new performance from Arab artists (most of which have never been seen in the UK before), curated by Eckhard Thiemann and taking place at The Patrick Centre and Ikons Eastside from Thursday 29 April to Sunday 2 May.

The descriptions for each of the performances are strewn with adjectives like emotional, daring, controversial, personal and dramatic, and the programme looks sure to deliver dance with a message. Here’s what to expect:

Thursday 29 April

  • Triple Bill featuring pieces by Muhanad Rasheed – Iraqi Bodies (Iraq), Ahmed Khemis (Algeria, Tunisia, France) and Salah El Brogy (Egypt)

Friday 30 April

Saturday 1 May

Sunday 2 May

Other activities as part of the programme include talks on Exile and Migration, dance in Lebanon and the challenges and opportunities for Arab dance artists, a workshop with Ahmed Khemis, Taoufiq Izeddiou and Meryem Jazouli in conversation and the film Dancing Under Crossfire.

Click the links above for further information and to buy tickets. A weekend pass which gives access to all of the events is available for just £30. Our Outspoken weekend is one of the outstanding projects granted the London 2012 Inspire mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games. Find out more about the Inspire Mark here.