View a clip from our November 18th Contemporary Palestinian Dance event, featuring Palestinian dance artist Khaled Barghouthi (shown) in collaboration with Palestinian-American dance artist Samar Haddad King (Artistic Director of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre aka YSDT) and Associate Artistic Director and performer of YSDT, Zoe Rabinowitz:
Johnathan Stein writes about the event for thINKing DANCE,
For King, “Art is not above politics.” Making art and creating a Palestinian culture that incorporates live, contemporary dance by and for Palestinians living in this fragmented, occupied country, is constantly affected by the political environment. Does she cancel a planned performance because of a nearby “martyr killing” so as not to be disrespectful to the family, or decide to perform to avoid the impact for dancers whose families rely on their earnings. If a program is cancelled because of local protests or a curfew, even the reason for the cancellation can’t be disclosed on Facebook for fear of Israeli intelligence viewing the posting as fomenting the protest. These and other stories brought to my mind the plight of artists in the Soviet Union or China.
Read the whole article here