DISCO RIOT’s Zaquia Mahler Salinas will be an Artist in Residence with Diyar Dance Theatre in Bethlehem.
Diyar Dance Theatre is rooted in the mission to revive and empower the cultural identity of young Palestinians through traditional and modern dance theatre. The Diyar Dance Theatre residency is concerned with building up the contemporary dance scene in Bethelehem with the goal of cultivating Creative Resistance.
Creative Resistance
The complex experience of living along the militarized border, in a turbulent region as part of an oppressed people, is a unique story that speaks to the immeasurable and universally powerful resolve of the human spirit. Through the residency with Diyar Dance Theatre, Zaquia will explore the personal stories of those living in the Palestinian territory, specifically in Bethlehem. Simultaneously, she will unearth a part of her own history and personal story as a Palestinian-American unfamiliar with the culture. Zaquia will research and experience life as a form of embodied resistance in Palestine.
The residency will culminate in a co-created dance theater work with the intention of (re)discovering the interconnectedness of our individual and shared experiences for performance in Bethlehem, and to be further developed for presentation in the U.S. in late 2019. Zaquia will also produce a documentary about the experience and the social justice work that is happening through dance in the region.
Donations support collaborations with Palestinian artists; written word, music composition and video will all be incorporated into this project to illuminate the experiences of artists in Bethlehem. Donations will also support San Diego artists in the further development and production of this work in the US to be shared in late 2019.
The sounds, sensations, impressions, and details of daily existence here reveal undeniable truths about the culture, history, political, and social realities of Palestinians who are living under occupation. Not only do you