Organized By FJK Dance
Gibney Dance Company (40.714370, -74.005960)
PRESENTING NEW COLLABORATIONS, GUEST ARTISTS AND FEATURING FADI J KHOURY'S NEW CREATION OF UNTOLD. R.S.V.P BY 4/8/2018 Email : [email protected] to RSVP The event will exhibit samples of the visual art for UnTold and a performance of the choreography followed by Q&A and a cocktail reception. Space is limited . . . About UnTold: UnTold aims is to shed light on the hidden beauty of Middle Eastern culture at a time when stereotypes govern our perceptions. The installation includes the Mu’allaqat, a group of seven long poems considered the best work of the pre-Islamic era. The name means “The Suspended Odes” or “The Hanging Poems” and according to tradition, these poems were hung on or in the Ka’ba at Meca. Mr. Khoury has designed a multi-dimensional experience with original calligraphy incorporating words and lines written in Arabic. that evolve from two and three dimensions in the art pieces and sculpture to a fourth dimensional plane on stage with music and dance. The concept of these designs is inspired by the human body movement in dance where momentum and weight lead the body to organic curves, following the form of Arabic writing and letters. Dancers bodies and movements use these curves and the traditional rhythm in expressing each line and phrase of the poetry. On stage will be geometric designs of Islamic art built on combinations of repeated squares and circles, many overlapped and interlaced producing a wide variety of tessellations. The arabesque, a form of artistic decoration, is expressed through dancer movements. Ancient Middle Eastern aesthetics are reimagined for the present through a new form of fusion dance layering classical and contemporary ballroom and ballet movements with sculptures and graphic designs. The goal of UnTold is to shed light on the hidden beauty of the Middle Eastern culture at a time of negative cultural stereotypes and perceptions. Inspired by Arabic poetry (Arabic .ash-shi'ru al-'Arabīyyu ), the earliest form of Arabic literature, Al Mu’alaqat (Arabic: المعلقات, [al-muʕallaqaːt) (a set of seven poems) become 28 paintings, sculptures and sets for the theatre. Arabic written words dance and dancers interact with these words, their bodies and movements reflecting the rhythm and flow of the poetry to music composed by Hossam Ramzy.