1 Several scholars document the challenges of negotiating gender in the field, and specifically issues pertinent to female researchers conducting fieldwork in the southern Mediterranean (for example: Bolak, 1996; Lengel, 1998; Sherif, 2001).
2 As mentioned previously, contributing to my fieldwork and meetings with the dance practitioners were projects I have worked on as a researcher and co-editor. These projects included a book titled Talking Dance: Contemporary Histories from the Southern Mediterranean (Rowe, Buck & Martin, 2014), working closely as a teacher and researcher at the El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe, collaborating with Dr Nadra Assaf from the Lebanese American University for the 2015 Fluid States events, and my work as a dance teacher in various institutions in Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon.
3 The Arab Spring occurred across the southern Mediterranean/Gulf region during 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. To date, there have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its government, civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen, the latter resulting in the resignation of the Yemeni prime minister, major protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco and Oman, and minor protests in Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Western Sahara (Fakhoury, 2011). Clashes at the borders of Israel in May 2011 and the Palestine 194 movement (a diplomatic campaign by the Palestinian National Authority to gain membership for the State of Palestine in the United Nations at its 66th Session in September 2011) are also said to be inspired by the regional Arab Spring (Deitch, 2011).
4 An example of this could be seen in Mohammad Shafiq’s (2011) performance The smell of the city.
5 For example, Toufiq Izzediou’s (2011) performance Aleef, or the El-Funoun, Le Grand Cru and Al-Balad Theatre’s (2009) co-production of Waiting forbidden.
1 It can be noted that some scholars and writers have described the term ‘Arab Spring’ as an Orientalistic label that is semantically Western in construction (Alhassen, 2012; Khouri, 2011; Rooksby, 2011). Others have encouraged the term ‘Arab Awakening’ (Fisk, 2012). However, there have also been substantial critiques of this label being used to describe the events (Alhassen, 2012; Rooksby, 2011). Therefore, due to these contentious and ongoing debates, I have chosen to use the terms ‘Arab Spring’ and ‘Arab Awakening’ sparingly, referring to these events as the ‘uprisings’ where possible.
2 ‘Day of rage’ has become a leitmotif of the uprising activities across the region since 2011.
3 Examples of Egyptian dancers involving themselves in public protests related to the Arab Spring uprisings include the occupation of the Ministry of Culture in Zamalek in June 2013. Over a period of several weeks dancers, along with a wide variety of other artists, demanded the removal of Culture Minister Alaa Abdel-Aziz and the independence of the Supreme Council of Culture. The protesting group stated that a political direction should not be imposed on culture. Examples of dance being used in wider public actions connected to the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt were witnessed in the ‘hub’ of the Cairo uprisings, Tahrir Square. Along with words, songs, music, slogans and theatre, dance emerged strongly as a creative medium that Egyptians used to express their opinions when they took over the public square to make it their own. Some of this dance was improvised in the sense that clusters of people joined together to physically express themselves through movement, with numerous video clips being posted on YouTube of a diverse range of people performing dance – from women in full hijab dancing to the beat of a tabla, to youths jamming to hip hop music. Examples of dance commenting on the uprising in Egypt includes work by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company. In early 2011 the company restaged a ballet choreographed by Maurice Béjart (originally created in 1990 with costumes by Gianni Versace). Originally entitled Pyramide – El Nour; in 2011 it was renamed Pyramids and the Revolution.
4 Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was a candidate in the 2014 presidential elections in Egypt. He was elected as the sixth president of Egypt on 8 June 2014.
5 Graham technique is a codified dance vocabulary developed by the American dancer, choreographer and teacher Martha Graham. This technique focuses on concepts such as release, contraction, fall and recovery in movement. Graham technique is considered by some to have revolutionized Western modern dance practices (Bannerman, 1999).
6 The Cairo Opera House complex encompasses companies such as the Cairo Opera Company, the Cairo Opera Ballet, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Egyptian Modern Dance Theatre Company. These companies are state-funded and supported. Since the Egyptian ‘Arab Spring’ uprising of 2011 numerous changes have occurred at these institutions, with a new artistic director taking leadership and philosophies and objectives shifting. The companies and training institutions that Hala refers to – the Egyptian Modern Dance Theatre Company and the Cairo Contemporary Dance Centre (formerly called Cairo Modern Dance School) – are supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Both were established and run by Walid Aouni (from 1992 to 2011) and a clear divide in the Cairo contemporary dance scene existed between those supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture (or working within one of their state-funded dance institutions), and those who were working as independent artists. With the events of the Arab Spring, where the former Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni was removed from his position and support diminished for those propped up by the former Mubarak regime, Aouni resigned from his position as director of these institutions. The Cairo Contemporary Dance Centre was taken over by Karima Mansour, an independent Egyptian artist who had trained and performed abroad for many years before returning home. The Egyptian Modern Dance Theatre Company was taken over by director Monadel Antar.
7 The jellabiya is a traditional Egyptian garment native to the Nile Valley worn by both men and women.
8 Wesh w’Dahr translates as Back to Front. It was a performance choreographed by Dalia El Abd in 2012. It was first performed by Hala and Dalia on 8 June 2012 in the garden of the British Council in Agouza, Cairo.
9 The Egyptian University is formally known as Cairo University. However, it used to be called King Fuad I University, Egyptian University. It is a public university in Giza, Egypt, and a location where there have been numerous protests and fighting since the 2011 uprisings.
10 Inshallah is an Arabic word that translates into English as ‘God willing’ or ‘if Allah wills’. It is often said when speaking about plans and events expected to occur in the future. It is a common phrase across the Middle Eastern region and is used by Muslims and Christians alike.
1 The Syrian Civil War, also known as the Syrian Uprisings, is an ongoing armed conflict in the state of Syria. Unrest began in 2011, within the context of the uprisings that were occurring across the Middle Eastern region (Hokayem, 2013; Sahner, 2014). Protests were initially focused on Bashar al-Assad’s leadership and government. The al-Assad regime responded with force and the conflict morphed from popular uprisings like those in Egypt and Tunisia, to armed fighting, military sieges and an all-out civil war. Numerous factions are involved – Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Army, the Free Syrian Army, the Islamic Front, Hezbollah (in support of the Syrian Army), and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Human rights violations have occurred, massacres have taken place, and chemical weapons have been used in fighting. The exact death toll since the conflict started is unknown, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates it to be nearly 300,000 (as of 1/12/2014). Along with those killed thousands of other Syrians have been imprisoned and tortured; many of these people are protestors, activists, intellectuals and artists (Halasa, Omareen & Mahfoud, 2014).
2 Dabke is a folk dance ‘made up of intricate steps and stomps’ (Rowe, 2011, p.364). The dance is performed by both men and women and is popular in locations such as Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, the north of Saudi Arabia, Occupied Palestine/Israel and Yemen. The dance is often performed at weddings and celebrations; however, it is also performed in theatrical or contemporary modes.
3 Enana Dance Theatre Troupe was established in 1990 in Damascus by Jehad Mufleh. The company presents theatrical dance works for the stage, television, and film, blending Western theatrical dance practices with folkloric narratives and concepts, a blend that often ‘depends on many foreign experts specialized in classical and modern dancing and solicits the help of various specialists in popular dance besides Arab experts in local popular and folk dancing’ (Enana website, para.7).
4 Prior to the Syrian Civil War, telecommunications in Syria were slowly moving towards liberalization, but since 2011 access to even basic telecommunication in Syria has become challenging for many (Tkacheva et al., 2013). Internet censorship in Syria is extensive. Syria bans websites for political reasons and arrests people accessing them. In addition to filtering a wide range of web content, the Syrian government monitors internet use very closely and has detained citizens for expressing their opinions or reporting information online. In February 2011 Syria stopped filtering YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and internet connectivity between Syria and the outside world shut down in late November 2011, and again in early May 2013 (Tkacheva et al., 2013; Vijayan, 2012).
1 The King Hussein/Allenby Bridge crosses the River Jordan, and connects the Occupied West Bank of Palestine with Jordan. The bridge is currently the sole designated exit and entry point for Palestinians (who do not hold Israeli or Jerusalem ID) residing in the West Bank travelling in and out of the West Bank.
2 ‘Occupation’ here refers to the illegal occupation of Palestine by the State of Israel. The term ‘Palestinian Territory, Occupied’ had been utilized by the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations between 1998 to 2013 in order to refer to the Palestinian National Authority; it was replaced by the UN in 2013 by the term ‘State of Palestine’ (United Nations General Assembly, November 2012). Israel has occupied the territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the Six-Day War of 1967. These territories had previously been occupied by Jordan and Egypt. Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005. However, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are still considered to be occupied by Israel according to the international community (OHCHR).
3 A keffiyeh is a cotton scarf of the Middle Eastern region, most commonly in a black and white or red and white pattern, worn around the head or neck. While the keffiyeh has become a popular fashion item in diverse contexts, within a Palestinian context the black and white keffiyeh has often been worn as a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and the Fatah political party, whereas the red and white keffiyehs were adopted by Palestinian groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
4 Bara’em means ‘buds’ in Arabic; this is the junior company of the El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe.
5 Israeli laws and policies prevent the reunification of Palestinian families when one partner holds Israeli citizenship (or a Jerusalem ID) while the other is a resident of Occupied Palestine (among other domiciles), thus depriving these families of their civil, economic, social, health and other rights. This interferes in Palestinians’ choices of future spouses and partners, based on their respective citizenship and residency document types.
6 Established in 1999, Fire of Anatolia (in Turkish, Anadolu Ateşi) is a Turkish dance group directed by Mustafa Erdoğan that performs large-scale spectacle performances fusing folkloric Turkish dance with ballet and modern dance. The company has approximately 120 dancers, several choreographers and a large team of other technical staff. Like other large fusion dance companies such as Caracalla (Lebanon) and Enana (Syria), Fire of Anatolia is well known in the Middle Eastern region, often performing on television and touring extensively.
1 Intifada is an Arabic word that often gets translated into English as ‘uprising’, ‘resistance’ or ‘rebellion’ (King, 2007). The intifadas in Palestine were violent and non-violent uprisings against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The First Palestinian Intifada commenced in 1987 and concluded in 1993 with the signing of the Oslo Accords. The Second Palestinian Intifada began in 2000 when Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount – an act that was seen to be highly provocative. The conclusion of the Second Intifada came in 2005 at the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit.
2 Israel has placed Gaza under a blockade since 2007. The blockade commenced after Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Election in 2006 (Levy, 2010). The blockade restricts and prevents people and supplies from entering and exiting Gaza. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the blockade is severe and the economic implications for Gaza are significant (Chomsky & Pappe, 2010).
3 The wall built by Israel that separates the Occupied West Bank from Israel is also called the separation wall, the separation fence, the wall of apartheid or the apartheid wall (Backmann, 2010; Christison, 2011). The building of the wall commenced in 2000, it stands up to 25 feet (8 metres) in parts, and in July 2004 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the wall is a violation of international law and should be removed (UNRWA, 2013).
4 Travelling to Palestine and other locations in the southern Mediterranean region on one passport creates challenges as the borders of the West Bank of Palestine are controlled by Israel. Several countries (for example, Lebanon and Syria) refuse entry to individuals who show evidence of a visit to Israel, and Israel can refuse entry to those who have evidence of visiting certain countries (such as Lebanon and Syria). This evidence could be in the form of Israeli passport stamps, but it can also mean Egyptian or Jordanian stamps from the crossing-points in or out of Israel. Until the more recent policy shift in Israel to no longer stamp passports for B2 Tourist Visas, travellers moving between locations in the region either had to construct a tour itinerary to visit Israel/Palestine last, or backtrack through certain border posts where their passport would not be stamped.
5 The work of Yaser Khaseb, Atefeh Tehrani, Crazy Body Group and Black Narcissus are examples of contemporary Iranian dance and theatre makers who have explored the boundaries of censorship in Iran within their creative work.
6 Ghassan Kanafani was a Palestinian writer and leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was assassinated by car bomb in Beirut in 1972.
7 CACTUS Performance Art Collective was conceived by Thais Mennsitieri (Brazil), Dafne Louzioti (Greece) and Noora Baker (Palestine) in 2012. Working across disciplines through a collaborative model the group seeks to innovate interdisciplinary performance practices of dance, theatre and visual arts while challenging and entertaining audiences in a politically potent way. CACTUS have performed across the globe and facilitated performance arts trainings and workshops.
8 The Occupy movement is a global movement that protests against social and economic inequality. It commenced in 2011 and is seen to be inspired in part by the Arab Spring uprisings. The protests sought to occupy public spaces such as New York City’s Zuccotti Park.
9 Tayeb is an Arabic word that means ‘okay, nice’.
1 Note that this individual’s name has been changed to protect his identity.
2 According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 3,807,580 people (as of 26 January 2015) have fled to Syria’s immediate neighbours Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. It is estimated that 6.5 million people are internally displaced within Syria (UNHCR, 2015).
1 Arab Idol is a television show based on the British show Pop Idol. Arab Idol debuted on December 9, 2011. There have been three seasons of Arab Idol, the most recent in 2014.
2 Performed at the Beirut International Platform of Dance: Arab Dance Platform, Maqamat Dance Studio, Beirut, Lebanon on 21 April, 2011, 2pm.
3 Walid Aouni is a Lebanese scenographer and choreographer, and was the artistic director of the Egyptian Modern Dance Company from 1992–2011, and the Modern Dance School (Cairo Opera House) from 2004–2011.
4 Al-Musannafat is the department for censorship and supervision of theatres, films, music and dance, affiliated to the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
5 Omar Rajeh is a Lebanese dancer, teacher, choreographer and artistic director of Maqamat Dance Theatre and Takween-Beirut Contemporary Dance School.
1 Lebanon’s contemporary history has been marred by conflict. After gaining independence in 1943, tensions in Lebanon grew in the 1950s and 1960s. These were a result of political and religious frictions, the 1958 Lebanon Crisis, the influxes of Palestinian refugees in 1948 and 1967, and issues pertaining to the presence of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon over this time. The Lebanese Civil War traumatized the country between 1975 and 1990, followed by the Syrian military occupation from 1976 until 2005 and the 2006 Lebanon War, which left Lebanon in a fragile situation. Numerous bombings and assassinations have taken place over the past decade. Most recently tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have positioned Lebanon on the brink of a new conflict, a double suicide bombing in Tripoli on 10 January 2015 claimed the lives of nine people and injured 30, and the debacle over the ‘selfie’ of Miss Lebanon and Miss Israel at the Miss Universe contest has flooded global media.
2 These shoes are made for walking (2013) was created by Nancy Naous (Dalia’s sister) and performed by Dalia Naous and Nadim Bahsoun. The work has been performed in Lebanon and France.