“With good friends … and good food on the board … we may well ask, when shall we live if not now?” – M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating
Four choreographers and four musicians, with different artistic experiences and ideas, coming from different continents, cultures, and countries, are meeting onstage over a banquet of food. They talk, drink, laugh, dance, and prepare food together. A simple meeting that would be a starting point to a more complex choreographic and conceptual performance structure.
Beytna is an invitation to the home of the other, to the artist’s profession and choreographic construction. It is an invitation that confirms diversity, touches on forms and situations of the past, and searches for a new rhythm, pattern, and logic.
Omar Rajeh, a critically acclaimed choreographer and dancer, is a leading figure of the contemporary dance scene in Lebanon and the Arab world. He founded Maqamat in Beirut in 2002. In December 2019, he moved to France and established his company in the city of Lyon. In 2021, he was distinguished by the French Ministry of Culture ‘for his contribution and engagement in the service of Culture’ with the title of ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters).
Concept & choreography Omar Rajeh / in collaboration with Koen Augustijnen, Anani Sanouvi, Seungju Lee / Performed by Koen Augustijnen, Ziad El Ahmadie, May Bou Matar, Seungju Lee, Joss Turnbull, Samir Nasr Eddine, Omar Rajeh, Anani Sanouvi / Music Composition Ziad El Ahmadie, Joss Turnbull, Samir Nasr Eddine / Percussion Joss Turnbull / Voice Nohad Rajeh / Scenography & costumes Mia Habis / Sound Engineer Philippe Balzé / Lighting design Victor Duran Manzano / Technical director Christian François / Technical assistant Samah Tarabay / Graphic design & video animation Joe Elias Nimslabs / Light design Victor Duran Manzano / Technical director Christian François / Administrator Jean-Louis Pagnon
Co-produced by BIPOD-Beirut International Platform of Dance, Tanzquartier Wien, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, CCN de La Rochelle / Cie Accrorap-Direction Kader Attou, Theater im Pfalzbau-Ludwigshafen, and Fondazione Fabbrica Europa
