The Israeli Embassy in Italy organized a series of dance performances all over the country last year and one of the most memorable was the world premiere of Orly Portal’s” Fakarouni,” which was staged at the DAP Festival, Danza in Arte in Pietrasanta della Verisiliana in Tuscany and was presented as part of the International Dance Exposure organized by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Fakarouni,” or “Remember Me,” was created during Portal’s residency at the Suzanne Dellal Centre of Dance and Theatre. It features a musical encounter between a group of dancers and the voice of the legendary Egyptian singer and musician Umm Kulthum and takes the audience through an intense journey that illuminates the intersections between Western and Eastern dance traditions. Umm Kulthum was a woman who flouted convention in a male-dominated world and became an international cultural icon of artistic beauty and female empowerment. The dancers’ bodies form a sensual tribute to and dialogue with the haunting entreaties of Umm Kulthum’s feminine, lyrical voice through Portal’s unique choreographic language. The piece raises questions about the nature of cultural conventions surrounding sex roles and the sometimes sexualized, often adversarial relationships between man and women, as well as celebrating love and devotion.
Portal is a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, voice and movement therapist, as wekk as a folklore explorer and the developer of a distinct dance language based on the creation of movement from deep release, incorporating elements of belly dance, modern contemporary dance, contact improvisation and Feldenkrais.”Fakarouni” received rave reviews and has been recognized as one of her most important works.
For more information: Fakarouni