International Dance Theatre (the Netherlands) & Muhanad Rasheed (the Netherlands/Iraq)

As an active way of participating in the cultural debate about artistic globalisation and the influence of traditional dance forms on contemporary dance, the Amsterdam-based International Dance Theatre has commissioned Muhanad Rasheed (Iraq), who performed in the 2007 Dancing on the Edge Festival, to make a work for the company.
The Iraqi choreographer Rasheed uses funeral rituals from his country as an inspiration for this new contemporary dance piece: In his words: The mourning  ceremonies I saw became an image stuck in my memory- the women with their exhausted faces, draped in sorrow, weeping and hitting themselves. A haunting sadness permeating their souls. It was like a dream so powerful you could feel it still in the daytime. “
(Length: 40 min.)

Performance schedule
3 dec 19.30 | Amsterdam – de Brakke Grond
5 dec 21.00 | Groningen – Grand Theatre (grote zaal)
11 dec 20.30 | Rotterdam Schouwburg (kleine zaal)
12 dec 21.00 | Utrecht – Theater Kikker (grote zaal)

click here for tickets
click here for program schedules

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Muhanad Rasheed
Muhanad studied dance and theatre at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad. His choreographies and theatre pieces have been performed in the Mada Festival in Iraq, the Cairo Festival in Egypt, the Jaresh Festival in Jordan and the Philadelphia Festival, also in Jordan.  His  piece  ‘Crying of My Mother’ had its European premiere in the 2007 Dancing on the Edge Festival  and has recently toured through the Netherlands, Europe and the Arab world.

International Dance Theatre
The International Dance Theatre was founded in 1961 and has since amassed a wealth of choreographies, musical instruments and costumes from all over the world. For each production, specialist choreographers are brought in, who introduce authentic material from their country of origin and teach it to the dancers, after which the artistic director adapts the various choreographies in order to form a thematic entity. Examples of recent theme programmes include Wanderers from Rajasthan (a programme about the eternally nomadic gypsies), The Gold of Xian (dances from the countries along the Silk Road) and Pearls from the Sea (with music and dance from various islands around the globe). Each season, The International Dance Theatre and The International Dance Theatre for Youth give a total of around 200 performances in the Netherlands and abroad. The IDT has had successful tours in the United States, the Dutch Antilles, India and countries in Western and Eastern Europe. IDT also performed in China at the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival. www.intdanstheater.nl