TARAB

The word 'tarab’ describes this moment of ecstasy, where body and music unite and open a gateway to enchanted sensuality.

Ulduz Ahmadzadeh turns the spotlight onto the unexplored and sometimes forbidden dances of the pre-Islamic cultural heritage of the Middle East. This dance and music, the subject matter of this piece, have been subjected to multiple forms of Euro-colonial and Islamic translations, in the course of which the women, who were its performers, have been reduced either to sexualised oriental dancers, or completely erased.

Accompanied by the rhythms of percussionist Mohammad Reza Mortazavi, seven dancers embody this ancient movement and bring it into dialogue with contemporary dance, without overlooking the colonial dynamics between the two.