| Makers | Sahar Damoni |
| Part of | Holland Dance Festival |
"Intense, impactful, and confronting." This is how festival director Samuel Wuersten describes the work of choreographer and dancer Sahar Damoni. As a feminist with a traditional Arab-Palestinian background, through her art, she endeavors to unravel the frustrations and contradictions in her life, searching for the freedom that she was often denied.
Damoni is one of the three young Israeli and Palestinian creators selected through the Pitching Project, whose performances are showcased during this edition of the Holland Dance Festival. After presenting her work in Israel, the United States, and frequently in Germany, she now makes her Dutch debut at our festival with Nawa.
Nawa is a multidisciplinary solo performance-installation in which Damoni continues her exploration of sexual freedom, bodily autonomy, and the impact of abortion on Arab women. While her previous production, Eat Banana and Drink Pills, focused on the individual and social consequences of her own abortion experience, in Nawa, Damoni shifts the focus to the physical and psychological effects of the surgical procedure and anesthesia. She particularly examines the phenomenon of being 'awake' or conscious during anesthesia, raising questions such as 'does the body remember what happened?' and 'is the body ever truly free?'
Damoni's work is not only physically challenging – she often pushes her bodily limits – but the choreographer doesn’t shy away either to look for the boundaries within the themes of her pieces. With courage, she addresses topics such as habits, gender norms, and the political status quo of Israeli-Palestinian society, offering her critique. According to Damoni, speaking the truth about women's bodies is becoming increasingly risky and more of a taboo, making the subject all the more relevant to her. With an Israeli passport but an Arab-Palestinian background, she often feels that who she is and how she expresses herself doesn't align with society's expectations. Therefore, as she puts it: "My only home is my body, my own identity, my 'artistic machine'". This makes her work exceptionally genuine and truly intriguing.
From January 24 to February 17, 2024, the Netherlands will be immersed in international dance. For four weeks, the Holland Dance Festival, for the nineteenth time, opens a window to the world in The Hague, Delft, Tilburg, and Rotterdam.
Holland Dance Festival showcases the universal character and the enormous richness and versatility of dance. The festival aims for innovation without forgetting the history of dance. Dance icons take the spotlight, and leading choreographies find a place in the festival. But of course, dance art cannot thrive without 'new blood', and therefore the festival also provides a stage for emerging dancers and choreographers.
Korzo Studio