ZĀĀR
Zaar spirits are contagious, they sweep into people through their mouths and noses and wind their way through their bodies. They like to sit on the tops of mountains, they like to make the sea swirl. Some love it when we show them our teeth.
In her new piece, Ulduz Ahmadzadeh continues her long-term research on the movement material of West Asian cultural heritage and lets the spirits carry her on the wind from the Persian Gulf to the African continent. ZĀĀR is an examination of the cosmology of transcontinental Zaar rituals and a search for traces of kinship in dance. Together with the dancers of PARASOL, Ulduz Ahmadzadeh embarks on a turbulent journey towards transformation, states of trance and obsession, and offerings in her choreography.
is a choreographer, dancer, researcher and artistic co-director of the ATASH عطش contemporary dance company she founded. Her artistic work breaks with Western aesthetics, develops its own contemporary dance language influenced by South and West Asian traditions, and addresses socio-political issues as well as cultural hierarchies. Together with artistic co-director and scenographer Till Krappmann, Ahmadzadeh operates at the intersection of dance, performance, video, installation, documentation and activism. Her trilogy (Under Cover, Force Majeure, TARAB) was produced in cooperation with Tanzquartier Wien and has been touring internationally.
Starting in 2022, two choreographers will continuously work with a select group of five young dancers on a TQW Halle G production for three months each year. A hybrid artistic training project for the dance scene in Vienna and beyond, but also a mobile network of relations, an experimental setting focusing on the vital needs of ensemble productions: solidarity, collective experience, and conviviality. The 2024 participants are Helena Araújo, Elda Gallo, Yoh Morishita, Jennie-love Navoret and Viltė Švarplytė.
Credits
Artistic co-direction, choreography Ulduz Ahmadzadeh Artistic co-direction, Scenography Till Jasper Krappmann Performance, co-creation PARASOL – Helena Araújo, Elda Gallo, Yoh Morishita, Jennie-love Navoret, Viltė Švarplytė Recomposition, sound design turf + surf (Paul Kotal & Han-Gyeol Lie) Light design Benjamin Maier Co-produced by ATASH عطش contemporary dance company and Tanzquartier Wien
No spoken words