As a poetic generator of subtext, the moving body can express different layers of sensations and experiences. In being, Bára Sigfúsdóttir uses this body as the common ground to explore and to put in dialogue the West-European with the Iranian identity.

Rooted in an ongoing curiosity towards new cultures and the development of movement in different contexts than her own, Bára travelled to Tehran (Iran) in 2014 to take part in the UNTIMELY Festival. While teaching a workshop there, she got intrigued by the skills and presence of two local artists, Masoumeh Jalalieh and Alireza Mirmohammadi. This planted the seed for being, a piece where Bára creates an onstage encounter for and with Masoumeh and Alireza. For this performance the three of them explore the concept of ‘meeting’ and reflect on the West-European and the Iranian (and by extension the Middle-Eastern) culture and society. Their bodies serve as the common ground to depart from. The meeting between bodies, between Masoumeh and Alireza on stage but also between them and the audience, serves as a sober gesture: a place to explore what we share rather than to underline our differences.

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE ‘BEING’

Fabrik Potsdam                                                     5 – 11 Jun 2017

Potsdam/Germany

Grand Theatre                                                      3 – 15 Jul 2017

Groningen/ Germany

Banafsh Studio                                                      28 Aug – 15 Sep 2017

Tehran/ Iran

Istanbul/ Turkey                                                     25 Sep – 7 Oct 2017

Arca Theatre                                                          9 – 22 Oct 2017

Technical Montage

Ghent/ Belgium

CAMPO Nieuwpoort Theater                                23 – 25 Oct 2017

Set up

Ghent/ Belgium

PERFORMANCE CALENDAR ‘BEING’

Campo & Voorit/ Campo nieuwpoort                  26 Oct 2017

Ghent/ Belgium

Campo & Voorit/ Campo nieuwpoort                  27 Oct 2017

Ghent/ Belgium

Next Festival/ Espace Pasolini                                 11 Nov 2017

Valenciennes/ France

C-mine                                                                       15 Nov 2017

Genk/ Belgium

Reykjavík dance festival                                           17 Nov 2017

Reykjavík/ Iceland

de Grote post                                                             30 Nov 2017

Ostend/ Germany

CCBE Berchem                                                           07 Dec 2017

Antwerp/ Belgium

Cultuurcentrum Strombeek                                        08 Dec 2017

Strombeek/ Belgium

cc de Spil                                                                     24 Feb 2018

Roeselare/ Belgium

international choreographers’ week                         07 Mar 2018

dansbrabant & de nwe vorst

Tilburg/ The Netherlands

Teherantithese                                                              21 Mar 2018

KC NONA

Mechelen/ Belgium

LENGTH: 50 minutes
CHOREOGRAPHY: Bára Sigfúsdóttir
CREATED WITH/PERFORMED BY: Masoumeh Jalalieh and Alireza Mirmohammadi
DRAMATURGY: Sara Vanderieck
LIGHTING DESIGN: Jan Fedinger
TECHNICAL SUPERVISION: Marie Vandecasteele and/or Bardia Mohammad
INTERNATIONAL DIFFUSION: A Propic / Line Rousseau and Marion Gauvent
PRODUCTION: GRIP
CO-PRODUCTION: Vooruit Arts Centre, DansBrabant, DANCE ON PASS ON DREAM ON, workspacebrussels / Life Long Burning, Moussem Nomadic Arts Centre, de Grote Post and C-TAKT
WITH THE SUPPORT OF: fabrik Potsdam, Platform 0090, Grand Theatre and CAMPO
WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF: the Government of Flanders, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and the city of Antwerp
THANKS TO: Andrean Sigurgeirsson