May he rise and smell the fragrance

ArchivOlares / Guillermo Lares (Venezuela), TAL / Stefan Schneider (Germany) and Elizabeth Gallon Droste (Germany)

“May He Rise” is a dance performance and a ceremony, where death, in all its primitiveness and violence, emerges from the depth of the earth to become a rite for life. The woman, the mourning priestess, summons the men so that they may experience grief and the pain of loss. Like a goddess, she brings them to the threshold of life and death, she moves their bodies, and from their anguish releases an action for life.  She makes them question concepts tied to their masculinity—strength, heroism and toughness; rigidity, sluggishness, and fading—laying bare their vulnerabilities and weaknesses, exposing their impotence through the intensity of her voice, her energy and her lamentations. “May He Rise” concludes Ali Chahrour’s trilogy on mourning rituals and their rich repertoire of movement, as well as the problem of the presence of the body. Following “Fatmeh” and “Leila’s Death”, “May He Rise” offers an additional taste with a performance based on lamentations, mourning, dance, stories and legends summoned from Arab memory and local genres of movement—specifically from the region of Mesopotamia, also known as the Black Grounds.

Choreography: Ali Chahrour | Dramaturgy: Junaid Sarieddeen | Performance: Hala Omran, Ali Chahrour | Music composed and performed by: "Two or The Dragon" / Ali Hout, Abed Kobeissy | Light: Guillaume Tesson | Sound Design: Khayam Al Lami | PR: Zyad Ceblany | Graphic Design: Nadine Helwe | Calligraphy: Ali Ceblany | Costumes: Rayya Morkos | Co-produced by fabrik Potsdam, Goethe Institut, Goethe-Instituts – Internationaler Koproduktionsfonds und Arab Fund for Arts and Culture / Afac | With the support of: Houna Center, Zoukak theatre company, Institut Francais in Beirut, Al Akhbar newspaper, L’orient le jour | Special thanks: Montévidéo, Créations Contemporaines - Atelier de fabrique artistique et Les Bancs Publics - Festival Les Rencontres à l'échelle. Rola Taher, Tarek Mokadem