Tunisian Dancers Take Back the Streets
The sound of the Tunisian drum, known as the Darbouka, grows louder as the hands of performers strike the instrument’s rawhide and then bounce back in synchronicity. A young man strides to the center of the public square in front of Tunis’ Medina and begins to dance to traditional Tunisian rhythms that reverberate from the hollow depths of the Darbouka.
The dancer starts whirling before he is joined by two other dancers performing a contemporary routine, as a growing crowd watches. A passerby joins the dancers for a brief moment before continuing on his way, leaving the dancers whose numbers have now increased and whose dancing styles range from traditional to lyrical.
This piece of performance art, “I will dance despite everything,” was organized in December by the Tunisian cultural association “Art Solution.” Created in June 2011, Art Solution aims to promote dance and produce street art events as well as workshops.
“The association is conceived of as a response to the general mood of the country. We were afraid that Tunisian artists would lose their status in the street with the impeding danger of extremists, who threaten freedom,” said Bahri Ben Yahmed, one of Art Solution’s founders. ”We have organized several projects before but we were often denied permission by the ministries. The official ministries did not acknowledge artists and hence came the idea of an association that promotes artistic freedom.”
Dancers perform in Kasbah Square (Photo credit: Facebook page of Art Solution)
“The streets belong to art and artists,” Ben Yahmed asserted.
Last December…continue at tunisialive.
Posts tagged dance
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h/t Zina Asfour
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