At the Gomhuria Theater last Saturday I found myself seated in a circle with about 70 other people. In the center was the stage but the lights were directed towards both the audience and the platform. A young woman walks slowly to the middle of the stage. She starts breathing; effortlessly at first, but her breath soon turns to a gasp and then she begins suffocating. This lasts seven to eight minutes and is the first glimpse of the fascinating world of modern dance. The International Festival for Dance Theater has now become a staple of Egypt's cultural life. The eighth edition of the festival, which kicked off on June 5 and ends on June 26, has not only attracted an array of the best dance talent in Egypt and other countries like France, Germany, Canada and Sweden, but also provides an outlet for emerging artists to showcase their philosophical and artistic vision. Modern dance appeared in the early 20th century, rebelling against classic ballet. Inspired by Greek philosophy, Nietzsche and postmodernism, the movement emphasized improvisation, natural motion and the relationship between the spirit and the body. The appeal of Modern Dance lies in the freedom it grants dancers. Technique was always secondary with Modern Dance and its derivatives (Contemporary and Postmodern Dance), are all about the choreography and always emphasize movement. This year's festival was kicked off with veteran choreographer Walid Aouni's spectacle "If Clouds Could Speak. The work centers on the ever-changing physical motion of clouds and their metamorphosis from a clear, pure state at times to dark, intimidating objects. Accompanied by the sedating classical music of Wagner in some parts and with the modern-day anthems of Hip Hop and Rap at others, "Clouds is, by far, the most visually stunning performance this year. It is essentially about the general concept of change: changing people, changing moods, evolving history and the continuous art revolutions all symbolized in the expressions, gestures and actions of the dancers. Although none of the performances carry a concrete narrative, Sherif Al Morsi's "A Short Narrative Dream features a thin plot that acts as a framework for the dance routines. "Dream is the engaging tale of a storyteller who wants to change himself and the world through a play based on the Egyptian folk love story "Hassan and Naiema. Memory and loss are two of the most common themes of the festival. The best of the bunch is Laurence Rondoni and Mohamed Shafik's "Les Maux de Soqoot El Zakera (The Pain of Memory Loss). Under a fan rotating unhurriedly, dancers embodying dreams, memories, tales and imagination collide against one another; sometimes swiftly but often violently. Dream becomes reality, and reality turns to dream, the dead wake up from their eternal slumber, searching for themselves, facing their blunders and contemplating the people and things they've lost. Rondoni and Shafik's spiritual meditation - which combines enigmatic, surreal texts in Arabic, English, Dutch, Italian and French - is a technically superior show that ranks among the most emotional and moving performances this year. The most intriguing show so far is Adham Hafez's "Bodies, Bread and Mud. Hafez explores the connotations of the body in terms of its organic, mortal, mythical, sacred and profane traits. The almost mystical performance is full of cryptograms, dreamlike sequences and odes to the cult of Osiris. "Bodies is a difficult to understand yet captivating performance. In the last segment of the show, a young woman appears to momentarily fall dead on stage. Two other young ladies come to her side, slip their hands in a bowl of mud and start adorning her lips, cheeks and forehead to almost reshape her face entirely. Asem Rady's "White Silence, on the other hand, dives into the world of silence; those moments when stillness forces people to drop their masks and confront each other with harsh truths. It is divided into three parts: "White Silence, which carries the main theme of the performance; "Advaita which focuses mainly on simple, beautifully stylized movement that examines the relation between old rituals of yoga and the expressionistic freedom of modern dance; and "Resonance about the interaction of both the physical and internal world of two characters. The first segment is the best and most ambitious of the three. Here the director begins with a young woman lying on the stage trembling, defeated and gently sobbing. Little by little, the woman, who symbolizes silence, gains her strength and begins to overpower the two other characters. This silence acts primarily as a screen that displays the emptiness individuals share in the modern world. There's one thought-provoking bit where the lead character, pretending to be a TV presenter, speaks in German with an Egyptian official talking in Arabic. Both of them are talking to each other yet, in reality, they say nothing and listen only to themselves. The second segment demonstrates the connection between the past and the present. Like the bodies of the two dancers, they sometimes look at each other from a short distance, sometimes merge, but often remain far from each other, unable to communicate. The last part shows how individuals can easily sip into each other's souls. Recallsing Ingmar Bergman's film "Persona, the intimate movements of the two dancers show how humans can easily assume each other's roles, despite all the contradictions that might appear on the surface. After all, as "Bodies, Bread and Mud suggests, we're all essentially the same. For the Festival schedule please check the agenda regularly
