Dance People

Kunstfest Weimar opens with a remarkable German premiere in the Theaterplatz: “Dance People” is an interactive dance performance by the Lebanese-French company Maqamat and its Artistic Directors Omar Rajeh and Mia Habis. In a public space a choreographic project unfolds that not only treats the space as a stage but also as a living site for exchange, exploration and collective
design. What does space mean? Who does it belong to? And how do power relations, cultural narratives and social norms influence our ideas of belonging and participation? “Dance People”
makes these questions central – and answers with movement, encounters and an open artistic
process. Artists from diverse disciplines – dance, music, architecture, activism, literature – work
together with local citizens and creative artists on a performance that has no fixed bounds. It
focusses on participation rather than representation and on a shared aesthetic experience rather than hierarchical direction: spontaneously, emotionally, politically. The audience will become part of the production – invited to move, to help design and help conceive the work. Between improvisation and choreography, personal stories and collective action, a space is created that is negotiated rather than administered. In this way, “Dance People” becomes a celebration of collective action – and a critical reflection on democracy, identity and responsibility in cultural behaviour.