DANCE

Kristina Koutsoudas presents Nour-an-Nisa (Light of Femininity) on Friday and Saturday, December 2 & 3, 2011 at 7pm at the Rothko Chapel. Noor-an-Nisa is a unique program illuminating scenes of women and spirituality in traditional and contemporary Near Eastern, Middle Eastern, and North African cultures. Through the combination of dance, music, song, poetry, and stories, this free program presents traditional arts and cultural mores rarely seen by the general public.

Besieged from the media with negative images of the Middle East and North Africa, the general public does not often get a chance to view the beautiful spirit, art and culture of these regions. Nour-an-Nisa focuses on scenes of women (in current everyday life, as well as from artistic & literary sources) in traditional and contemporary Near Eastern, Middle Eastern, and North African cultures to Illustrate important stages in women's lives. Specific elements of various dance traditions highlight universal qualities of these stages. Some dances are dances of youth and beauty, others areof maturity, development of power, love and fertility, and others are of wisdom and devotional traditions.

Directed and choreographed by Kristina Koutsoudas, Nour-an-Nisa draws from rich Arab and Persian musical and literary traditions, as well as modern and traditional folk music. Koutsoudas, known for her authentic cultural dance representations from these regions, is seeking to embody the original intent of art in these regions: the transcendence of the spirit through the art form.

"Art is a necessity, essential for the spiritual health and integrity of a community, imbuing life with meaning and beauty," comments Koutsoudas. "Every one of my pieces in this program is a jewel drawn from my extensive dance experience. In today's political climate, this program provides an excellent opportunity to see another side of the Middle East - haunting ney solos (flute music), liquid song in praise of a beloved, fiery percussion, and beautiful costumes, all portray the intensely spiritual and devoted side of Arab cultures. I chose to present these works at the Rothko Chapel because the space is beautiful, meaningful, non-denominational, multi-cultural, and accessible to all." Many of the scenes depicted have not often been made available to Western culture. Koutsoudas hopes to share with audiences unacquainted with the culturethe love, traditions and devotion to spiritual growth that prevails in the Arabic speaking community.

The program opens with dance drawn from the figures of the peris or angels portrayed in Persian artistic and literary traditions. Based on work by Laurel Victoria Gray, the dance shows the beauty, great light, and playful, mischievous, devotional natures of the peris. Koutsoudas has incorporated traditional Uzbecki and classical Persian movements which in and of themselves are a practice for physically developing the qualities of the peris. Byillustrating the youthful beauty and grace or 'angelic' qualities of all young women, this piece makes the line between what is considered 'divine' and 'human' indistinct.

Another piece, "Voices of the Heart," involves the famous Andalusian song, Lamma Bada Yata Thenna, a poem in classical muwashah form praising the beauty of a woman and the singer's feelings for her. Within the piece, a series of short dance solos are performed to instrumental solos. The voice of each instrument is given an expression through a specific movement technique/quality unique to Middle Eastern/North African dance traditions.

Expanding on this choreographic motif, "The Rose" and "Three Petals of the Rose" are two segments derived from healing/devotional traditions rarely seen outside of their communities. The movements are selected for their ability to embody a particular quality of femininity, a quality of being. Specific movements are unique to a dance tradition; however, when associated with a quality, they form an image of femininity familiar to all. "The Rose," involves dance derived from the tradition of whirling in order to illustrate sovereignty and splendor, while "Three Petals of the Rose" includes south Saharan (Moorish/Tuareg) and Persian dance performed to the accompaniment of the Persian zarb. Interspersed with spoken mystic poetry/story, the dances illustrate purity, mystery, wisdom, strength, and love.

Other segments include "Devotion," with scenes of women doing the salat, the Muslim prayer performed five times daily; "Mother," a storytelling dance about the image of the Mother and Child, and "Kabyle Rose." In honor of the Rothko Chapel's Oscar Romero Award recipientfrom Algeria, Nassera Dutour, the Algerian Berber dance, "Kabyle Rose," is traditionally performedimprovisationally at weddings after the ceremony. With the full cast of dancers, this choreographed piece is founded on rapid hip work of an ancient fertility ritual dance not often seen performed outside of its homeland, context, or by individuals apart from those of its origins.

Noor-an-Nisa incorporates a cast of seven dancers from several countries and a small classical Arab music ensemble of artists from Jordan and Lebanon. Dancers include Kristina Koutsoudas, Alla Shariy; Melissa Arnold, Dorianne Castillo, Andria Denmon, Heba Khan, and Ruth Mei-Fung Langston. Musicians include Eyyad Abdat (Ney/Percussion) from Jordan, Erin Foster-Ghanem (Kanoun/Percussion) from Texas, and Missid Ghanem (Oud and Vocals) from Lebanon. Lighting design by Kris Phelps and videography by Carlos Cabillo, formerly with S.W.A.M.P., and now head of Open Voices Houston project funded by Comcast .

Noor-an-Nisa (Light of Femininity) premieres Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3, 2011 at 7pm at the Rothko Chapel, 3900 Yupon, Houston, TX, 77006. This performance is free and open to the general public. For more information, call 832 287 7011 or visit www.studiokhouston.com.  

Kristina Koutsoudas is a recipient of an Individual Artist Grant Award. This grant is funded by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.