Omweg naar Huis - Ali Zanad

Under the wings of Emoves, Ali Zanad (Baghdad, 1994) made an evening -filling triptych consisting of a group piece, Sat’eh, a solo played by himself in Wijk 1803 and a documentary about his assistance that connects two pieces, detour home .

Sat’eh is the Arabic word for the roof. In the Arab cultures, life takes place a lot on the roof: people come together on the flat roof of their house, looking out over the world. The roof is therefore the same for choreographer Ali Zanad to a feeling of home. Since his arrival in the Netherlands, he is looking for this feeling. Iraq is in him, but the Netherlands is just as good. A research trip he made to Morocco, to experience the Arabic culture from which he had been gone for so long, made him realize that he has to look for that feeling inside himself, wherever he is. This translates Ali into the dance performance Sat’eh . 

In this performance he works with three dancers from different backgrounds, to universally approach the feeling of home and lost identity. By making a mixture of Western and Arab styles in both dance and music, Sat’eh the dual of the maker embodies.  Just like personal loss and traumas that have to do with his forced trip to the Netherlands. 

Most people associate Baghdad with the wars and Saddam Hussein. For Ali Zanad it is an important part of his childhood. The square on which he played was a soccer field, playground, sometimes unsafe and the transit route for wonderful, wandering nomads. In district 1803 , Ali brings these memories to life with a raw, penetrating and physical dance language. Every gesture is an ultrasound from the past. From a child who finds his happiness on the street, among the bullet shells. The square is a decor full of movement, penetrating scents and fabric. A place where history and future keep crossing each other.