Live from Jerusalem “Premier” Dance Performance

Submitted by the Event Organizer

RSVP Here: https://berkeley.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Z9ecZEJyQjeM7n3zb0LqdQ

In partnership with c.a.t.a.m.o.n Dance Group in Jerusalem, Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, and the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice.

“Premier” is a solo dance choreographed by Elad Schechter, founder and principal choreographer of CATAMON, for Rand Zeid Taha, a Jerusalem born Palestinian dancer. CATAMON describes “Premiere” as follows: “A collaborative dance work by two artists. A Muslim and a Jew. A choreographer and a dancer. Both born and raised in Jerusalem. Both looking for the moment when everything will freeze and it will finally be possible to breathe.” This interreligious and intercultural dialogue through dance negotiates the sociopolitical tensions and rifts evoked by east/west Jerusalem through the expressive forms of dance and movement.

Elad Schechter is a Jerusalem native dancer and choreographer and a graduate of the High School for the Arts in Jerusalem. He served in the IDF Theatre department and danced in many professional companies. In 2012 he founded the c.a.t.a.m.o.n Dance Group in Jerusalem. Schechter has been creating works since 2009, including Jerusalem-based projects that aim to develop dance, art, and culture in the city. Elad founded the ‘From Jaffa to Agripas’ Festival in the Machne Yehuda market. Schechter is a LGBTQ activist and a father.

Rand Zeid Taha is a Palestinian Dancer from Jerusalem. She graduated from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Rand was a member of the Academy’s Ensemble and part of the excellence performance program. In her senior year at the Academy, she won 3rd place in the annual ‘Gertrude Strauss Choreography Competition’. Rand was chosen for the Henny Jurriens Summer Intensive scholarship in Amsterdam in 2017. Rand is Performing with c.a.t.a.m.o.n Dance Group and took part in the CINARS Biennale 2018, in Montreal.

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