Lebanon gets a taste of the world of the dance world, as Maqamat Dance Theatre kicked off its 10th annual dance event on Thursday, April 10th, 2014.
BIPOD (Beirut International Platform of Dance) was launched in 2004 as the Beirut International Dance Festival, organized by the Maqamat Dance Theater located in Hamra. The event offers dancing performances displayed by artists of different origins, at the same time, workshops, conferences, debates in order to develop new concepts of contemporary dancing. In addition, it will widen their performance scope by exposing them to international work and creating an interactive atmosphere between artists. This year’s line-up includes internationally acclaimed companies from Norway, Belgium, Lebanon, UK, Germany, Morocco, Australia, France and Switzerland.The first event entitled “Still Current” was a night of performances by the Russell Maliphant Company (UK). A combination of solos, duets and trios, the performances displayed choreography inspired by ballet, modern dance and martial arts, with tribal drum music of different rhythm patterns.
The dancers moved deliberately, creating poetry with their bodies, expressing emotions from love to longing, exposing themselves to the audience, letting the music lead their steps. As beautiful as their movements were, the choreography however was repetitive and stifling, as the dancers were sometimes confined to dancing in one particular spot instead of moving throughout the large stage. It felt like they couldn’t exactly break free.
The last performance of the evening was a duet, a love story, showing the flow of a relationship, from meeting to having doubts, to breaking up, to getting back together again. The lighting along with the music and choreography all came together quite beautifully to create a piece of art.
Overall, the night was a successful one, and a great start to BIPOD 2014.
