A Universe Not Made For Us (2019)

Live performance for Dance, Zapateado, Oud, Percussion and Electronics by Yalda Younes and Khyam Allami

“It is a law of nature that earth, and all other bodies, should remain in their proper places and be moved from them only by violence.”

― Aristotle, Physics

“The emerging picture of the early Solar System, does not resemble a stately progression of events designed to form the Earth. Instead, it looks as if our planet was made, and survived, by mere lucky chance, amid unbelievable violence. Our world does not seem to have been sculpted by a master craftsman. Here too, there is no hint of a universe made for us.”

― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot

Dance / choreography: Yalda Younes
Live music / composition / sound design: Khyam Allami
Scenography: Hussein Baydoun
Live sound / technical assistance: Jawad Chaaban

Co-produced by AFAC - Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and Le Quartz - Scène Nationale de Brest(FR) with the support of Ashkal Alwan and One Hertz Studio (Beirut, LB)

SYNOPSIS
In the global context of chronic depression and massive political failures that the world is facing today, Younes and Allami explore a turbulent point in history from a tiny moment in the vast cosmic arena.

Through the unorthodox contemporary approaches to their respective Flamenco and Arabic music forms, their unique collaboration traces a confrontation between raw subconscious forces in a landscape of audio-technical vegetation.

Constantly oscillating between differing perspectives, A Universe Not Made For Us is a microcosm of organized chaos, random interruptions, illusions of order and all the while, a haunting and inescapable yearning for stillness.

DATES

15 Nov 2019, Les Rencontres à l'échelle, Marseille, FR

17 Aug 2019, Festival Lieux Mouvants, Lanrivain, FR

16 Jun 2019, Journées chorégraphiques de Carthage, Tunis, TN
09 Jun 2019, Sarāb Festival, Wadi Rum, JO
30 Mar 2019, Irtijal Festival, Beirut, LB
27 Feb, 1 - 2 Mar 2019, DansFabrik Festival, Le Quartz, Brest, FR

PHOTOS