The Movement Research Festival returns with events happening over two weeks, February 28-March 9, 2024. The 2024 Festival is curated by Marýa Wethers, Director of the GPS/Global Practice Sharing Program at Movement Research, with a focus on the artists and partnerships developed through MR’s GPS MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Exchange Program. The Festival features performances at Movement Research at the Judson Church and Danspace Project, artist talks (GPS Chats and Studies Project), and movement workshops led by festival artists. 

Workshop: Lemon Water ma’a Nana (Moving in your own space, and out of it) with artist Sahar Damoni (Palestine)

In the Middle East and North Africa, lemon water with mint is consumed to cleanse the body of toxins and impurities. This workshop is an opportunity to clear the head and heart in order to dive into an exploration of a personal movement language and intuitive artistic voice. The workshop combines exercises drawn from meditative, somatic, dance, and writing practices which Sahar Damoni has used to develop her choreographic work. The workshop is built on the importance of reciprocity between body and mind and the therapeutic power of movement. It provides participants a safe and inclusive space for dealing with sensitive issues in a personal and exploratory way through somatic and movement-based exercises. The goal is to physically empower participants to fully feel, confront, and trust their bodies and intuition on their own healing journey. 

The workshop draws on Damoni’s experience as an Arab Palestinian woman. Facing mental and emotional challenges in Arab society on a daily basis, Damoni saw the need to build a workshop from her personal story and professional experience that could provide an outlet to the difficulties other marginalized women, dancers, and all people endure. Open to dancers, non-dancers, and the general public. 

The GPS/Global Practice Sharing program provides a platform for the international exchange of ideas, processes, and reflective practices surrounding dance and movement-based forms between the U.S. and independent performing arts communities internationally. GPS posits that dialogue across differences necessarily catalyzes the generation of new knowledge and creative innovation. By investing in the mobility of artists, curators, and cultural workers, GPS advances cross-cultural understanding and the development of the contemporary arts field at large. Officially established in 2016, GPS consists of an informal network of partners currently supporting exchange projects in Eastern and Central Europe (ECE) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). 

All events are FREE and open to the public. Advance reservations required at: https://movementresearch.org/events/series/festival/.