Dance is not for us

Omar Rajeh dances restlessly, impulsively, intensely. He fights his way through memories, desires, trauma … What haunts him so painfully is the fall of Beirut, his hometown, once a haven of love and joie de vivre. In the piece's title he determines, with plenty of irony: "We have no right to dance". And he knows exactly how to embody this: "We take our pain and go on tour with it." And his body conjures up the piercing feeling of helplessness and the maelstrom of chaos, anger and despair. There is the memory of the conflicts and economic collapse. There are sacrifices that politics and foreign rule demand of Lebanese society. Meaning: Rajeh stays grounded and doesn't present himself as the builder of the Lebanese dance landscape that he actually was until the theater that he had created in Beirut was destroyed and the situation forced him to leave his homeland. He has been living in Lyon for five years and he thinks of his family doctor from his childhood: Would he have been interested in the personal sensation of pain that the little Omar had? And who is concerned with suffering in Lebanon today? "I felt the need to create this piece" is written on the back wall at the end when Rajeh reverses his slogan DANCE IS NOT FOR US into a memory of hospitality and warmth. But instead of nostalgia, the gesture creates a symbol of hope. And it is known to be green like the cedar in Lebanon’s flag.