Wednesday of sound and body / Cabaret Loulou - Arxius de dansa baladi

From Ghawazi to present solo sharqi, Cabaret Loulou Baladi Archives of Baladi Dance is a journey in time and in movement, telling the story of the evolution of Baladi* dance across a century of socio-political changes. Delving into its main legends, stories, art and context we reflect on the ambivalence around the “dancer figure”, who embodies the times, negotiating identity between Colonial influences and Arabness, tradition and modernism of gender norms of women and their position in society and the public sphere.

Cabaret Loulou Archives of Baladi Dance is a performance and an invitation to embark on a journey- with movement as the guide – to celebrate the marginal (and contested) but central Baladi dance figures, in Arab culture, memory and the social imaginary.

*Baladi dance is the traditional dance form that is also known as Danza Arabe or Belly dance.