Our identity and our life stories are everything that was right before now. Memories, smells, colours, sounds; everything we sense. Our thought, our soul, our body. The nostalgia about the country that is yours when you are forced to live so far away. When everything that is SO FARAWAY all the time is SO NEAR.

With the title SO FARAWAY, SO NEAR, EUTOPIA presents two dance performances in May about the “escaped body” and the histories behind.

About the performance

The award winning Palestinian director Nisreen Faour is right now in Gellerup to accomplish an intense process with the local folk dancers; Jafra-danserne (The Jafra Dancers). Jafra-danserne are affiliated to Arabisk Dansk Kulturhus (Arabian Danish Culture House) in Gellerup who are working with Palastinian dance, music, festival, film and theatre.

With the dynamic and expressive movements of the traditional folk dance, Nisreen Faour will create a theatrical performance that tells about the relationship between the third generation of diaspora; the people who involuntary are living in another place than their home country and Palestine.

The process with Nisreen Faour is supposed to be more sustainable than just a premiere. The goal is to raise the dancers level and make them ready for a tour all around the country and the rest of the world and in that way tell the good story about Gellerup both culturally and artistically. Also inside Gellerup it is the ambition that the process will increase the interest in Arabisk Dansk Kulturhus so more children want to spent their spare time in the association.

After the performance on the 4^th of May there is an artist talk with Nisreen Faour where the audience can get to know the Palestinian director even more.

About Nisreen Faour

Nisreen Faour is director, theatre- and movie actress, drama teacher and coach for several performers. She was born in Tarshiha in Israel and she moved to USA in the age of 16 to study theatre and performance art.

In 2009 she won the Muhr Award at Dubai International Film Festival for best actress in AMREEKA. In 2010 she was nominated to Chlotrudis Award at Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film for best actress. She was also nominated for best female lead in AMREEKA at Independent Spirit Award.

*      *      *

Director: Nisreen Faour

The performance is created in cooperation with Arabisk Dansk Kulturhus and Jafra-danserne.

Breezes of Return is a coproduction between EUTOPIA 2017 and Dansk Arabisk Kulturhus. The project is supported by Gellerup Kulturmidler.