Rutgers Two-day Symposium Celebrates Vibrant North African Dance Traditions
November 9th and 10th, 2009

Building on the success of its past four years presenting World dance performances on the Rutgers-Newark campus, the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience is expanding its program into a two-day cultural Symposium on November 9 and 10, 2009.

The inaugural two-day event, Dance As Community Identity: A Symposium on North African Dance will explore the dance and culture of countries such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia with two internationally-respected dance scholar/performers: Morocco of New York City and Amel Tafsout of Eugene, Oregon, who have dedicated their professional lives to the study and preservation of North African dance traditions.

The Symposium commences on Monday, November 9 with two lectures at the John Cotton Dana Library on campus, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Morocco will speak on "Dance As Community Identity in Selected Berber Nations of Morocco,” and Amel will discuss "Body Art: Symbols, Henna and Tattoos in the Maghreb." The Monday evening concert at 7:30 p.m. at Bradley Hall Theater includes performances by the guest artists and other professional dancers. As in the past three years, the Institute will present a reception after the Monday evening concert in the theater lobby featuring Middle Eastern/North African cuisine.

On the second day of the symposium, Tuesday, Nov. 10, the artists will host two dance workshops on the "Guedra," the trance dance of the Blue people of Morocco, and Rai dance of Algeria. The dance workshops take place in the 3rd floor dance studio of the Paul Robeson Campus Center from noon to 4 p.m.

All components of the symposium are free and open to the campus and larger Newark community.

Currently, the Institute hosts the only annual ethnic dance performance series on the Newark campus. By bringing different cultures to the concert stage, which in the past have included Middle Eastern, Indian, African and Afro-Brazilian dance, the Institute seeks to widen the appreciation for world cultures, and to recognize the importance of the Arts in building new bridges of understanding among diverse communities.

Star-Ledger dance critic, Robert Johnson, who has reviewed several of the Institute's concerts, comments: “While continuing to think seriously about cultural legacies and the inter-relationships among ethnic communities, the Institute also wants to make these topics widely accessible. The free dance performances that this Rutgers University program offers annually in Newark are a great way to expose the public to such issues in an enjoyable way.”

The Rutgers Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience is celebrating its second decade as an interdisciplinary academic program at Rutgers-Newark that serves the greater Newark metropolitan region by reaching into the community at large with lectures, symposia, film, performances, exhibitions, and other programs that enhance public understanding of urban life, the social construction of difference, race relations, local history, urban youth culture, and education.

Dance as Community Identity: a Symposium on North African Dance & Culture is presented by the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience and co-sponsored by the Institute and the Department of African American and African Studies at Rutgers-Newark. The Symposium is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs; and by the Cultural Arts Programming Fund at Rutgers-Newark.

For more information contact Marisa Pierson at the Institute at 973-353-3896.
email: mpierson@newark.rutgers.edu