A thought-provoking fusion piece performed by our winter workshop tutor and hafla performer, Shems. Don’t miss the chance to study with this dancer in the Netherlands!

“Looking at Western media interpretations of the Middle East, a two pronged message comes across strongly and repeatedly, on one point eroticism, seduction and belly dance; on the other terrorism, war and violence. It is in part Orientalist stereotype and fear-mongering and in part a simplified reflection of the real and complex cultural struggles found in these regions of political repression. My war dance is a metaphor of this devil’s trident, dedicated to the third spike, the people caught in the middle of it all.”