By Ziad Nawfal

In a large, rectangle-shaped Plexiglass container, 4 female and 3 male dancers are seated on a bench, staring fixedly ahead. They stand up one after the other, and execute highly-stylized body movements inside the empty, clinical enclosure. Their movements lose their composure little by little, and what started out as a tempered parade of articulated bodies soon turns into a clash of limbs and flesh, kept in check by the ever-ascending musical score.

Mushrooms and Fig Leaves is the latest creation by Lebanese dance company Maqamat. It is presented on two occasions in Sharjah’s 10th Biennial, on March 16 and 18. The performance features musical backing from Lebanese musicians Fadia Tomb el Hage on vocals, and Mahmoud Turkmani on guitar and oud. I spoke to Omar Rajeh, the founder of Maqamat, sometime between the two performances.

How were you approached by the Sharjah Biennial regarding this performance?

Omar Rajeh: I usually don’t like working on commission. I feel I cannot create something authentic, unless the idea speaks to me, and the work happens in a spontaneous manner. I was at the Sharjah Biennial two years ago to talk about Takween, the training program for dancers and choreographers that I founded in Lebanon in 2010. That was when I met Suzanne and Rasha [Cotter and Salti respectively] for the first time, not knowing they would be curating this year’s Biennial. I told Suzanne about my idea for the performance and installation, and of the different ways of using the space. I pictured the choreography as a body installation, with various combined elements.

Preparing for this particular performance was a difficult process. There were many parameters, many technical aspects that I could not control. The spectator’s vision is not limited, as in a traditional dance performance. And consequently there is no way for me to lead the gaze of the audience from one place to the next. What if somebody does not see an important gesture, such as the one Mia [Habis, one of the four female dancers) makes at the very outset of the performance?

How did you go about preparing for the performance?

When I first came to Sharjah late last year and looked at the space, I did not imagine that there would be a Plexiglas enclosure for the dancers. I did not think of it at first. I came back here in the summer of 2010 with two of the dancers to start working on the performance, and we spent two months training intensively and examining different ways of approaching it. We focused on the body, and imagined something akin to a ‘body installation’. An investigation of the body, so to speak. We now knew what the space was like, and wondered how to deal with it. How will the dancers behave inside the space? Where will they stand? Would we be able to control the movement and narration of the performance through lighting effects? I thought it was a bit weak, until the idea for the Plexiglas came about. It determined to a great extent what would come later.

Did you conceive from the beginning of a performance that would include several elements, such as music, dance and photography?

Both a photographer and an architect were involved in the early stages. We were dealing with three different aspects. First of these is the body. We examined the structure of the body, looked for different ways to approach this structure and to use it. We watched several National Geographic documentaries on the human body. We were investigating different supports and shapes for the body. The second element is time. When the body is standing in a certain position, the first thought on our mind is movement; is it still or moving? This is where the idea of photography came in. Photography creates a frame, it freezes a fraction of a second in time. We wanted to print large photographs, and have the performers carry them around. In this manner, we would be creating a parallel between the real body and the body in the photograph. The third element is the use of external material. We were toying with the idea of adding material to the performance: balloons, foam, grains, clay, lead, wires, papers… Each dancer would have his or her own material, and would be creating his or her own body installation. As things evolved, however, it turned out we could not fit everything inside the space. Due to time and technical constraints, some objects were left aside, while others were added.

Did the Plexiglas container help you with regard to the final performance?

Yes indeed. The Plexiglas really determined the direction of the work. The dancers are exposed at all times, just by virtue of the fact that they are performing inside a transparent container. It is almost as if they are in a biological laboratory. They cannot hide anything, and are in the process of being examined. Even the dimension of sound is altered inside the container, as it mutes all external sounds. The performers are operating inside a void.

The first performance of Mushrooms and Fig Leaves was held on the opening day of the Biennial. Were you pleased with the result?

I was very happy with the first show. Relieved, as well, since this was a commission from the Sharjah Biennial, and I was eager to live up to their expectations. I’m sure some people did not like the performance, but the feedback was generally positive. No end result can ever be reached with this sort of choreography. It is an endless process, and there is no result to arrive at. There is always new information to be assimilated, and this was a very enriching process for me. Much remains to be done.

The second performance of Mushrooms and Fig Leaves takes place on Friday 18 March at 7pm, in the Heritage Area.