From Nov. 20-Dec. 5 I was happy to be sharing my signature workshops with diverse populations in Lebanon. First, I spent a week offering my choreography workshop Enter the Body with local dancers and actors at Amalgam Studio. The group dove deeply into the theme of pain. I led the participants through various explorations and process’s targeted around releasing each individual’s buried trauma and pain. The week was intense for all, many emotions were processed, beautiful movement was created among the group. Connection, healing and understanding emerged on this journey into the self and as a community. The result was 15-minute dance called “The Invitation”. The work was performed at Amalgam Studio and The Sunflower Theater. Followed by in depth talk backs with curious audiences wanting to learn more about the therapeutic creative process.
Next up was workshops with Seenaryo a not for profit working with marginalized communities. Female Syrian refuges participated in Valerie’s Skimming the Surface workshop. Not knowing what to expect, I was touched by how deeply the women were able to open themselves to the experientials in the class and share. It was a very profound and new experience; whereby new means of expression and confidence were gained in short time. Sceenaryo facilitators also gained new skills to offer their students in the Enter the Body choreography workshop. Finding new ways to explore movement creation and play with a trauma infused lens.
The third stop was in the mountains at a new art center called Sarmada. Skimming the Surface at this venue was offered to a general mix of people. It was exciting to how many people were curious and in need and wanting to explore the complexities of their emotions. Each workshop kept surpassing itself on how engaged students were. My experience as an educator and healer was very fulfilling. Each moment was so special in its own way.
The fourth stop was the Sunflower Theater. Here the healing workshop was offered once again to diverse movers. This time exploring where each experience being stuck in their life and finding new tools and steps to create ways of moving forward. This was followed by the reprise performance of “The Invitation” and VG/DE’s film Time Capsule: A Physical Documentary and a talk back. The whole day was center around movement as a modality for healing.
The last stop was the beautiful Houna Center a yoga studio in Hamra. Again the healing workshop was offered to a cast of many different souls focused on the chakra system and personality drives. It was exciting to see familiar faces popping up at each workshop who wanted to follow my teaching and go deeper, be curious and explore themselves.
Filling out the trip was some site seeing, eating delicious Lebanese dishes and the seeking out of live Arabic music! Somehow, I was surprised that Lebanon is a third world country, what was not surprising was the populations struggles with trauma related to war, politics, the recent port explosion, and Covid. Even with all this baggage the Lebanese people are warm, generous, full of life, curious and ready to get up and dance and sing whenever they get the chance!
The tour was in collaboration with Bassam Abou Diab and the Beirut Physical Plant, and part of a cultural exchange in relation to Dance Entropy’s HOME Project. The tour received generous support from American Dance Abroad.
“It was a great pleasure and honor to host your workshop, “Skimming the Surface”, at Beit Sarmada. Everyone who participated, including us who work every day in the space, experienced an opening and integration with the space, between one another, and within ourselves. It is important work for us to connect on different levels to space, community, and individually during a multi-faceted crisis in Lebanon.”