MASHRABIYA (2014)

Commissioned by: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center

Original choreography by: Hala Shah

About: Our souls are lined with mashrabiya, or arabesque latticework window screens, which conceal and protect our private motivations and intentions, and symbolize external appearances often socially associated with particular identities. As divine light passes through our souls it casts patterned shadows that tell the stories of our faith and identity. This dance transports you inside the sheltered bounds of mashrabiya, of my mashrabiya, to reveal the why, rather than the how, I identity myself as Muslim. (Hala Shah)

Presented by the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center as part of its „Beyond Sacred: Unthinking Muslim Identity“ 2014-2015 season of programming.

Premiered: Friday, September 26, 2014 at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Little Theater 
Cast: Callie Lyons, Jonathan Matthews, Hala Shah, and Xiaoxiao Wang
Costumes: Nina Varanian
Lighting Design: Melody Beal
Projection Design: ZAS