LONDON, May 12, 2010 -- Al Zaytouna, a UK-based troupe, will present a new full-length production entitled Between the Fleeting Words, directed by Ahmed Masoud and written by Ahmed Najar. Souraya Ali, a board member of the group, gave the following interview on the upcoming show:

Can you give a brief overview of the Zaytouna project?

Al Zaytouna is a UK-based Palestinian dabke theatre group which aims to provide diverse audiences with the opportunity to experience Palestinian culture and hear the Palestinian story through a variety of performances and workshops. Formed in 2005, Al Zaytouna started life with a simple mission: to promote Palestinian culture in the West, and to challenge people’s perceptions of a nation so often associated with conflict in Western media. The group has a distinctive approach, fusing traditional Palestinian dabke with Western influences resulting in an innovative contemporary style. Al Zaytouna has produced and performed a number of shows at theatres across the UK, including Four Heartbeats, One Rhythm in Nottingham, Leeds and Lincoln, and How Palestine Became Israel and Hassad al Zaytouna (The Olive Harvest) in London. The group also collaborated with Palestine's famous dance troupe El-Funoun to produce Palestine Dances Dabke, portraying life under occupation. Al Zaytouna's last production Ila Haifa (Return to Haifa) debuted in London to over 1000 people, before travelling to Germany, Madrid and Newcastle.

The struggle to preserve Palestinian identity from a deliberate campaign to suppress it has been undertaken by many Palestinians both in the diaspora and inside the occupied territories. Does your choice of highlighting the dabke dance reflect a desire to cover an aspect of Palestinian culture that does not get its due attention or because it is an entertaining side that should easily find appeal?

Dabke is a traditional Arab folk dance characterised by rhythmic stomping of the feet, which is primarily found across the Levant region in the Middle East, with regional variations in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Typically danced at festivals, harvests and weddings, this traditionally celebratory dance form has become closely associated with political and national aspirations in Palestine, and has come to represent Palestinian identity and cultural resistance in Palestine and the diaspora. Dabke is a natural choice for Al Zaytouna because it is such a powerful and expressive art form. This joyful and defiant dance appeals across cultural boundaries and is a powerful way of celebrating Palestinian culture and reaching out to people who know little or nothing of the Arab world. Through dabke, Al Zaytouna has built up contacts with arts (and specifically dance) media and organisations across the UK who are intrigued by this dance form that is so little known in the West. The group does not, however, limit itself purely to dabke. Al Zaytouna is unique in the way it combines dabke with theatre, poetry, literature, music, digital and other media to tell powerful stories about Palestine, often focusing on themes of identity and cultural resistance. This approach enables the group to explore and celebrate a broad range of Palestinian culture and artists.

Palestinians forced to live in exile are known for their love of anything that has the 'scent of home'. People in Britain have a taste for foreign culture. Who has been your main audience so far?

Al Zaytouna attracts a wide and varied audience. The group’s performances are always popular with Palestinians, and indeed Arabs of all backgrounds, but also appeal to a Western audience keen to discover more about a culture and a dance form that they often know little about. The group’s mission is to promote Palestinian culture to a wider audience, and this is realised by performing regularly at a range of social, cultural and charitable events, often with a multi-cultural focus. Many of these events have a predominantly Western (or at least global) audience including WOMAD festival, Dance Around the World and Arab cultural festivals at the V&A.

Can you cite any examples where performances such as you yours have served or could serve as a method of bringing people across cultures together?

Al Zaytouna has twice beaten stiff competition to be short-listed for the prestigious Arab-British Culture and Society Award. The prize recognises and celebrates those who have made an outstanding contribution to the British public’s understanding of the life, society and culture of the Arab people. This is recognition of Al Zaytouna’s success in bridging a cultural divide, thereby helping to bring different people together. The group’s message is of preserving and celebrating the beautiful historical and contemporary aspects of Palestinian culture.

There are some who would argue that since the suffering of Palestinians is vastly underreported (and usually misreported when covered), it would be better if energies were directed at initiatives that directly promote the end of that suffering. How would you respond to that?

Al Zaytouna’s approach of using the arts to spread the Palestinian story enables the group to reach a catchment of people who would not be engaged through political or activist channels. This is important in building widespread understanding of and appreciation for Palestine and its culture. This understanding and sympathy is crucial in securing public pressure to help bring a lasting end to Palestinian suffering.

Can you give me an idea about the music played in your performances? Do you compose original songs or use known traditional ones for your show?

Whilst Al Zaytouna promotes and celebrates traditional Palestinian dabke, the group also experiments with more contemporary interpretations of this vibrant dance form. Accordingly the group uses a mix of traditional and contemporary Palestinian songs, and also includes Western music from a variety of genres. The group’s last production Ila Haifa included English music from the 1960s (the Kinks) and 1970s (Pink Floyd) and the current production includes a dance remix of Arab music. Using tracks such as these, helps to appeal to a wider audience, show the relevance of Palestinian culture across time and space, and revitalises dabke through the introduction and interplay of different influences and traditions. The group has also collaborated on several occasions with renowned singer and oud (Arabic lute) master Nizar Al-Issa who is also joining Al Zaytouna for the current production Between the Fleeting Words. Nizar also plays a mix of traditional and contemporary songs including several of his own works.

What is the background of the team working on 'Between the Fleeting Words'?

Al Zaytouna is made up entirely of volunteers who work tirelessly to achieve the group’s mission of promoting Palestinian culture. The group’s members come from Palestinian and other Arab backgrounds, as well as the West and include those of Algerian, English, Lebanese, Mauritian and Pakistani origin. The dancers come from a variety of professional backgrounds including financial services, consultancy, pharmacy and engineering, as well as arts backgrounds. The group is fortunate to have a very strong creative and production team working on the current show Between the Fleeting Words, including professional set, costume, lighting and sound designers who are all giving up their time to help Al Zaytouna produce its strongest production yet.

Is there anything special offered in the coming event that is new to the show? And can you tell us more about the choice of themes?

Al Zaytouna’s current project is a new full length production entitled Between the Fleeting Words, fusing traditional dabke, contemporary dance, poetry, music and digital media. The show is a unique tribute to the late great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, celebrating his poetry and the musical interpretations of his work, and using his words to tell the story of Palestine through the experiences of its people. The production was inspired by the desire to celebrate Darwish after his untimely death in 2008, and began with a reading of his famous poem Write down, I am an Arab which defined the Palestinian existence, and shaped the identity of the group’s members who have been deeply affected by the ongoing conflict in Palestine. Today the poem lives with us and drives us on. Like Darwish, we have family, we have a country, we have laughter and we have a story to tell. Having adapted the work of another great Palestinian author, Ghassan Kanafani, for the production Ila Haifa, Darwish was a natural choice for Al Zaytouna. His poetry has had a profound impact on generations of Palestinians speaking to them directly about their hopes and fears, expressing their anger and frustration and asserting their right to identity and existence. It seemed only fitting to help his words to live on and to bring new life to them with Between the Fleeting Words. The show also commemorates the 62nd anniversary of the Nakba, exploring themes of Palestinian identity, struggle, loss and resistance. This is the second time that Al Zaytouna has commemorated the Nakba which was such a defining moment in Palestinian history.

The show will be on Thursday 13th and Friday 14th of May, 2010 at London's Greenwood Theatre.
For more information, visit: Al Zaytouna Theatre Group