STORY OF at Rawabet Art Space

In the discourse on birth and motherhood, medical complications and other difficulties regarding female fertility are often only discussed in private, closed to the outside. After her own complicated journey with fertility and motherhood, Egyptian theatre director Laila Soliman decided to bring women’s stories to the stage. In STORY OF…, dancer Sherin Hegazy weaves a delicate dialogue with words and images of women sharing their personal experiences of motherhood, from pain and loneliness to joy and strength. Through pelvis and belly movements, the piece combines contemporary dance and belly dance, an artform which traditionally celebrates fertility and joy. Yet, through the unusual instrumentation of multi-instrumentalist Nancy Mounir, those emotions shift – towards pain, grief, and resistance.