RAu Prometheus Dance Brings Collaboration With Korhan Basaran To The Boston Conservatory At Berklee

Project RAu connects audiences to the idea of cross-cultural oneness through multiple national and international presentations of dance. Scored with the music of Syrian composer Kinan Azmeh, RAu focuses on the sensitive and political subject matter of human migration. Through this collaborative work and the belief that Art is a window to the memory of experience, we shift focus from one of fear to one of understanding through our common sense of humanity. RAu has unfolded through residencies in Boston, New York and Istanbul, The final work reflects on the international refugee crisis through a message of action, re-calculation, and caring. As artists, our aim, at a minimum, is to provoke thought and discussion, and, at a maximum, to be a catalyst for change. To this end, Prometheus Dance has entered into a collaboration with Korhan Basaran and Kinan Azmeh, Project RAu, whose name - a take off on "Raw" - reflects an emphasis on spontaneity, change, growth, and "the process of becoming."

As the project progresses, RAu has had performances in Boston, New York and in Turkey as separate components. The task for this presentationr is to weave together a work created for the respective companies of dancers into one tapestry. Korhan Basaran will be in residence in Boston March 18-24 2019 to hold master classes and create the final portion of project RAu with Prometheus Dance. With a grant from NEW MUSIC USA and the Boston Cultural Council, as well as sponsorship from the Boston Conservatory Dance Division, the project's Boston residency will culminate in open rehearsals, conversations about the creative process, art as a means of reconciliation and healing in times of political crisis, and performance. There will be a free showing of Ai Weiwei's documentary "Human Flow" on March 19,2019 at 7:00 pm followed by a discussion.

As the Artistic Directors of Prometheus Dance, it is part of our mission to provoke thought and often create dance that functions on some level as an agent of change in the world. In 2002, with the assistance of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Boston Center for the Arts Spotlight on Dance Series, we created Apokalypsis, a full evening length piece inspired by the Kosovo war and the displacement of refugees world wide. It made reference to the migration and denegration of Jewish and immigrant populations during World War II, and the issue remains as relevant today as it did then. The critical nature of this issue has surfaced again in the Middle East, affecting the entire world in a time of fear and overpopulation. We as artists have the opportunity to engage the public again in an immediate way. The company will be working with Korhan Basaran and Basaran's company in Turkey on a project of Korhan's creation addressing stories, the refugee crisis, and the need to embrace inclusivity. Since the projects inception Turkey itself has come under extreme political strain. The world can turn on a dime these days and no one is excluded from the possibility of losing home, family and culture. We will continue our work to speak as one.

Korhan Basaran and the collaborators of RAu focus on content that asks difficult questions of adverse situations aimed at promoting understanding and empathy. The work brings diverse members of a community together to explore content, relative in the world today.

PROJECT RAu

Sunday March 24, 2019 7:00 p.m.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee

31 Hemenway St, Boston MA

Tickets $20 at the door

Human Flow Screening March 19 7:00 p.m.

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