"Ouroboros" by Nejla Yatkin

About the performance:

"Ouroboros" by Nejla Yatkin is an evening length interactive theatrical solo dance presented in the round. The dance piece resurrects and centers the ancient healing symbol of Ouroboros through personal story telling including multiple languages - English, German, Turkish and ASL, dance (contemporary and Middle Eastern dance), original audio composition by Shamou, and song (cabaret style, sung live by Nejla).

From the moment the audience enters the space, which is set up to feel like a nomadic tent, they are greeted with rosewater and Turkish delights and taken through a journey to feel the life-affirming power of the ancient ritual of a gathering circle to dance, sing and tell stories. The solo dance takes the audience on a journey of memory, place, our current paradoxes and the cyclical and entrapping nature of time and culture.The dance theatre piece is also about the lost history and continued relevance of embodying nature in the form of the snake dance, about embodied feminine wisdoms past and present, and about our relationship to dance and language. At the end of the evening, the audience is invited to join in a dance “after party”.

Choreographer/Performer/Writer: Nejla Yatkin

Composer: Shamou

Sound Designer and Musician: Sathapat Sangsuwan

Dramaturg: Joanna Furnans

Lighting Designer: Alejandra Favila

Set Designer: Delena Bradley

Video Designer: Enki Andrews

Costuming: Katrin Schnabl

Deaf Artist working with Nejla on ASL: Susan Elizabeth Rangel

About Nejla Yatkin:
2023 Guggenheim Fellow Nejla Yatkin is a choreographer with a truly global perspective. She has made a name for herself with her dynamic and thought-provoking work. Hailing from the culturally rich and historically significant city of West Berlin, Nejla’s artistic vision is informed by her Turkish and Armenian heritage, as well as the nomadic traditions and poetics of her ancestors of interchanging places, races, rhythms, and histories. Described by The New York Times as a “magician, telling tales and creating worlds,” Nejla’s performances are a blend of personal histories and universal stories, weaving together the past and present in a way that is both deeply moving and incredibly imaginative. In addition to her work in traditional theater and dance settings, Nejla is also highly respected for her interdisciplinary approach to dance-making, which includes film, augmented reality, and more. No matter the form or the venue, Nejla’s work is always driven by a deep curiosity about the expressive power of movement and its ability to connect people across cultures and backgrounds. She has been recognized with numerous grants and awards, including Dance Magazine 25 To Watch, the Princess Grace Fellowship, the Baryshnikov Art Center residency fellowship, the John F. Kennedy Center Local Dance commission, 3Arts Award Foundation, the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, the Illinois Arts Council and the latest 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship. In all her endeavors, Nejla invites us to join her on a journey of exploration and discovery, inviting us to connect with one another and with the world around us through the universal language of dance.

The preview performance of Ouroboos was supported by Links Hall Co-Commissioning Fellowship, Sybil Shearer Fellowship Award from the Morrison Shearer Foundation, Finalist Grant from the National Dance Project, DCASE Esteemed Artist Award.

Ouroboros premiere is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co- commissioned by MECA, Art2Action, Dance Complex and NPN. More information: www.npnweb.org.

Ouroboros premiere is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Production support for Ouroboros at The Dance Complex is provided by Sleeping Weazel.

Host or Publisher The Dance Complex