Her Other Side (with Hind Benali)
Her Other Side is a 50-60 minute performance by Hind Benali (Morocco/Compagnie Fleur D’Orange) and Esther Baker-Tarpaga (USA/Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project). The work comments on and undermines hyper stereotypes of “American” and “Arab” female bodies. The performers interact with the audience to implicate them in their questions on power, constraint, freedom, and sexuality. This transnational collaboration between two female artists compares cultures finding visible differences and similarities, yet finds common ground in social constructs, manipulations, and violence towards the female body. The work draws from the performers backgrounds in performance art, improvisation, dance theatre, and belly dance.
Residencies & Performances:
Residence: July 2012: Centre Napam Beogo, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Showing: July 18, 2012: Centre Development Choreographique (CDC): Burkina Faso
Residence: December 7-18, 2012 Institue Francais Marrakech, Morocco
Performance: December 20, 2012: The French Institute, Marrakech, Morocco
Residence: Headlands Center for Arts, California July 27-August 23, 2013
Performance: Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA August 30-31, 2013
Photos by Jose Texeira, Melissa Bontempo & Crystal Fuller