Two choreographers live with the reality of occupied Palestine, but each experiences and embodies it in their own way. They delve deep into their bodies, searching for a language of movement that liberates. It becomes an encounter of contradictions and vulnerabilities, of tension and humour.

This project brings together two Palestinian artists, Marah Haj and Nur Garabli. Marah Haj grew up in Kofor Yassif and currently lives in Antwerp. Nur Garabli was born in the Ajami neighbourhood of Jaffa and still lives there. Against a backdrop of constant upheaval, they seek connection by collaborating for the first time. Although they both live with the reality of occupied Palestine, they each experience and carry this burden in their own way. Together, they explore what their bodies – and the encounters they engage in – can reveal.

In relation to whom? مرتاحة? is like an archaeological process: the two dancers delve into the body as a living and transforming matter, anchored in the present. It is an encounter of contradictions and vulnerabilities, of humour and tension. An attempt to learn to think differently by seeing the body as an ally.

As choreographers, Marah and Nur explore the internalised violence they carry with them from their dance training, steeped in militarisation and Western techniques. In response, they are rewriting a movement language on their own terms. They work non-linearly, resisting entrenched meanings of the past and future, and embody an intimate transmission from their mothers and grandmothers.