Tradition, Myth, & Fantasy II: Mosaic Dance Theater Company and Jehan and Bellydance Raks February 17, 2013

MMAC (Manhattan Movement & Arts Center) presents “TRADITION, MYTH & FANTASY II,” a unique program of dance from the Near East featuring Mosaic Dance Theater Company and Jehan and Bellydance Raks Stars.


Mosaic Dance Theater Company’s offerings will include the New York premiere of The Paradise of Children by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This representation of the classical story of Pandora’s Box, adapted and directed by Morgiana Celeste Varricchio and choreographed by Samara, is presented in Mosaic’s signature style of dance/story theater with a touch of 21st century edginess. Also choreographed by Samara and making its NYC premiere is the “virtuosic” (Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger) Dance of The Awalim, alive with the lush dance movements that accompany traditional Egyptian rhythms, and reminiscent of the coffee house entertainers of the famed Mohammed Ali Street in Old Cairo. Performing are Mosaic company members Samara, Morgiana Celeste Varricchio, Nina Brewton, Kendra Dushac, Mary Susan Sinclair-Kuenning, with Guest Artists Erin Pellecchia and SyrenaNikole Hanna.


Jehan and Bellydance Raks Stars features creative dance artists expressing the passion and diversity of the enduring art known as "Bellydance". Ancient and futuristic visions of choreographer/composer Jehan, pioneer of theatrical bellydance, hope to inspire a deeper understanding of what motivates us to dance at all costs. Jehan’s choreographies are infused with the passion, mystery and exoticism which is the allure of the East.


Join us in February, and be swept away to the realms of tradition, myth and fantasy!