Project RAu: premiere presented in collab w/Prometheus Dance, Korhan Basaran, & Kinan Azmeh

BOSTON - March 12, 2019 - PRLog -- Project RAu : premiere performance presented by Prometheus Dance in collaboration with Korhan Basaran and Kinan Azmeh. Sunday, March 24, 2019, 7:00 pm. Tickets: suggested donation $20, available at the door. Boston Conservatory at Berklee, 31 Hemenway St., Boston, MA 02215. For further information: www.prometheusdance.org, info@prometheusdance.org, 508-904-4900, box office: 617-912-9222.

Project RAu. The intention, through performance, is to connect audiences with the reality of cross-cultural oneness. By presenting a combination of national and international dance, scored with music by Syrian composer Kinan Azmeh, RAu focuses specifically on the sensitive and political aspects of human migration. RAu – a takeoff on "Raw" – is a collaborative performance effort, propelled by the belief that Art can trigger a universal memory of our shared human experience, and in that process, shift one's focus from fear to understanding how much we have in common.

RAu has come to fruition through prior performance residencies in Boston, New York and Istanbul. The final work, to be presented on March 24th, is a reflection on the international refugee crisis with the objective of compelling all present to take action, encouraging all to care for others while also reevaluating any personal biases. According to Diane Arvanites of Prometheus Dance: "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. Their Project RAu emphasizes spontaneity, change, growth, and the process "of becoming." RAu has held performances, as separate components, in Boston, New York and Turkey. The intention for this final presentation is to weave together those choreographed components, developed by the three respective companies, into one tapestry. The performance will include dancers from the Boston-area community and students from Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Korhan Basaran will be in residence at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee from March 18-24, to hold master classes and to work with Prometheus Dance in fashioning this final dance of Project Rau. Supported in part by grants from New Music USA and the Boston Cultural Council, as well as sponsorship from Boston Conservatory's Dance Division, Project Rau's Boston residency will include open rehearsals, conversations about the creative process, recognizing that Art is a means of reconciliation and healing in times of political crisis. The culmination of all this preparation will be the premiere and final performance of Project RAu.

In conjunction with this residency, there will also be a showing of Ai Weiwei's documentary "Human Flow" on March 19, 2019 at 7:00 pm; free and open to the public, followed by a discussion.

The collaborators of Project RAu are intent on asking difficult questions about adverse situations taking place throughout the world and their aim is to promote understanding and empathy. The work brings diverse members of a community together to explore content that is relevant in the world of today.

Visit www.prometheusdance.org/programs/rau-turkish-exchange-project-2018-2019/ for further background information on Project RAu.