ARARAT considers the history and resilience of the Armenian people following a genocide that claimed 1.5 million lives. Rooted in survivor stories, and parallel investigations toward newness, the trajectory of the work illuminates the countenance of the human spirit. A journey into the matter of becoming, we ask: When all things are new, how important is the old?
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Premiere: October 26-28, 2023 Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Emory University
Choreography by George Staib in collaboration with the dancers
Lighting Designer & Set Designer, Gregory Catellier
Sound Designer & Composer, Ben Coleman
Video/Projection Designer, Milton M. Cordero
Costume Designers, Amelia Hayes, Jimmy Joyner, Rosalind Staib
Dramaturg, Amber Bradshaw
Rehearsal Directors, Nicole Johnson, Kristin O’Neal
Wardrobe Supervisor,Faith Fidgeon
Company Artists, Anna Bracewell Crowder, Patsy Collins, Akeem Edwards, Faith Fidgeon, Bailey Jo Harbaugh, Henry Koskoff, Chrystola Luu, Zac Pritts, Kendall Ramirez, Amelia Reiser
“Beautiful, fragmented — at times jarring and at others bewildering — ARARAT is a sobering stunner that confronts genocide, acknowledges it and shows us more fully the preciousness of life and the value of new beginnings.” - Cynthia Bond Perry, ArtsATL.org
Research & Development
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staibdance was selected as the inaugural company for the High Museum’s Dance Lab initiative—an incubator for artistic experimentation that invites audiences into the creative process, offering a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the creation process. During this residency from August to October 2023, George Staib and 10 company artists researched & developed the movement language for ARARAT, inviting museum goers to witness the works' evolution in real time.
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The inspiration for this work is largely drawn from Mt. Ararat, a mountain located in Turkey. Ancient legend describes Mt. Ararat as the location where Noah’s Ark landed after the Great Flood, marking the beginning of new life - a new world with no demarcations or boundaries.
Although much has been written about the Armenian Genocide, ARARAT speaks to lived challenges after a seismic event while honoring a populace that rarely, if ever, sees their history in newer, contemporary expressive forms. It is less a re-telling of these dramatic events and more a celebration of the human spirit, and a releasing of victim mentality that can thwart forward momentum and growth. The work speaks to a collective understanding that "place" is an ethereal notion. It is a notion that we recognize as being stronger than land ownership, stronger even than political control.
For me, this important venture is a reflection upon a widely denied historical event that profoundly shaped an ancient culture into one of courage, adaptation and pride. For anyone who has fought for their own identity to be recognized; the sentiments could be mirrored.
— George Staib, staibdance Artistic Director
Interested in presenting staibdance:
View our press kit
Contact sarah@staibdance.com for more information.
The creation of ARARAT was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Tri-M Foundation, City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the Emory Dance Program, Georgia Council for the Arts, and the Kaplan Family Dance Fund.
