Extract from Nissa

Lila

Lila is the encounter of the dancer, Saâdia Souyah, an oud player, Fadhel Messaoudi and musicians all of whom are passionate by the heritage of the music and dance of the arab world.

As in the Lila, the gnawa ritual, the djinns are summoned to the sound of the bendir and qarqabous with the purpose of a dialogue with them or to be liberated from them Saâdia Souyah takes us with her on a journey to her inner world. On this journey she interrogates her body to hear what it says. It is like a fall into the depths of the earth to the deepest darkness where sometimes it is the  music which responds  to the body's accents, and sometimes it is the body which echoes to the oud and the gumbri. The body tells its story and releases the mingled streams of its history with a powerful and original expression — a magic dance punctuated by fluent suspensions and energy, dynamic pulses and silences, which makes Saâdia Souyah an innovative artist in the field of belly dance. What is more eloquent as a language than Arab dance? It is the dance of the  interior, a dance of the roots according to Saâdia Souyah, an immigrant woman in quest of her being. In her quest she explores the body right to its ultimate extremity in order to liberate the self, the essence of the dance, through the symbols and imagery of the arab world.

The performance will be followed by a concert where the artists will invite the public to share the energy and the soul of this heritage through the movement and the vibrations of the rhythm. Listening, participating and even singing to the music will bring about a communion, thus resulting in true enjoyment and a closer understanding of Arabic culture. To prepare "the bal" an Arab dance class will be given during the day to those who will be interested.

2003, Les Barbaresques

2002, Nissa