November 2, 4:15 p.m., Library 321
In her presentation, “Embodied Palestinian Solidarity,” Nicole Bindler will briefly cover the history of the 1948 Nakba, when 750,000 Palestinians were exiled, the current apartheid system and how it affects Palestinians on a bodily level, the conditions under which Palestinian artists live and make work, and information about how western artists can support their endeavors. Ms. Bindler will share her experiences collaborating with Diyar Dance Theater (Bethlehem, Palestine) to make and tour WOMEN, a hybrid folk/contemporary dance that contains stories and images by and about women living under occupation. She will also discuss her work as a member of the Jewish Voice for Peace Artist Council, her writing about the subject for thINKingDANCE, and other efforts undertaken in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom.
Nicole Bindler is a Body-Based performing artist, Body-Mind Centering Practitioner, and the Founder/Director of The Institute for Somatics and Social Justice www.somaticsandsocialjustice.org. Her performance work has been shown throughout the U.S., Canada, Argentina, and in Berlin, Tokyo, Beirut, Bethlehem, Mexico City, and Quito. Her dances have been supported by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Leeway Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Ellen Foreman Memorial Award. She has taught Somatics, Anatomy, Yoga, and Improvisation in the dance and theater departments at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, University of the Arts, and Drexel University. Her writing has been published in Critical Correspondence, Contact Quarterly, BMC® Currents, Emergency Index, Curate This, Jewish Currents, thINKingDANCE, and Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices.