The 3rd Annual Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival (RCDF) takes place between April 17 and May 6 in Ramallah and Jerusalem.

The third annual Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival begins this weekend, and features a varied line-up of both traditional modern performances from local and international dance troupes at several venues throughout the city, as well as in Jerusalem, over the next two weeks.

Organized by the Sareyyet Ramallah - First Ramallah Group Palestine, a local NGO that aims to broaden the cultural landscape in Palestine by introducing Palestinians to new and progressive forms of contemporary artistic expression through dance, the festival opens on Thursday, April 17 and runs through May 6.

The festival's opening event will be a performance by the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra of Norway, one of Scandinavia's leading jazz ensembles.

Other performances will feature ensembles and dance troupes from both Palestine and a variety of European countries, including Italy, Serbia and Finland.

The internationally renknowned Palestinian dance troupe El-Funoun, which merges influences from traditional Palestinian folk dance with concepts from modern dance, will also make an appearance, performing their "A Letter To...".

Performances will be held at Sareyyet Ramallah, the Ramallah Cultural Palace, and the Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque in Ramallah, and at the Palestinian National Theatre in Jerusalem. In addition, several of the festival's participants, including Palestinian-American dancer Tarek Halaby, will also be giving performances in Haifa and Nazareth.


Tickets for festival events can be purchased from the Box Office at the Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque in the center of Ramallah daily from 4pm. For further information, call (+972)22952690, or visit the festival's official website at http://www.sirreyeh.org/festival/index.php.


Festival Schedule

4/17: Trondheim Jazz Orchestra (Norway), 19:00, Ramallah Cultural Palace

4/18: Trondheim Jazz Orchestra (Norway), 19:00, Palestinian National Theatre (Jerusalem)

4/19: Perpetuum: Hurry Up (Serbia), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

4/20: El-Funoun Popular Dance Troupe: A Letter To... (Palestine), 19:00, Ramallah Cultural Palace

4/22: Botega: Ostro (Italy), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

4/24: Alias: Approcher la Poussiere (Switzerland), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

4/26: Trafic de Styles: Specimen (France), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

4/28: Sofia Silva: Delicado (Portugal), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

4/29: Palestinian International Dance Day, 15:00, Sarayyet Ramallah

4/30: Les Ballets C. de la B.: Import, Export (Belgium), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

5/1: The AB Dance Company: Cinderella (Finland), 18:00, Ramallah Cultural Palace

Tarek Haleby: An Attempt to Understand (Palestine), 20:00, Ramallah Cultural Palace

Compagnia Zappala Danza: 24 Preludes (Italy), 19:00, Palestian National Theatre (Jerusalem)

5/2: Folkwang Tanzstudio: Artichoke in the Silver Lake (Germany), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

5/3: Jo Stromgren Company: The Society (Norway), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

5/4: Compagnia Zappala Danza: 24 Preludes (Italy), 19:00, Al-Kasaba Theatre & Cinematheque

5/5: Cobosmica: Scrakeja't (Spain), 19:00, Ramallah Cultural Palace

5/6: Jo Stromgren Company: The Society (Norway), 19:00, Palestinian National Theatre (Jerusalem)