April 2017 at thejamjar, Loom Ensemble brought together an ensemble of 15 actor/dancers from 10 countries, to collaboratively devise a new dance-theater performance.

The characters in the story are created out of the life experiences of the actors onstage – not “playing themselves” but drawing directly on the unique cultural heritage of their ancestors from around the world.

“Bootstraps” is the third full-length dance-theater collaboration of Loom Ensemble and thejamjar. This time, it’s contemporary dance, live music, and a story about present day Dubai.

The stage is set at a highschool reunion of adults who grew up in Dubai. Old friends who haven’t seen each other in years grapple with the meaning of “success.” Post-globalization career goals mix with faded memories of the lives of our ancestors. How can we chase our dreams in the modern world without abandoning our roots?

 
 

 

Director:
Neva Cockrell
 
Producer:
Raphael Sacks
 
Starring:
Joshua Johnson
Juliska Szik
Raphael Sacks
 
Featuring:
Asareh EbrahimPour
Ehsan M. Fahmi
Marwan Ali Ghunaim
Haley Houck
Inara
Nikita Patel
Kathryn Pepper
Vikas Punjabi
Sarah Sea
Kuvam Sharma
Shailja Sharma
Subrata Ravinder Singh
Hani Yakan
 
Stage Manager:
Hazel Lesley
 
With Text by:
Chris McDermott
Lamya Tawfik
 
Original Music by:
Mahesh Raghvan
David Yates
Tamas K. Antal
 
Visual Design by:
Massima Barone
Ema Corti
Ivan Parati