Do Not Title Me (Trailer)
Sahar Damoni was born and raised in a controversial piece of land and lives in a severely complicated reality. As a female Palestinian artist, she has more than enough barriers to break yet the political aspect of her identity adds more frustrations. In Do Not Tittle Me, she expresses, observes, and wanders through her frustration. She attempts to capture the reality and the future of her individual Palestinian body physically, mentally, and socially.
“Accept the position you are in, do not force it, do not push it. Your body will let go eventually, Just be patient with yourself, simply focus on the breathing. Do not worry about what you look like. Focus on how you feel”
Choreography, Performance, Styling, Set : Sahar Damoni
Artistic Management: Nitzan Cohen
Music: Hadi zidan- Safar Barlek
Lighting Design stage: Amir Castro
Lighting Design video: Yair Segal
Directing and editing: Nitzan Cohen, Erez Schwarzbaum
Cinematography: Ophir Ben Shimon
Camera and light assistant: Erez Schwarzbaum
Sound recording: Shוval Fixler
Recording assistant: Valen Solomenko
Production assistant: Ela Pollak
Artistic Direction of Intimadance Festival: Stav Marin, Merav Dagan
Acknowledgments: Jonathan Hollins, Frida Danieli, Aziza Diab, Rwan sheikh Ahmad, Lishay Shechter
The video was produced by Tmuna Theater, Intimidance Festival 2020
In “Do Not Title Me,” Damoni, a Palestinian choreographer who lives in Shafaram, confronts the audience directly through the title of her work, and presents physical expression of the struggle between conflicting claims through small limited movements and at the same time in a free movement.. Her presence is mesmerizing. Damoni offers to observe her and "oriental" dance in a different way, not only because the person looking at her from behind seemingly does not know who she is, but because it is an offer to pause to observe for a moment the same "me" or “I”...Damoni adopts a strategy of resistance, of refusal. Damoni also drags her identity behind her in the form of the burning shoes, which she eventually fills. Damoni's claim to the absence of definition is is the definition of political identity, and her choreography embodies this complicated conflicted struggle perfectly well.” (Haaretz, Ran brown, August, 2022)