I am very excited to bring Guggenheim Fellow, choreographer, and global artist Nejla Yatkin to Studio5 before she begins her National Tour of Ouroboros. When Steve and I saw this compelling solo performance in Chicago, we felt it would be a perfect fit for Studio5 and our audiences. Come join us for what we know will be an inspired evening of dance and music. There will be 2 performances only with limited seating capacity in the round.
~ Béa Rashid

Ouroboros draws inspiration from the snake dances of the ancient lands of the Middle East symbolizing the unity in all things and the cyclical nature of existence. Inspired by her nomadic ancestry, Yatkin has set the piece in the round and incorporates original composition, multiple languages (English, German, Turkish, movement and ASL), live music and a fusion of dance styles, including contemporary and Middle Eastern dance. Similar to a nomadic gathering, the performance weaves together and invites active audience engagement in a journey of memory, place and paradoxes.

“Every time we come together in a circle, we heal the sacred thread of the feminine,” Yatkin said. “For millennia, feminine power, expression and wisdom have been suppressed, dismissed and disrespected. I feel every time we honor our body, express our wisdom, share our voice and connect with our sensuality, we heal the sacred thread of the feminine. This piece also is a way to reclaim the original power of dance, which was inspired by observing, mirroring and imitating nature to understand ourselves and the world around us.”

A 2023 Guggenheim Fellow in choreography, Nejla Yatkin hails from West Berlin, and her artistic vision is informed by her Turkish and Armenian heritage, as well as the nomadic traditions and poetics of her ancestors of interchanging places, races, rhythms and histories. Described by The New York Times as a “magician, telling tales and creating worlds,” Yatkin blends personal histories and universal stories in her performances, weaving together the past and present in a way that is both deeply moving and incredibly imaginative. She has been recognized with numerous grants and awards, including Dance Magazine’s Top 25 To Watch, the Princess Grace Fellowship, the Baryshnikov Art Center residency fellowship, the John F. Kennedy Center Local Dance commission, 3Arts Award Foundation, the Chicago Dancemakers Forum and the Illinois Arts Council.

Ouroboros is a National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by MECA, Art2Action, Dance Complex and NPN. Ouroboros has been made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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