Dance has long had a generous advocate in Richard Wakely, who as head of Belfast International Arts Festival has given the form prominent billing. As he prepares to leave his role, he has established a lasting legacy: Our Voice Together Now, a collaboration linking Belfast with partners in Egypt and Palestine.
“It builds upon two approaches that the festival has been taking,” Wakely says. “One, to place contemporary dance more at the heart of our annual programming. And, secondly, to promote the benefits of cultural diversity through international exchange and collaboration.”
Our Voice Together Now sees three new commissions touring between Belfast International Arts Festival, Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival and, in Cairo, Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival. A Palestinian choreographer works with Irish dancers; an Irish choreographer with Egyptians; and an Egyptian with Palestinians. And, according to Wakely, the link between Egypt and Palestine is as important as those between Belfast and Cairo and Belfast and Ramallah.
“One of the things I discovered was just how difficult it is for Palestinian artists to collaborate, to travel, to visit their colleagues in the rest of the Arab world,” he says.
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