L’A./Rachid Ouramdane World Fair

“He has a fascination with unveiling the layers implicit in forging a sense of identity in an often violent world in which “geo-cultural upheaval” makes us all foreigners.”—Boston Globe

Rachid Ouramdane, a superlative French choreographer and dancer of Algerian descent, has a special talent for giving voice to the lives of others while leaving audiences with a strong sense of his own particular artistic vision. This capacity is at the heart of World Fair.

Ouramdane last performed here in 2006 with his breakthrough solo work Les morts pudiques, a compellingly dark meditation generated through searching online images of death. World Fair, his latest solo production, revolves around Ouramdane’s rigorous investigations into questions about the relationship of the place of the body in our accelerated culture.

In this work, Ouramdane evokes a nuanced spectrum of images of the body today, in the rush and evanescence of contemporary technology: as a standard of the patriotic ideal, as a reference point for luxury and the entertainment industry, and as a vehicle for advancing civilization, promoting individualism and well being. Tapping into social, moral, and political issues, Ourdamdane’s unique mix of multimedia dance theater is always driven by startling, galvanizing movement ideas, here reinforced by potent video imagery and live music performed by his collaborator and composer, Jean-Baptiste Julien.

This event is planned in conjunction with the opening of a year-long program titled “A Conversation on Immigration” that begins the Conversations on Morality, Politics, and Society (COMPAS) initiative launched by Ohio State’s Center for Ethics and Human Values.