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Durham dance group faces their fears in 'ALKHAWF'

OM Grown Dancers
The OM grown dancers are signifying fear in their new performance. Photo by Brittany Powers.

OM grown dancers, a dance company in Durham, has created a show that manages to represent the impossible. "ALKHAWF," a dance performance taking place on Feb. 23-25 at 8 p.m., attempts to signify and portray the feeling of fear — without words. Alkhawf, meaning "the fear" in Arabic, is part of a trilogy about metabolizing fear. 

Courtney OM, the founder and artistic director of the company, said "ALKHAWF" acknowledges what hers and her dance company’s fears are as a collective group. The second piece, which will premiere at the end of 2018, will develop on this theme. She said that in time for the finale of the trio of shows, the group will learn through movement how to face their fears. 

“It's going to be a form of therapy because the hope is that by the end of the third piece, we will be living without fear,” OM said.

This is a personal project for OM, born from a desire to express her own experiences with fear. 

“I was exposed to what I would say was the scariest moment of my life," OM said. "I was in a situation where I truly felt fear for the first time.” 

In contrast to the expressive movement and dance that she has now created from this experience, her initial reaction two years ago was one of shock, and in a state of fight or flight, she was not able to move. 

By understanding that fear is a universal emotion, OM used this newfound appreciation to create a work that explored these ideas.

“It is different for everybody, but fear also strikes the same emotion in each of us,” she said.

In the process of creation, she interviewed dancers giving them an opportunity to open up about their deepest fears and vulnerability. In the performance, the audience is not told specifics, but through motions and physical movements that the dancers have provided, we can gain an understanding through their expression of feeling. 

The universality of the emotion is mirrored in one of her dancers, Raquelle Pollock, who has not had the same momentous event that inspired OM’s work happen to her, but instead felt that her fears came from herself. 

“For myself, my fears are not rooted in one time or place, my fear is more rooted in myself and the idea of having to live with myself and finding comfort in myself rather than only seeking it out in others," Pollock said. "My perspective is more introspective, rather than pertaining to one time or place.”

While the dancers have not vocally spoken to each other about what has inspired their dancing, Nichesa Jones, another dancer, said that the unspoken bond creates a trust within the company of dancers.

“For me, hearing other people’s fears, it created trust between one another, and caused us to pay more attention to one another in a good way,” Jones said.

OM plans to take the performance back to Puerto Rico, which she also visited during the company's first season. She intends to provide workshops teaching local schools and students about her work with young people and in dance, while also sharing her belief that through movement they can alleviate stress and their fears — something especially poignant because of the recent hurricane. 

"We have big plans to make this more international this season," OM said.

@piteek0

arts@dailytarheel.com

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