Omar Rajeh’s London solo connects dance, resistance and personal loss
Original report:
Omar Rajeh’s Dance Is Not for Us brought movement and reflections on choreography to London’s Dance Umbrella festival. A Guardian review published in October 2026 described a deeply personal solo shaped by political upheaval and the closure of his Beirut cultural centre.
In a review published on 18 October 2026, the Guardian examined Omar Rajeh’s Dance Is Not for Us at the Barbican in London, part of the Dance Umbrella festival. The solo combined movement driven by percussion with passages in which Rajeh typed thoughts onto a screen, revealing the choices and revisions behind his choreography.
The performance drew on his experience of political instability in Lebanon. In August 2019, Citerne Beirut, the theatre and cultural centre he founded, was forced to close and dismantled on local government orders, with an incinerator planned for the site. The reviewer interpreted his dancing as an expression of frustration, resistance and a wish for connection.
For Rajeh, now based in Lyon according to the review, choreography extends beyond the stage to street protests and everyday confrontations. His recollections link artistic practice to collective action. The account presents the loss of his Beirut venue as part of the personal and political experience informing the work.
Source
the Guardian — 18 October 2026
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