Maltese people are painted out to be very friendly, kind and welcoming, however this general opinion, and possibly a very real idea of the Maltese people only seems to be understood by people and cultures that are familiar with us. Why are we (as a Maltese population) so eager to disregard other cultures and ethnicity?
This project aims at tackling the issue of cultural discrimination by understanding the importance of sharing knowledge and experiences between such different cultures. This will be demonstrated through an innovative merge between dance and materials that will link to said cultures. Bringing awareness to this problem will also redefine the notion of Maltese identity and culture.
The project’s main focus is to create a piece that can demonstrate the heightened possibilities that arise from an exchange between the resources present in different countries. Each performer represents a culture and will form a relationship with a pool of resources which both can stand to benefit from a heartfelt experience/knowledge represented through a gift.
Each culture owns a natural resource pertinent to that specific country. The audience is introduced to the possibilities each culture has explored with its own resource, while simultaneously understanding the limitations of that one resource alone. As the dynamics between each performer shifts and broadens, a cross-acculturation occurs that leads into breaking down the walls between the cultures. Each performer (culture) contributes not only through its resource, but more importantly through its relationship with that resource and the innate knowledge that comes with that. Sharing such knowledge creates a new culture, a shared culture, and a home that can sustain the four of them. This will be juxtaposed with the one dancer that has chosen not to invest in this relationship.
Inter-Identity will be taking place on the 20th September 2018 at Casa Pereira, Valletta. This project is endorsed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation.