Trailer for new dance show the “Knights of the Moon”
Elissar Caracalla: Caracalla is “a company that represents Lebanon to the world”
In 1968, Abdel Halim Caracalla founded the Caracalla Oriental Dance Company. It debuted at the Baalbek festival with 12 folk dancers who specialized in Lebanese dance. The troupe’s first trip outside Lebanon was to Osaka, Japan. From 12, the company has grown to 120 dancers and performers today. The troupe was evolving with each new ballet, going from simple backdrops to presenting dance productions that tell a story and use bigger, more advanced sets. Despite its preservation of both Lebanese and Arab heritage based in folklore, the style of dance is a unique mix of Western and Eastern dance. The language of folklore and oriental dance is intertwined with classical and modern dance techniques. This mix is what has brought Caracalla to the world’s notice.
Choreographer Elissar Caracalla says: “the language of dancing is universal; there are no borders. We can go to any country in the world and people are able to understand the thoughts we communicate through our dance. Everyone understands the language of the body, but the style of our troupe’s dance preserves Eastern heritage and adds to it the speed of classical and modern dance in order to create an entirely new Caracalla style.”
On the occasion of the company’s performance at the Kennedy Center Opera House, Now Lebanon sat down to interview choreographer Elissar Caracalla.
Who is Elissar Caracalla? Where did she study? How did she join the company?
I was born in Lebanon but the war forced us to leave, after which we spent a long period between London and the United States. I returned to Lebanon about 7 years ago. Perhaps I came back because I am destined to be here. I faced many difficulties at the beginning, but I found that I have a journey and a message I must complete. No one asked me to go into the field of dance, especially my father, who tried to push me in the other direction. But this is in my blood and soul, and my greatest passion is working on stage and working in the language of dance and continuing Caracalla’s path. I think this company’s presence in the Middle East is very important. For this company to continue in this way through decades is something great and I do not want it to stop. It just so happens that God granted me this gift, and it is my responsibility to continue this message.
Shots from the new production
I studied international relations in Los Angeles in the US and I wanted to become a lawyer at some point. But my minor was in choreography and I continued in high education with choreography and dance. I began, of course, with classical ballet, but I became more into modern dance, jazz and theater, and not just dancing. I had experience with the company because I spent 4 years as a trainee under my father’s wing. Three years ago, I became its director but my father is still my inspiration. I believe in his work and his genius in what he has done, and I am happy to have the honor of working with him. I think continuing this path is a very big responsibility and I hope I succeed in it.
What can you tell us about your new piece?
We premiered this piece two years ago in Qatar and it was funded by the Qatar Foundation. They wanted to put on a big dance production of their heritage. We find a lot of Arab and even Bedouin heritage in it. The name of the piece is “Knights of the Moon” and the story is “Il Trovatore”, a famous opera that tells the story of a king who has two sons who are separated as children. One of them is raised by gypsies in the desert and the other remains the son of the king. After they grow up, they fall in love with the same woman but they don’t know they are brothers and try to kill each other until they discover that they are brothers. Through the fighting, we see the Lebanese and Arab way of love and mercy. This is a big production since we brought in video, so there is a big screen that displays scenes of the desert, camels, oases, etc. The choreography moves between cinematography and the dancers, and this creates a very new feeling.
After the premiere in Qatar, the sponsoring state, we showed the piece for 4 months at the Casino du Liban where members of the Kennedy Center saw it, liked it and wanted to bring something that represented the Arab world. They asked us to perform the piece in the Kennedy Center Opera House and we will be the first Arab company to perform there, where a number of the biggest artistic troupes in the world have performed, and this is a great honor for us. We will have two performances on February 28 and March 1, and each performance will be attended by approximately 3,700 people. We have performed in the Kennedy Center before, but never in the Opera House. We performed “Elissa…the Queen of Carthage” and it was a big success at the time. We did a number of tours in America, but then a long period passed when we did not go to the United States, especially after September 11, 2001. The problem was also logistical because the company included 40 dancers, whereas today we number around 120.
Who choreographs the dances and works on the cinematography in today’s Caracalla scenes?
The main idea most of the time comes from the company’s founder, Abdel Halim Caracalla. He is the head of the entire organization and also designs the costumes. He works on the music with musicians from Iran. Regarding the décor, lights and cinematography, this is the responsibility of Ivan Caracalla. I personally work on the choreography.
So the three of us work together and complete one another, not just, as some people say, because we are family, but also because every one of us adds something to this organization. We love what we do and I think the Caracalla Orientalist Dance Company is not just a family company anymore; rather, it is a troupe that represents Lebanon in the world. Therefore, it is not about being a family, but rather about who can complete the message.