Smells Like Tahrir Spirit
This was the title of one of the events of the Yo! Opera Festival in 2011. It refers both to Nirvana's world famous hit song 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and to the uprising in Egypt that Spring. Tahrir Square has by now become the symbol of that peaceful Egyptian revolution.
The theme which lent coherence to the festival programme of 2011 was the perception young people have of their environments. These are in constant turmoil – as became painfully clear in the of Summer 2011. Young people in Egypt and in other Arab countries made themselves heard loud and clear, and they got united through many social media networks. This connection via the internet was crucial to them: current rulers stand no chance in preventing or suppressing this type of communication. It is a Facebook Revolution.
Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and YouTube are internet applications which follow the web 2.0 principles: each individual can determine what to write and whom to share it with. This was the starting point for director Joost van Hezik, composer Bart van de Lisdonk and choreographer Jeanine Coco when they made the opera Smells Like Tahrir Spirit.
Smells Like Tahrir Spirit was created by comparing the personal stories of two groups of young people. All pupils in the audience were asked to put their own thoughts on paper. Students in Egypt were asked to do the same. These texts were assembled and transformed into music and movement. The result was shown during the festival, also to those young people who had contributed to the texts. Because of this working method, the audience was the co-writer of the opera and they saw and heard how their own texts had been used in the performance.
Tahrir confronted the attending school classes with a very difficult and serious question: would it be possible to change the situation in your country all by yourself? Smells Like Tahrir Spirit used music, dance, play and texts (and a whole bunch of chairs) to expose the motives for people's personal choices. 'Maybe you're alone – and maybe it's gonna be something big.' An opera by and for young people on unbridgeable differences, striking similarities and a crucial, universal question: are we all on our own; is it every man for himself?
The theme which lent coherence to the festival programme of 2011 was the perception young people have of their environments. These are in constant turmoil – as became painfully clear in the of Summer 2011. Young people in Egypt and in other Arab countries made themselves heard loud and clear, and they got united through many social media networks. This connection via the internet was crucial to them: current rulers stand no chance in preventing or suppressing this type of communication. It is a Facebook Revolution.
Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and YouTube are internet applications which follow the web 2.0 principles: each individual can determine what to write and whom to share it with. This was the starting point for director Joost van Hezik, composer Bart van de Lisdonk and choreographer Jeanine Coco when they made the opera Smells Like Tahrir Spirit.
Smells Like Tahrir Spirit was created by comparing the personal stories of two groups of young people. All pupils in the audience were asked to put their own thoughts on paper. Students in Egypt were asked to do the same. These texts were assembled and transformed into music and movement. The result was shown during the festival, also to those young people who had contributed to the texts. Because of this working method, the audience was the co-writer of the opera and they saw and heard how their own texts had been used in the performance.
Tahrir confronted the attending school classes with a very difficult and serious question: would it be possible to change the situation in your country all by yourself? Smells Like Tahrir Spirit used music, dance, play and texts (and a whole bunch of chairs) to expose the motives for people's personal choices. 'Maybe you're alone – and maybe it's gonna be something big.' An opera by and for young people on unbridgeable differences, striking similarities and a crucial, universal question: are we all on our own; is it every man for himself?
