On stage, a belly dancer moves and dances to the sound of drums, accompanied by multiple voices and images of women sharing their stories of motherhood. The pelvis, that once hosted life, moves, shakes and undulates—recalling the original vocabulary of belly dance connected to fertility, fecundity, womanhood, and motherhood—to navigate through joy, loss, grief, and healing.
“In 2021, I unexpectedly became pregnant. I gave birth and lost my child within four days. I soon realised that while successful births are publicly celebrated, unsuccessful or complicated ones are immediately relegated to the private sphere and silenced. Convinced that sharing is healing, I decided to bring my story to the stage, alongside the stories of other women. Why is it so difficult, in many parts of the world, for women to openly grieve, and share their loss with society, and with their communities? In conversation with other women, I want to give voice to what is not to be discussed, as an attempt to transform pain into strength.”
Credits:
•Concept & Direction: Laila Soliman •Sound Design & Music: Nancy Mounir •Scenography & Video Design: Bissane Alcharif •Choreography & Dance: Sherin Hegazy •Assistant direction, Editing & Videography: Abigail Chien •Production: Virginie Dupray •Production and director assistant: Mariam Akmal •Technical direction: Ahmed Ashmawy • Lighting design: Saber el Sayed • Sound Engineer: Mohamed Sabry • Coproduction: New York University in Abu Dhabi, The Arab Fund for Art & Culture, Maison de la Culture de la Seine-Saint-Denis – MC93, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Spielart Munich, Saison Méditerranée 2026 •Support from: Orient Productions, Cairo – Libr’Arts, Montpellier •
Tickets – October 21st: https://www.ticketsmarche.com/event/story-of_7471
Tickets – October 22nd: https://www.ticketsmarche.com/event/story-of_7472
English 
Arabic