MISSING IN ACTION (M.I.A)

“She (Mia Habib) is challenging our way of seeing and dealing with difference”
Tanz Im August, 2016

‘Missing In Action (M.I.A.)’ is an exploration of the body’s kinaesthetic experiences of power and oppression. ‘Missing in Action’ juxtaposes the images of the body as terrorist-stranger-oppressed to point at the human face of fear, and implies that a person is much more than the sum of ideas and images s/he is thought to represent.

The history of this solo has become a crucial part of the work itself. It has been performed in a variety of contexts: a church, a squat, the PKK guerilla in Iraq during the American invasion, Israel, Turkey, Madagascar and various stages in the Nordic countries. The solo also serves as recurring material in Habib´s film ‘The Movie Concert’ commissioned for the opening of Dansens Hus, Oslo in 2008. Philosopher Boyan Manchev has used the solo in his lectures in Sophia and at the College of Philosophy in Paris. He also published a Bulgarian book analysing the solo in the context of the transforming body together with works by Xavier Le Roy, Gisèle Vienne and Benoït Lachambre.

‘Missing In Action’ will return to Scenehuset where it was first made 14 years ago. This work from 2005 marked the beginning of Habib´s artistic career and traces of the work are still seen in her projects today. This solo also became a door-opener internationally as it drew a lot of attention, from the large European dance houses to smaller groundbreaking festivals.

This solo is curated as part of the ‘Untaming Tradition’ programme from the guest curators at Riksscenen.