Just Do It

The Rebecca Davis Dance Company: 1994 in Philadelphia

by Kathryn Lipman

Thu., Dec. 4, 6 p.m., free, Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice, 7500 Germantown Ave., rebeccadavisdance.com

If you're reading this, Rebecca Davis has succeeded in part. Her company's latest dance project, 1994 in Philadelphia, is equal parts ballet performance and outreach program, meant to remind Western audiences of the reality of genocide and provoke them to think analytically about the international community's failure to intervene.

Consider yourself reminded.

After her ballet DARFUR premiered at the Arden last spring, Davis applied to Global Youth Connect, which provides on-the-ground human rights advocacy training in regions such as Bosnia, Cambodia, Guatemala and Nepal. During a trip to Rwanda to speak with survivors of the 1994 genocide of Tutsis by the Hutu militia, she collected stories from civilians who witnessed the mass murder and its aftermath.

Most of the narratives in 1994 in Philadelphia come from children — both those who were orphaned by the genocide and those whose parents lived to tell them about it. "Relating [the stories] from young kids to young kids is really important, because it's not often that kids have to deal with these life and death issues," says Davis, who selected her cast from students in the Philadelphia area. "We were interested in students who were interested in social justice more so than fantastic ballet dancers. We looked for people that have that sincerity and that emotional core that we felt could translate the stories to a public forum."

In the performance — which is recommended for audiences ages 12 and older — the dancers relate the survivors' stories through spoken-word performances, and the choreography deliberately follows Western tradition. "The locals [in Rwanda] know what happened, and they're living with the consequences," says Davis. "We want the piece to resonate with Westerners, and I think they will respond more to a traditional aesthetic. It's a responsibility of Westerners to understand what's happening. There are too many examples of 'never again.'"