SARAJEVO, BOSNIA
Bombed Out Parliament Buildings
Six Bosnian women from three ethnic groups performed at the symbolic site of the bombed-out Parliament Building, and the dance was televised throughout Bosnia.
Original score composed for the site dance by Bosnian composer Ranko Richtman.
Marylee’s remarks about this Dance in her Marian Chace Lecture:
The performers always have a powerful effect on the direction of the performance. Perhaps the most poignant example of my career occurred in Sarajevo. In 1996, I heeded an insistent inner voice telling me to go to that war-torn city and use my dance/movement therapy skills to bring the three religious groups together in a performance. My colleague and I arrived 2 months after the last shot was fired. As we were setting up the auditions, the community begged us not to ask for ‘‘Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox Christian dancers.’’ They said, ‘‘Please don’t separate us into religious groups like that; we never did so before’’ . Thus, we abandoned our original agenda and followed our bigger purpose of serving the community. I chose as a site the bombed out Parliament building. After the performance, an audience member came up and said, ‘‘Those dancers up on the roof looked like angels. This is the first time I really believed that peace will come.’’