* This even is being livestreamed from Place des Arts and can be watched from the Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal's website free of charge. The video will stay online for 24 hours. *

In our own backyards is a dance-theatre piece that dives into the memories of a second generation Muslim Canadian woman living in Quebec. Her stories are told through movement, English text, music, and American Sign Language. It assembles fragments of her past experiences, all while exposing the multiple levels of oppression in our society that all too often go unnoticed. 

Conception and choreography by Alida Esmail and Sophia Wright

Text by Alida Esmail

Performance by Alida Esmail and Nathalie Kirpaul

ASL interpretation by Brooke Nancekivell (English to ASL) and Jennifer Roberts (ASL to English)

Original Music composed by Shawn Mativetsky and David Ogborn

*This piece is accessible to Deaf audiences