After A'edoon's successful 2005 tour, twelve members of the Balata performance troupe returned in the summer of 2006 with new dabke moves and a new play, "The Checkpoint Birds"

Ireland

A'edoon performed in feiles (festivals) in South Armagh, Belfast and Derry to great responses. Venues included university theatres, tiny community centres, pubs and open-air band stages.

While in Belfast, the group joined a national march commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Irish hunger strikes, carrying a banner proclaiming that "Palestine Remembers". Many ex-prisoners asked to have themselves photographed with the Balata group; during the final rally, 20,000 demonstrators gave them a standing ovation.

In Derry, A'edoon helped open the Derry Feile, took part in workshops at the Gasyard Centre and protested in support of the Raytheon 9 outside the Raytheon factory in Derry. Last year's mural [below] was still there in the Bogside, despite Loyalist attempts to deface it with white paint.

London - Wales --> Colombia?!

After Ireland, A'edoon spent two weeks in an intensive cultural and political exchange with Nueva Generacion, a London-based Colombian arts collective. Dabke, capoeira, poetry, mime, physical theatre, photography and film mingled in arabic, spanish and english. In inner-city community centres and a retreat in the Welsh forest, A'edoon and Nueva Generacion shared their stories and dance moves, histories and songs.

Hosted also by the London socialist choir Strawberry Thieves, A'edoon built long-term personal, social and political relationships.

from the alleys of balata to the stages of europe

Films available

Download from film collective page