Liminal Rituals of Refugees

Beckah Reed, Artistic Director of Webster University Dance Ensemble and Chair of the Dept of Dance is collaborating with Zlatko Ćosić, an internationally renowned video artist and filmmaker. Their work, Liminal Rituals of Refugees, utilizes fragments of memories, sensations of the past with visions of the future and moments of the now…all aspects of anyone’s life experiences, but focused directly in this artwork on refugees. It is the International Human Rights Year of the Refugee at Webster University. Liminal Rituals of Refugees is in recognition of the many refugees of the world, including those who come to America, to St. Louis, to Webster University…

Beckah Reed has been teaching at Webster University since 1986. Beckah is on the Board of Directors for the American College Dance Festival and Artistic Director of ANNONYArts, a St. Louis based organization dedicated to supporting a consortium of independent movement and performing artists presenting original works and providing arts education. Her choreography is best described as theatre dance, as she draws on the use of props, voice and the motivation of human interactions to create her pieces. Beckah has toured extensively with an all women’s contemporary dance theatre company (GASH/VOIGT Dance Theatre), sharing her work with people in Russia, Taiwan, Costa Rica, China, Turkey, Greece, Hungary…Beckah enjoys her work in qigong and taiji, focusing on healing energies and moving meditations.

Zlatko Ćosić is a video artist born in Banja Luka, Yugoslavia. He earned a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Arts in Video Production and Interactive Digital Media from Webster University. Ćosić's work spans from short films, video, and sound installations to theater projections and live audio-visual performances. The themes of his work often relate to issues of identity, immigration, and the complexity of living in a new environment, concentrating on the necessity to embrace cultural differences and establish dialogue among people. Ćosić's artwork has been shown in over thirty countries, for which he has received a variety of recognition. Ćosić currently lives in St. Louis and works as a multimedia producer, professor and artist.

Director: Beckah Reed, created in collaboration with dancers

Video Artist: Zlatko Ćosić

Costumes: Nina Reed

Performers: Mershauna Clay, Hannah Grigereit, Jessica Manker, Ashreale McDowell, Audrey Simes, Paige Walden, Jehmela Wilson



Liminal Rituals of Refugees (15:00)   [VIDEO]



EXHIBITIONS

:: Webster University Dance Ensemble Show
Loretto Hilton Center, Webster University, St. Louis, April 13-15, 2012
:: Human Rights Conference: Refugee and Migrant Rights
Liminal Rituals of Refugees, Sunnen Lounge, Webster University, St. Louis, April 20, 2012, 12pm

:: Liminality and Refugees, The Migrant Crisis, by Yen Phuong Doan, September 16, 2016